Last Week in Logistics, 7 July to 13 July
Bristling with refuse not arms, this trash hauler steams from the theatre of conflict. The Garbage of War is a big deal, but largely goes unnoticed. Given the significant role played by infection and illness in war in modern history, managing the material waste is a critical function of armed forces in land warfare.
Defense/Defence
The Royal Navy’s new uncrewed minesweeping system taken into the service, expected to enhance fleet security at least risk to personnel. In Rotterdam, hedging against threats from Russia, the port will establish a special NATO berth for military deliveries, improve coordination with Antwerp’s port, and map transport options from the facilities. Not only will this enable enhanced defenses for military deliveries, but will also protect civilian shipping by containing impact from accidents and attacks.
The logistics of defense includes the systems of death notification in war and peace, and we have covered it here in Risch’s volumes and in my own piece on an incident in Iraq. I only came across this story last week. It covers the shift in the US to a practice more sensitive to the situation at the instigation of Julie Moore, “whose husband served in the Vietnam War.” (This framing is rather potent, given the name recognition and military historical fame “her husband” enjoyed, as it identifies the relationship but reiterates that she is the subject of the story.)
Ukraine War
Building on the President’s irritation with Putin’s intransigence on negotiations and continued bombing campaign against Ukrainian civilians - the worst evening of which followed their phone conversation - the DoD announced Monday that Patriot missiles and other weapons would be headed to Ukraine soon. However, even as the policy was righted, questions regarding the pause increased, especially as it became clear that the Secretary of Defense did not loop in the White House in its decision to pause deliveries already staged in Poland. And despite being well into the third year of a Three Day SMO, Putin asserted optimistically his expectation of imminent military success. In military historical terms, we may very well end up calling this his Light at the End of the Tunnel moment, where the irrationality of the certainty of success was at its apex.
Advancing Ukraine’s domestic defense industry, Czech Republic’s Excalibur Army opened an administrative office in Ukraine to facilitate current business operations, as well as the local production initiative in partnership with Ukrainian Armor to manufacture large calibre rounds. In air defense and drones, Zelensky announces a major multi-national and -enterprise agreement. UK government, Thales, and Ukraine sign deal for British manufacture of air defense missiles.
Some war damage may be unrecoverable. For species like a local sparrowhawk, the ravages of conflict are putting Ukrainian flora and fauna at risk. But for what can be restored, Ukraine and its allies are already working on plans for the recovery, meeting in Rome last week. And of the human damage, Sweden is opening a rehabilitation clinic for wounded soldiers.
Deep strike on Russian logistics continue. The trains through Tokmak, Russia, continue to suffer attacks. Russian MOD warns the Kuznetsov may not be returned to service. Adding to the economic woes, the cost of troops in Russia is spiraling out of control
Air transport in Russia continues to suffer for the Ukrainian drone campaign, shutting down service hours at a time and stranding passengers. As the Russian economy struggles to keep up with war needs - even as the rest of it falters - it is Beijing to the rescue maintaining access to necessary supply chain components and weapons. Is a banking crisis looming? Debt mounts, value drops, credit quality founders.
Disaster and Crisis Response
Marking the anniversary and himself personally caught up in the 7/7 evacuations, John Drury and colleagues wrote on the events and how public crowds respond in such moments. Contrary to expectations of panic and disorder, the collective resilience, the “groupness”, needed to survive the first phase before emergency services could arrive developed organically in these moments across the London bombings experience.
The Texas Floods continued to reveal layers of failures and problems at federal, state, and local levels that hampered the response and exacerbated the toll of the disaster. On Monday, the WSJ reporting recounted recurrent rejected efforts to implement local warning systems. 165: the number of lives Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan saved while supporting the Hill Country flood rescue. Contributing as well, Mexican first responders were early on scene to assist in the recovery work. Comfort, TX, had sirens and used them, giving its residents an advantage over Kerr County’s. Kerr County also failed to activate FEMA’s cell-phone alert system.
