NATO Logistics Handbook October 1997

Chapter 14: Movement and Transportation Movement and Transportation Principles 1403. MC 336/1, A Movement and Transportation Concept for NATO, establishes the following principles: Collective Responsibility. NATO and nations have a collective responsibility for movement and transportation support to NATO operations. Specific responsibilities are: NATO Responsibility. NATO Commanders are responsible for initiating, prioritizing, coordinating and deconflicting the deployment, transportation for sustainment (resupply), and redeployment of their respective forces. This must be done in cooperation with nations. Nation's Responsibility. Nations have the primary responsibility for obtaining transportation resources to deploy, sustain, and redeploy their forces. They also have primary responsibility for planning and controlling the movement of national forces, national components of multinational forces, and where a nation has accepted lead nation responsibility of a multinational headquarters group. This principle must be tempered by the need for cooperation, coordination and economy, and may include bilateral and/or multi-lateral cooperative arrangements. Cooperation. Cooperation among NATO and national authorities, both military and civilian, is essential. Such cooperation can be of a bi- or multilateral nature. Coordination. Coordination of movement and trans-portation between NATO and national and civilian authorities is essential and must be carried out at all appropriate levels. Economy. Movement and transportation resources must be used effectively and economically. Efficiency. Use of military and civilian resources must be optimized. The complementary nature of airlift, sealift, and inland surface transport resources must be taken into consideration. Flexibility. Movement and transportation planning and execution must be capable of reacting in a timely manner to dynamic changes in the operational situation and requirement. Operational Primacy. Movement and transportation planning and execution must be tailored to satisfy the overall NATO operational requirements. Simplicity. Plans and procedures should be made as simple as possible. Standardization. Standardization facilitates successful movement and transportation. Standardization applies as much to systems, data and software as it does to procedures, equipment and hardware. Transport Compatibility. When possible, units and formations with a mobility rôle should have equipment designed to be compatible with available transport resources. Visibility. Information exchange of movement and transportation data between NATO and national military and civil authorities is essential for the efficient support of movement and transportation tasks.