A new paper from the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare warns the Army and joint force face a complex challenge with the growth of inter-state competition.

Written by Maj. Bradley Cooper, “Precision Logistics: Sustainment for Multi-Domain Operations” examines the Army’s transition toward a sustainment enterprise that can support multidomain operations.

Achieving dominance in multidomain operations requires precision logistics, and quick and continuous integration of all domains—space, cyber, air, sea and land—requires a total Army effort, but the Army isn’t there yet, the paper states.

“Recent studies have concluded that there are gaps in the joint force’s ability to provide reliable, agile, responsive and survivable sustainment, causing senior leaders to ask how the Army is going to sustain itself and the joint force,” Cooper writes.

The paper explores emerging capabilities that can help overcome gaps and deliver precise and survivable logistics, and it explains U.S. Army Materiel Command’s focus areas used to guide the development of multidomain operation capabilities.

“It is imperative that the Army has a robust sustainment enterprise that can provide support over great distances in austere environments, both inter- and intra-theater, to prevail in conflict,” Cooper writes.

Read the full paper here.