250 years of Army Logistics

Military France

8th Theater Sustainment Command presents a brief overview of the impact of logistics since 1775. Since 1775, logistics has been a vital part of the Army's success, from the Revolutionary War to present day.

Transcript

00:00Two hundred and fifty years ago, a scrappy band of citizen soldiers stood up for an idea.

00:06Freedom, independence, a new kind of nation.

00:10What followed wasn't just war, it was a test of endurance.

00:15And behind every musket fired, every mile marched, there was a wagon, a supply line, a plan.

00:24From day one, logistics fueled the fight.

00:27General Washington knew it. No bullets, no bread, no battle.

00:32In the Civil War, the Union's railroads, depots, and telegraph lines weren't just infrastructure, they were lifelines.

00:41Victory moved by rail.

00:43World War I introduced a new scale of war, and the Army answered with innovation.

00:49Motor convoys, gas supply chains, coordinated logistics on foreign soil.

00:55Then came World War II, a war of fronts, a war of movement.

01:01From D-Day beaches to the Pacific jungles, logistics was the battlefield.

01:07It was the Red Ball Express keeping Patton moving.

01:10It was mobile hospitals saving lives in the field.

01:14It was fuel in jerry cans and meals in mess kits.

01:17We fought with steel, but won with sustainment.

01:21Korea pushed us into frozen terrain.

01:24When roads disappeared, logistics adapted.

01:28Air drops, emergency routes, supply chains through snow and mud.

01:33In Vietnam, the jungle changed everything.

01:36But the Army adapted again, through the air, over rivers, through dense green nothingness.

01:44Where soldiers fought, logistics followed.

01:46Desert storm was logistics on hyperdrive.

01:50Precision resupply.

01:51Real-time tracking.

01:53Convoys stretching across the desert to keep the momentum alive.

01:57In Iraq and Afghanistan, the battlefield evolved.

02:01And so did we.

02:03Every mission supported by soldiers whose job was to keep the machine moving.

02:08And in times of peace, our logistics force never rests.

02:12Humanitarian aid.

02:14Disaster relief.

02:16Vaccine distribution.

02:17Army logistics isn't just about war.

02:20It's about service.

02:22The tools change.

02:23But the mission remains, to support, to sustain the force, to win.

02:28From 1775 to today, the U.S. Army has been fueled by more than strength.

02:34It's fueled by logistics.

02:37By the soldiers who move mountains.

02:39Here's to the next chapter.

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