Published Online:May 2025
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Operations Management
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJOM020525
DOI:10.71329/IUPJOM/2025.24.2.23-36
Author Name:Gilles Paché
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Management
Download Format:PDF
Pages:23-36
The Vietnam War was an exceptionally deadly conflict, with an estimated death toll—both civilian and military—ranging from 2 to 3 million. On the US side, approximately 58,000 soldiers lost their lives, and the war left a lasting stain on the US’ image, particularly due to the use of destructive weapons such as napalm, which ultimately failed to prevent a devastating defeat. Yet, beyond its military and political consequences, the Vietnam War also served as a unique testing ground for logistics, yielding significant but still underexplored applications in the civilian world. This paper seeks to bridge that gap by examining supply chains, mobility, and equipment maintenance in combat operations within an extreme environment, where the harsh terrain imposed unprecedented logistical constraints. Several groundbreaking techniques—such as the extensive use of helicopters to establish air bridges and the development of strategic hubs—emerged during the war and later revolutionized modern operations management. Studying the technological and organizational spillover from the battlefield to the civilian world provides valuable insights into how military-driven innovations shape a field that remains crucial to corporate competitiveness.
Military logistics has long been recognized as a decisive factor in victory or defeat. This principle has hardly been new since ancient times strategists like Sun Tzu have understood that managing resources, supplies, and lines of communication is critical to battlefield success.