Combat Support Doctrine: Where We've Been, Where We Are and Where We Should Be Going

This report focuses on U.S. Air Force combat support, or logistics, doctrine, where it is today, and where it should be headed in the immediate future. The basic premise is that the post-Desert Storm environment, combined with recent significant changes in U.S. military strategy and the U.S. Air Force organizational environment, make the present an opportune time to review and update combat support doctrine. A brief history of the development of combat support doctrine is presented, followed by a review of some doctrinal lessons from military history that may be applicable to revisions in current combat support doctrine. Finally, the author provides some suggestions for how the U.S. Air Force should proceed with reviewing and updating its combat support doctrine.