Air Force logistics readiness officers: how to be successful in a joint environment.(Candid Voices)

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From July 2007 to June 2008, I had the privilege of attending the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College. For nearly a year, I studied the Marines' (and the other Services represented in my conference group) doctrine, history, and current tactics, techniques, and procedures. During that same year, I often found myself at the pointed end of some pretty good verbal jabs from my leatherneck friends. What became apparent to me was that the current fight does not lend itself to Air Force success stories. Instead of touting the efforts of our expeditionary combat support personnel, the Air Force has been forced to go on the defensive. The Secretary of Defense actively called-out the Air Force to do more in supporting the Global War on Terror (his comments were directed almost exclusively at the rated community). Where the Air Force has succeeded is in providing top-notch logistics support to our Joint comrades. Many sister Service members recognize the efforts of the Air Force logistics readiness community in the deployed environment. They see us on convoys, sitting in Joint operations centers, and often venturing outside the wire. Even though Air Force logisticians are viewed favorably in the Joint environment, there are certain steps logistics readiness officers (LROs) can take to ensure that they command the respect they deserve from their peers in the Army and Marine Corps. This short article addresses five keys to LRO success in a Joint environment.

First, be smart on Air Force Doctrine (and not just the 2-4 series). In the other Services (except for the Navy, where doctrine does not exist), doctrine is not a buzzword or a shiny new toy. Doctrine is a way of life. Marine Corps and Army officers know what their branch and their Service are supposed to do. In fact, most of those officers know what the other Services are supposed to do, too. Sometimes they know our doctrine better than we do. That's embarrassing.

It's going to take some time for the Air Force to embrace doctrine the way the Army and Marine Corps do, but it's got to happen. Doctrine has to be read, understood, and implemented by all airmen. Being knowledgeable about the Air Force's capabilities and core doctrine statements will go a long way to earning much needed credibility.

The second key to success in a Joint environment is to possess a working knowledge of the tactics, techniques, and procedures, as well as the tables of equipment of the forces you are supporting. Understanding concepts of maneuver warfare, rates of advance, and rates of consumption by unit size will make any LRO a more valuable commodity. Logistics support of ground forces is, in my opinion, much more complex than supporting flying units from a fixed location. One of the best ways to get up to speed on this kind of information is to build and maintain a personal smartbook. There is a great deal of excellent information available through open sources; however, the best source of sister Service information will come from logistics professionals in that service. Make contacts and request briefings, slides, background papers, and anything that deals with combat support and combat service support. A slide show on the composition and airlifting of the Army' s brigade combat team or a white paper on the Joint task force-port opening capability is out there if one knows where to look. The key is to keep the book up-to-date. As quickly as things change in today's world, last week's briefing may just be old news.

Third, don't feel like you have to apologize for how the Air Force does business. There are things you just can't do anything about. You can't control the length of our air expeditionary force deployments--don't be ashamed that you're only there 6 months when others are there for a year. That being said, be mindful of the sacrifices your comrades in the other Services are making. While 365-day taskings for LROs are on the rise, they have been the norm for the Army since this struggle kicked off. Be ready to correct ...