ARRC JOURNAL
LOGISTICS FUNCTIONAL AREA
SERVICES FOR PLANNING AND
EXECUTION
Major Chris Marsh, British Army
Logistics Functional Area Services (LogFAS) is NATO’s suite of software (eight functional
applications) programs that supports the operational planning process. The programs
use a common LogFAS database (LOGBASE) so that all data can be easily shared
and used for various functions, from sustainment planning to logistical reporting and
movement related processes.
This essay will describe LogFAS and
the usefulness of its functionality in
the planning and execution of NATO
operations and exercises. Key takeaways
are highlighted in the accompanying
shaded boxes.
Successful use of LogFAS in
UK Defence
Examples for the use of LogFAS within UK
Defence include the routine commitment
of resources as part of NATO response
planning, detailed deployment plans
(DDP) for the Very High Readiness
Joint Task Force (VJTF), the enhanced
Forward Presence (eFP), further discrete
operations and the UK’s joint deployment
on Exercise SAIF SAREEA 2018 (which
involved a joint force of 5,500 personnel).
The LogFAS program was used at the
joint operational level via liaison and
negotiation amongst the single services
(Army, Navy and RAF) to ensure force
elements were deployed correctly with
efficient use of strategic lift assets. The
following mini-vignettes will demonstrate
the use of LogFAS.
Once committed troops are confirmed
and the desired order of arrival has been
set by the G/J5, DDPs can be produced
very quickly. Two LogFAS operators,
who were furnished with the correct data
by the Joint Operational Planning Team,
produced the UK’s initial iteration of the
SAIF SAREEA DDP in one working day.
Planners elsewhere could then see the
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ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS
overall deployment in graphical terms
and observe the force flow movement
to the point of disembarkation and
the final destinations (Figure 1). This
output is vital for the G/J5 and G/J4 or
a Joint Logistic Support Group (JLSG) in
order to design Reception, Staging and
Onward Movement (RSOM) against the
capacities of the local host nation (HN)
infrastructure.
Paucity of strategic lift is always going to
be an issue during rapid deployments.
The DDPs completed in LogFAS for
the UK’s commitment to VJTF 2017
(the UK’s standby year) were used to
accurately model the impact on the UK’s
Defence strategic lift activity programme
resulting in highlighting risk managed at
the 3-star level. The UK bought out the
risk against the deployment of VJTF17
in the strategic activity programme by
negotiating a short notice activation
contract for further strategic shipping not
owned by the UK.
Iterations of the DDP, the detailed
recovery plan (DRP) and sustainment
packages can be run quickly within
LogFAS just by altering basic information,
such as numbers of strategic lift assets,
capacities and speed of strategic
assets, choke points for the force flow
and consumption data against different
mission sets. The LogFAS program was
also used to send the deployment plans
to the European Forces headquarters for
the operational deployment rehearsal of
the reinforcement company to Bosnia
using Ukrainian operated Antonov cargo
aircraft.
TAKEAWAY 1:
LogFAS is a program to quickly
plan and model single country
or multinational strategic and
intra-theatre deployments using
associated sustainment packages.
It is much faster than traditional
planning methods and can help
course of action comparison. It
enables planners to realise risk
against constraints and can quickly
and easily provide commanders
with the impact of variables within
the plan.