Project Management Principles
for Unit Logisticians
by lieutenant Colonel paul WaKefielD
I
n 2004, the Army conducted the first rapid field- (the Army) had the ability and willingness to balance
ing initiative of nearly 20 individual items, such as the constraints by paying the contractor costs in order
advanced combat helmets, lightweight global posi- to achieve the needed capability. Of course, unit logis-
tioning systems, hydration systems, goggles, and boots, ticians have a much smaller purview, not to mention a
for 4,000 Soldiers deployed to Iraq. This was no small much smaller spending limit; nevertheless, they still
feat, given that the first set of equipment made it from can use project management practices to achieve posi-
factory to foxhole in only 9 days. Subsequent flights tive solutions. By taking a positive approach and view-
sent an additional 4,000 sets to theater every 10 days. ing constraints as project success parameters (PSPs), as
This scenario involved daunting logistics tasks, and the described by Denis R. Petersen and Daniel W. Ander-
parties involved could not have accomplished it with- son in The Art of Project Management: Rethinking
out the use of proven project management practices. Our Current Paradigms, logisticians can more easily
One major requirement was for units to communi- use limited assets to achieve project success. Instead
cate their needs through the chain of command and of thinking in a triangular paradigm, logisticians can
through logistics acquisition channels. The acquisi- maximize gains by considering five PSPs—time, qual-
tion branch had to find equipment that met the units’ ity, cost, deliverables, and risk—and taking a circular
operational needs, hire contractors to provide the approach to project management. Petersen and Ander-
equipment, obtain ground and air transportation from son called this method the Total Scope Model.
the continental United States to Kuwait, and coordinate Young logisticians often tend to make decisions
with the customer to develop a distribution plan for the without fully considering their potential effects on
equipment once it arrived in theater. This rapid fielding other stakeholders within the organization, including
effort is an example of logistics-oriented project man- their own team members. As a result, commanders
agement at the highest level. However, junior logisti- and S–3s (two of their biggest stakeholders) may be
cians can use the same project management principles inclined to stovepipe logistics or place logistics-related
to achieve positive results at the unit level. issues low on their priority lists. However, the best way
to manage these PSPs is to work with the stakeholders
Project Management to create partnerships that allow the logistician to guide
Project management is the art and science of manag- the processes through to successful completion. Let me
ing assets (time, personnel, equipment, and money) in illustrate with a couple of personal examples.
order to complete a project in the way that best meets
customers’ needs and expectations. Project managers Pre-Exercise Coordination
traditionally balance three constraints—time, quality, My first assignment as an officer was as a medical
and cost—to achieve desired results throughout each platoon leader for an armor unit in the 1st Infantry
phase of a project. Logisticians typically view these Division. When I reported for duty in July, the unit
constraints as being in constant conflict with each was in the middle of training for a February rotation
other, with customers being able to set requirements to the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin,
for no more than two at one time. As one of the three California. Four months after my arrival, the battalion
constraints increases, the other two must also increase conducted a 5-day field training exercise (FTX) as part
in order to maintain a balance. (See the illustration on of company lanes training. The battalion commander
page 18.) As a result, a project can fail if logisticians informed me that the line companies would include
place too much emphasis on one or two const