Modern War Institute: U.S. Logistics Is Unprepared for Major War

U.S. military logistics is not ready for a modern large-scale war.

This conclusion comes from an article by the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

After reviewing more than 100 wargames and military exercises, the authors found that the U.S. Joint Force suffers from systemic logistical shortcomings.

The article emphasizes that core assumptions, force structures, and risk-assessment methods have remained essentially unchanged, even though the same weaknesses have been repeatedly identified.

Logistics across the U.S. Department of War, the defense industrial base, interagency organizations, and allied and partner nations is described as a decisive factor in modern warfare.

In practice, however, logistics often remains a secondary concern. Problems identified during war games rarely translate into mandatory institutional decisions.

The Modern War Institute explains that this is not a failure of analysis, but a failure of accountability: “The system lacks mechanisms that would force recurring findings to be turned into actionable decisions regarding force structure, troop deployment, and the industrial base.”

It is emphasized separately that modern military logistics extends far beyond direct combat operations.

It includes cyberattacks on command-and-control systems, economic and legal pressure on industry, political restrictions on access and basing, as well as information operations.

In future conflicts, persistent logistical disruptions are expected to be the baseline condition.

The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026 introduced a new approach to managing global logistics, assigning shared responsibility to the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Meanwhile, the article notes that the effectiveness of this approach will depend on the ability to translate wargame results into practical decisions.