Why do these disaster events recur? The Siren’s lure of waterfronts - whether rivers, lakes, or the seas - also reminds that disasters are human, that it is only our choices and losses that make an event disastrous rather than merely awesome. Organizational changes made under Secretary Noem that required her sign-off on requests over $100K also slowed the Federal Response as the paperwork sat three days awaiting approval.
New Mexico, in the shadow of the Guadalupe River disaster next door, suffered its own flooding damage last week. Vermont, too, suffered its own major storm and flooding damage. Some measure of the difference in the events must inevitably come down to the state and local governance and the lesser degree to which partisan anti-government sentiment dominated policy choices.
Trade and the Economy
Tariffs were in the news again as the latest pause deadline passed and the Trump Administration reverted to the levels set on 2 April. And economists are sounding the alarm on the inflationary pressure they will.
From RI’s sole Representative, Gabe Amo: “Toasted to American independence with Madeira wine, just like the signers of the declaration! Thank you to the Portuguese Beneficial Association in Bristol for igniting this commemoration of Portuguese-American ties dating back 249 years.” The signers drank Madeira because it was untaxed and not subject to patriotic boycott.
Manufacture
Artisanal production dominates certain sectors. AFP: “Mitre by mitre: North Macedonian nuns craft priceless holy headwear. Nestled between mountains and overlooking a placid lake about 130 kilometres (80 miles) west of Skopje, Saint George the Victorious monastery produces unique headdresses worn by patriarchs around the world.” Although their wares are normally reserved for higher-ranking priests in the Christian Orthodox Church, as a gift from a North Macedonian delegation, the nuns produced a head-piece for the late Pope Francis.
Agriculture
Trump’s tariffs and the budget cuts are hitting farms in Kansas. In a cross-policy bad idea, the Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins floated the idea to replace migrant labor with able-bodied Medicaid recipients. Notwithstanding that agricultural work, even of the manual variety, requires experience and skill to do well, the geo-demographics of the idea make it logistically impossible, unless the idea is to relocate these laborers to field adjacent work camps.
Lavazza blames financial speculators for the surge in coffee prices.
Transport and Shipping
Air traffic has been conspicuously absent from Ukraine for so long that the seemingly Phoenix-like appearance of an Antonov clawing into the skies over Kyiv seemed a harbinger of some sort. After much speculation, it was revealed that the plane, having been stuck on the ground for lack of spares and repairs, was finally fit to fly and depart for more active skies.
Moldovan air cargo concern, AeroTransCargo, secures new funding arrangement for new engines and maintenance facilities.
The Houthis continued to wreak havoc in the Red Sea, attacking multiple ships last week. Houthi Media is working overtime, as seen in this footage of the Magic Seas attack, and this extended video of the sinking of the Eternity C.
Norway will restrict Russian access to its local waters over myriad security risks posed. Both official and “ghost fleet” ships have abused the hospitality of the Nordic and Baltic neighbors.
Infrastructure
Citing fears of weather manipulation, an anti-government militia claims responsibility for destruction of a local news radar site and announces its campaign targeting weather forecasting infrastructure in Oklahoma.
Are we overrun with highways? Eric Guerra, author of Overbuilt, discusses the issues on Bloomberg City Lab.
Power
A suite of turbines has endured six years off the Scottish coast in constant operation (powering 7,000 homes annually), an important durability milestone giving tidal energy a place in the race for low/zero carbon solutions. Above the seas, renewables like solar are booming in Eastern Europe as dependency on Russian oil is phased out.
Data Centres and AI
Given the financial, natural, and infrastructure resources demanded by this information and processing age, the output is sadly underperforming, operating at a cost to enterprises that have relied too heavily upon the generative capabilities.
Despite a fit of its Hyde-like alter ego, Mecha-Hitler, Musk hawks Grok’s limitless intellect in a release event for the latest version.
