JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
"My logisticians are a humorless lot; they know if my campaign fails they are the first ones I will slay," said Alexander the Great.
Long before airplanes took to the skies, there were logisticians that helped ensure the success of military campaigns.
Today military logisticians are still hard at work providing the best possible support to forces around the world. The first flight of the C-17 Globemaster III, more than 20 years ago, ushered in a new era of logistics, increasing transportation system velocity and providing enhanced support to the warfighter. But even the best, most modern airplanes cannot fly itself. Planes need pilots, loadmasters, maintainers, port dawgs, supply personnel, security forces, medics, engineers, contractors, comptrollers, knowledge operators, vehicle mechanics, personnelists, training managers, and many more. The beauty of it is they are all in the business of logistics -- that's what we do here at Joint Base Charleston!
But logistics can never be a foregone conclusion. It takes hard work, resources, and more importantly, professionals to ensure its success. One only has to look at the British failure during the American War of Independence or the Axis' power failure in North Africa and the Soviet Union during World War II to know that even the strongest of armies can outrun their logistical support. So where were the logisticians that told their superior commanders the risks were too high or that those operations might fail? We may never know.
And yet, now we're all involved in executing some of the longest, most difficult supply lines in modern history. Occasionally, we receive some great feedback on our logistics success, but can we rest on our laurels? Absolutely not. As professionals, we must strive for even more and do our best to attain perfection. Those we support on the ground expect nothing less - their lives are on the line each and every day and we must answer the call to help them. As we paid tribute this past Memorial Day weekend, we remembered those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Personally, I had the opportunity last weekend to witness the Army Green Berets honor their fallen from the past year. What a remarkable group of some of America's finest. As fellow joint warfighters, we owe them the best of what we can give .... nothing less will suffice. As logistics professionals, we must constantly strive to meet and exceed the requirements of our front line forces.
So how can we as logistics professionals provide superior warfighter support? As a wise chief master sergeant once advised, "Know your damn job!" This is absolutely fitting for all of us professional logisticians. We are only as good as our weakest link and we must all work very hard to ensure our logistics forces are well trained, supplied, supported and motivated! Hundreds of thousands of Sailors, Soldiers, Marines and Airmen are counting on us every day to strive for logistics perfection.
We cannot and will not fail! Alexander the Great was exactly right, logisticians cannot fail. If they do, the impact will be too high. As all of us at JB Charleston are logisticians in one form or another, we must embrace the support we provide and provide it to the best of our ability. Someone, somewhere, even here in Charleston, is counting on us every day to do our job!