Brian Laung Aoaeh, CFA’s Post

The Military’s Supply Chain Problem Mark Montgomery and I highlighting the urgent need for Congress to direct DoD to address its supply chain reliance on PRC manufacturing. "This dependence is acutely problematic for military readiness and capabilities. The conflict in Ukraine has increased U.S. defense material production. However, the endeavor has laid bare the erosion of U.S. domestic manufacturing. Many essentials for military hardware and munitions, from gunpowder to radar systems, are reliant on Chinese production lines. This is particularly concerning as the CCP has stepped up its provocative military activity around Taiwan and in the South China Sea. The possibility of the CCP starving the U.S. military’s supply chain to dissuade Washington from interfering is a distinct possibility. America’s just-in-time supply chain has become a weapon for its primary adversary." #china #supplychain #greatpowercompetition

Nexus LCM specializes in implanting Logistics Functional Area Services (LOGFAS) - the suite of tools supporting NATO logistics processes for strategic movement and transportation, multinational deployment planning and execution, in-theatre movement scheduling, and sustainment planning. LOGFAS is developed, maintained and supported by the Service Support and Business Application Services of NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA). To learn more about Nexus LCM and the #logfas, please visit @https://nexuslcm.com/jmce/ and contact us @https://lnkd.in/e4Sbif3b #logistics #interoperability #logfas #military #nato #defense #militarytraining #sustainment #supplychain Disclaimer - Articles posted or shared on this site are for informational purposes only. Nexus LCM wishes to inform followers about relevant concepts and news, but does not necessarily share all views or opinions of the articles’ authors. https://lnkd.in/gj6-gn2e

News from Freightwaves-Craig Fuller, CEO at FreightWaves. "Tariffs are getting much attention, but we should discuss why sourcing from China is an existential risk. Chinese President Xi Jinping has stated that he intends to unite Taiwan with China peacefully or by force. Analysts have projected this will take place between 2027 and ’29. Taiwan will not volunteer to join China, so it will only happen through force. Taiwan is highly armed (for its size) and has the benefit of advanced technology from the U.S. It will bring a hell of a fight. Conversely, China is a regional military superpower and could bring many men, ample equipment and vast resources to a battle with Taiwan. Both sides will likely target civilian and industrial infrastructure. Taiwan, outnumbered and potentially overwhelmed, will resort to asymmetric warfare, i.e., cyber and other economically destructive means, to fend off an attack. This will have a substantial impact on supply chains built for export..... The U.S. and Western allies would likely implement huge sanctions, with catastrophic impacts on supply chains. The bottom line is that we have to assume Xi is serious about his intention to take Taiwan forcibly. Encouraging companies to migrate supply chains out of China is not just good economics; it’s a national security issue. We have a couple of years before China is ready. (Xi has commanded the military to be ready by 2026.) Migrating supply chains is not free, but given enough window, it can be done efficiently." #supplychain #logistics #3pl

U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Strengthens Export Controls to Restrict China’s Capability to Produce Advanced Semiconductors for Military Applications. #BIS #exportcompliance #exportregulations #exportcontrol #Semiconductor https://lnkd.in/dPetGAcU

Geopolitical risk is increasingly shaping supply chains where traditionally the focus has only been on finding reliable suppliers at low cost. It is not just the threat of disruption, but intersections into trade compliance violations (thanks to exploding export controls, trade restrictions and so on) that worries supply chain leaders: Volkswagen was surprised earlier this year when thousands of its Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini vehicles were held up at U.S. seaports. The cause: UFLPA violation thanks to a magnetic component part in the vehicles blacklisted due to its connections to Xinjiang forced labor. What supply chain leaders need are data driven geopolitical risk insights - spanning social-political-economic makeup, geopolitical threat landscape, state capacity etc. – that also simultaneously overlay trade compliance and sanctions risks – not just for their direct suppliers but for the extended supply chain. Geopolitical risk is still a very secluded and niche domain that relies on expert opinion of scarce specialist counsel – that will probably change not just due to the economics, but also because the landscape is quickly getting complex and more dynamic that will drive the need for scalable data and tech driven solutions. #risk #geopolitics #supplychain https://lnkd.in/gShQyGtS

In response to growing tensions with China, Senators Mitt Romney and Mark Kelly have introduced a bipartisan bill to bolster U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific. This legislation aims to enhance logistics and sustainment capabilities by increasing oversight, fostering maintenance partnerships, and involving allies like Japan and South Korea. By addressing vulnerabilities and improving readiness, the U.S. can better support its troops and uphold commitments to regional allies. The bill also authorizes the Navy's SWaRM program to conduct ship repairs in foreign ports, ensuring operational readiness. #USIndoPacific #DefensePartnerships #MilitaryLogistics https://lnkd.in/eF5U5Mcy

"We're never going to get China fully out of U.S. supply chains. The goal is managing foreign suppliers and aligning them to the right level of capability, ensuring redundancy where needed, and protecting sensitive parts by sourcing from the US or allies." Govini CEO Tara Murphy Dougherty spoke to Defense One on defense supply chain challenges. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gxPpvG-G

Very few democracies are sure or confident about their futures, including Australia... most studies say peak democracy was reached around 2006 so unless we can demonstrate that we can improve democratic models, so it's not just the rick getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the middle class being squeezed... then more uncertainty, withering on the vine and general hurt will come our way. This is not an unusual event in the cycle of humanity, on steroids now due to the addiction/disruption/strengths & weaknesses of the new digital world... so it all depends on when the new set of leaders emerge and how much chaos we have to suffer before they do. So, emerging generations, stop complaining about the past and think more about how to make things work better economically, organisationally, socially and geopolitically in the future. I've always liked the notion that if leaders start wars they should be on the front line fighting them. Unlikely I know, just like lasting peace and harmony, it's just not in the human DNA... but I find it's always better to at least try and build stuff rather than simply tear things down. But life is never dull.

As the NORAD and NORTHCOM Commander, I stopped using "Contested Logistics" and instead utilized "Contested Power Projection" which I believe better conveys the challenges that we will face in a fight with the PRC, and Russia for that matter. Logistics, a subset of power projection, begins in the homeland. We will be significantly challenged to get to the Pacific in a timely manner to execute Operational Plans. While this article highlights key operational challenges that need addressed, it isolates the challenge ... "In the Pacific". This problem exists globally and in our own homeland. It's time that we view the PRC and Russia through a global and all domain lens.

Giving Our “Paper Tiger” Real Teeth: Fixing the U.S. Military’s Plans for Contested Logistics Against China I read this article recently; definitely read it if you're at all involved in this space. https://lnkd.in/gHgfDfZ7 #contestedlogistics #operationsresearch ===== "... [E]very planning methodology seeks to optimize a certain objective function. This is poorly described in most military literature but is well documented in literature for computer science or operations research. In effect, this planning approach seeks to optimize logistics feasibility, while “satisficing” operational needs — the inverse of most current approaches. One might expect that operations-driven and logistics-driven approaches would converge on the same solutions. In practice, though, such convergence rarely happens due to the “anchoring effect” of the initial design and the bias of its designer. Plans created by teams using a logistics-driven methodology could broaden a commander’s understanding of a problem, particularly when compared side by side with plans created using a more traditional methodology. Most important, this alternate approach can elevate logistics in the commander’s mind while reducing the cultural gap between combat and support personnel by stimulating healthy debate. This approach can work beyond campaign planning. For example, some authors have argued on the need to bring logistics advocacy into research and development much earlier than currently practiced."