The Timothy Group

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 for Young Men

Timothy Group Blog

Logistics

Logistics

Wed Feb 21 2024

"Infantry wins battles, logistics win wars."
John Pershing - General of the Armies

Logistics: the aspect of military science dealing with the procurement, maintenance, and transportation of military matériel, facilities, and personnel.

The art and science of logistics is a fundamental and arguably paramount component of any successful military, civilian, or individual enterprise. A high-level assessment of those 3 activities (procurement, maintenance, and transportation) applied to those 3 categories (matériel, facilities, and personnel) is worthwhile to consider. Conduct your own assessment at every scope that applies to you as an individual, team, or organization.

Matériel

Procurement

People and organizations struggle to spend money well. On the one hand, you could overinvest in things you don't need (though this can be a learning opportunity), and on the other hand you might omit important items that could have made you far more effective. Costs also aren't measured solely in monetary terms. For every piece of gear secured there has to be a cost-benefit calculation as well as a risk assessment. As a practical example: this multicam ruck matches my uniform better, and costs 4x the ACU (ick). If the funds are available then fine, splurge on the vanity. However, on a budget you could just as easily buy whatever's cheap and throw some spray paint on it to match your environment.

Maintenance

Ongoing costs should also be considered. How much ongoing support is needed? Are we capable of keeping up with it? The cheaper car is appealing on the surface, but if the money is going to come out in repairs and hassle anyway it might've been better to spend a little more up front (especially if those repairs are outside your own skillset).

Transportation

In the field "ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain" as they say. How mobile are my resources? How mobile do they need to be? In finance the term is "liquidity". Do I need a rack of 5 personal rifles or should I have one or two that cover the right bases and move on?

Facilities

Procurement

Whether for housing, operations, or training everything needs a place. A point in time and space to appropriately conduct whatever mission you're called to for whatever timeframe is necessary. Often renting or borrowing space is appealing since it offloads much of the risk/liability of ownership and leaves greater mobility to the team. Sometimes this even makes more economic sense than owning space, and it's worth making a thorough assessment. Purchasing can also open up long-term economic opportunities (home ownership can be a type of forced investment, and real estate besides personal housing can also be a major investment vehicle).

Maintenance

Counting the cost should include longer term factors than the purchase price or monthly payment. What are utility costs like? Taxes? Repairs? What improvements will need to be made to support future objectives? A large part of these ongoing concerns should be your own capability/skillsets. What work can you do yourself, and what will you have to contract out? Sometimes you can save a buck by doing it yourself, but the return on hassle may not be worth it.

Transportation

What happens when a change of location becomes necessary? Do you have a contingency plan for if you needed to relocate to another state/country? An emergency fund can cover much of this, as well as generally taking thought for essential infrastructure and resources you'd need were you to move housing or operations.

Personnel

Procurement

Building a team is hard. Sometimes your own personality can be your biggest blocker to building the right community. Start by finding support/leadership you can learn from either locally or by remote study and develop into your mission. Then, as you develop you'll gradually have opportunity to bring others along by sharing what you've learned to the next generation as it were.

Maintenance

"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly..." (Prov. 18:24a KJV) It's easy to take relationships for granted, but to remain effective we have to invest in them like everything else. Find ways to serve your people and look for opportunities for mutual support as you grow in your Christian walk.

Transportation

In some ways people are the easiest thing to move. With the right motivation they'll mobilize on their own and get from a to b. In a pinch, locate housing, employment, and a church and a body is pretty well set. In a tactical context, we now get into speed vs stealth, dismounts, mobile firepower and the like. In either case, understand the mission and then you can grasp your mobility options.