A multimethod approach to the combat air forces mix and deployment problem

The purpose of military logistics is to ensure that the material elements of combat capability come together at the right place and time and in the right configuration to be useful to the supported commander. These material elements are constrained in both quantity and location. The usefulness of any element to a commander is dependent upon both its extrinsic (qualitative; situation dependent) and intrinsic (quantitative; inherent) characteristics. Our research provides a methodology for rationally assigning relative value to material resources over time, in order to improve the linkage between what arrives (becomes available for use) in theater at any given time, and what is actually needed at that time. A blend of qualitative (value focused thinking and hierarchical weighting) and quantitative (a greedy matching algorithm) methods were used against the lift-constrained combat forces material selection/movement problem. The intent is to provide a decision support tool for the formulation of force mixes that best support desired time-phased battlefield objectives, given constraints on available transportation resources. This methodology is applicable to general crisis response planning, such as for disaster relief.