U.S. military learning to do more with less

Donald C. Stanton, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Transportation Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, came to CSCMP's Annual Global Conference talking about challenges that will sound very familiar to all logisticians. "What we're trying to do now in the department is to be flexible, with a focus on efficiency," he said in the session "Supporting U.S. Warfighters With Advanced Logistics Practices."

Stanton paraphrased Ash Carter, the former Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (now Deputy Secretary of Defense) when he said, "We've challenged the services to do more with less." In other words, the military's logistics organizations have been charged with finding cost efficiencies while still providing effective support for the warfighter.

Business case analysis has a role, even in military operations, Stanton explained. "We have to learn from commercial industry," he said.