US Transportation Command Cmdr. Gen. Darren McDew recently shared his concerns with the defense transportation and logistics industry regarding the increased vulnerability of our lines of communication in future conflict. Not since the end of the Cold War more than 20 years ago have near peer competitors had the capability to disrupt our deployment and sustainment of forces overseas. His concern includes not just traditional physical threats, but increasingly the threats posed by cyberattacks, as well. Commercial air, sea, and land carriers, who form the backbone of the Defense Transportation System, are particularly vulnerable in this area because of their reliance on mostly unclassified networks.
This means that a review of current operational plans and assumptions for the supply and sustainment mission will likely be undertaken by USTRANSCOM and its three service components, and industry — the “fourth component” — must be a part of that process. Additional robustness in cybersecurity, and consideration for attrition of assets (especially airlift and sealift) must be a part of that thinking. No doubt, new requirements will be generated, and the need for additional resources will be identified, and sought.
This work will occur amid the backdrop of a stagnant global economy, and continued aggressive behavior by state actors in virtually every geographical theater. Emerging security and trade policies of the Trump administration could add additional variables to an increasingly complex defense logistics equation.