Base Camp Life Cycle Management: Focusing on the Critical Elements

Increased expeditionary military operations tempo over the past sixty years highlighted the increasing need for base camps to enable force projection for the U. S. as well as allied partners in a variety of locations in the world. Base camps evolved based on mission and the environment, while the ever-changing needs of the force inadvertently established (and often cemented) cost prohibitive practices, inconsistencies in decision making, management and quality, and resulted in ad hoc solutions. Projections for future engagements make it very likely that the need for base camps will be an increasing focal point for the U. S. and allied partners. As a business or logistics model, "life cycle management" is not currently a well defined or typical conceptual development process applied to military base camps. Methodically applying a life cycle management framework, with stakeholders as the focus, to a military base camp's situation can significantly improve both long and short- term operational capabilities, resourcing concerns, and even national strategic relationships.