Bosnia: Does Force XXI Technology Solve the Operational Logistic Problems in Operations Other Than War?

The army's charter is to fight and win the nation's wars, however, history has shown that the most frequent operations the armed forces will be involved in fall into the realm of Operations Other Than War (OOTW). Further, as the army develops the concepts, procedures, and technologies to fight future wars we must not forget that these advances in technologies, concepts, and procedures must serve as a catalyst to enhance our ability to conduct OOTW. For the logistician, OOTW means extended lines of communication, dispersion of supported units, and force protection of equipment and personnel in an environment that is austere in nature. These characteristics of OOTW require that the future advances in Force XXI enable the logistician to have situational awareness of supplies and equipment while enabling him to protect support forces from the numerous threats, sometimes ambiguous in nature, that are prevalent in OOTW. The monograph accomplishes this assessment by using Bosnia as a case study to apply the conceived logistic technologies in Force XXI. The monograph orients the reader to the origin and nature of the conflict in Bosnia by reviewing the history of the Balkans prior to the outbreak of war, during the United Nations buildup, and finally the transition to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The monograph then assesses current logistic doctrine at the operational level of war to develop a framework in identifying problems in Bosnia along with OOTW and future doctrine. The monograph then identifies the operational logistic problems in Bosnia and analyses the impact of Force XXI technologies to come to a solution of the stated problem. Finally, the monograph comes to a conclusion on the impacts of Force XXI technologies in solving the operational logistic problems associated with operations in Bosnia.