A logística de suprimentos nas operações conjuntas: lições para o Sistema de Abastecimento da Marinha, a partir da análise de guerras modernas

Abstract

A Naval Force in operation requires a huge volume of fuel, large amounts of spare parts and ammunition. Sailors and Marines demand uniforms, medicines and, mainly, food. In a war – understood as a succession of campaigns and joint operations – the maritime theater of operations can comprise an entire Ocean. In this complex scenario, Logistics is structured to foresee and provide those needs at the appropriate time and place, under penalty of compromising the operational readiness of the Force from the beginning and throughout the conflict. When analyzing the Military and Naval Doctrines on Joint Operations and Logistics, it is observed that each Single Force - Navy, Army and Air Force - based on its own Logistical Support System, plays an essential role in Joint Logistics, being responsible for maintaining an adequate flow of resources, including all categories of supplies, between the Interior Zone and the Theater of Operations. Specifically regarding the Brazilian Navy, this competence falls on the Navy Supply System. In the methodological sequence of the research, from the perspective of supply logistics between the Interior Zone and the Theater of Operations, three recent wars were analyzed - Vietnam, Falklands and Gulf War - here considered those that occurred after the 2nd World War, when Logistics became more capital intensive, supporting highly complex systems and being responsible for a large number of industrially accurate supply items. This analysis offered the main elements of the research: critical aspects of supply logistics in modern warfare. In the final methodological phase, these logistical problems were organized into four axes - Strategic Deployment, Pre-positioning, Critical Supplies and Training - and analyzed based on information obtained in interviews with specialists in Supply Logistics at the Navy's Inventory Control Center and in existing Strategic Guidelines on the subject within the scope of the Ministry of Defense and the Navy itself. This analysis made it possible to deduce eight opportunities for improvement for the Navy's Supply System, representing relevant lessons in material, planning and knowledge management aspects, in line with the purpose of the research and the effectiveness of the Supply System in Joint Operations