Resilient by Design: Reforming Medical Logistics to Support Global Operations
BLUF – In a Joint Force Quarterly article, retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Ackman and Navy Cmdr. Jonathan Fowler warn that fragile global medical supply chains and restrictive procurement policies could undermine casualty care during large-scale combat operations, recommending expanded purchasing agreements with trusted allies, pre-positioned medical supplies, stronger domestic pharmaceutical production and advance authorization for wartime procurement. For Navy Medicine, these reforms would strengthen the availability of critical Class VIII medical supplies, blood products and pharmaceuticals during prolonged casualty care in contested environments, particularly across the vast distances of the Indo-Pacific where delayed evacuation and disrupted transportation networks could rapidly exhaust available resources.