Historical Analysis of Multinational Logistics and the Concept of National Responsibility in Coalition Military Operations

This study investigates the concept of national responsibility as it relates to providing logistics to nations participating in coalition operations. This concept is the cornerstone of current NATO logistics doctrine. However, recent NATO peacekeeping and offensive peace enforcement operations in the former Yugoslavia challenged the validity of national responsibility as the preeminent logistical principle to sustain and maintain multinational forces in the military operations. To gain insight into current multinational logistics doctrine, this study provides a historical view of the manner in which logistics was provided during World War II, the Korean War, and in Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. These operations provided classic examples of total war, limited war, and operations other than war respectively. The study further reveals that the challenges associated with providing logistics for multinational forces, despite the type of military operation, were similar. In all of these historical examples, the nations with the greatest logistical capability provided that majority of the logistical support for the participating coalition forces. The problems associated with different terminology, cultures, traditions and religions were present each of the coalition operations examined. Lastly this study offers recommendations for military logisticians of both the US and its allies for consideration in future operations.