"Joint Logistics Force Support To Theater Commands" - By CWP Alum Joel Wuthnow
A hallmark of Chinese military reforms under Xi Jinping was the consolidation of authority at the theater level.1 Prior to the reforms, Military Region commanders only had control over ground forces and not naval or air forces. In wartime, a joint headquarters would have been established on an ad hoc basis, creating a time-consuming transition from peacetime to wartime operations. Under the new Theater Command system, commanders have assumed control over ground, naval, and air forces, with some conventional Rocket Force units likely at their disposal as well.2 The system is better postured to pivot to combat operations as the wartime structure is already largely in place. In this light, reforms to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) logistics system have been an aberration. Prior to 2016, the Military Regions each possessed a Joint Logistics Department that unified control over general supplies within the theaters. The creation of the Joint Logistic Support Force (JLSF) that year took control away from the theater commanders by placing
https://press.armywarcollege.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1954&context=monographs
Chapter in PLA Logistics and Sustainment: PLA Conference 2022
George R. Shatzer, Roger D. Cliff, Kenneth W. Allen, Joshua Arostegui, Justin Boggess, Travis Dolney, Matthew P. Funaiole, Brian Hart, Lonnie D. Henley, Bonny Lin, Erin Richter, Benjamin Rosen, James R. (J. R.) Sessions, Eli Tirk, Joel Wuthnow, and Christopher D. Yung, PLA Logistics and Sustainment: PLA Conference 2022 (Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War College Press, 2023), https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/958
Dr. Joel Wuthnow is a senior research fellow in the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs within the Institute for National Strategic Studies at NDU. His research areas include Chinese foreign and security policy, Chinese military affairs, U.S.-China relations, and strategic developments in East Asia. In addition to his duties in INSS, he also serves as an adjunct professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
His recent books and monographs, all from NDU Press, include Gray Dragons: Assessing China's Senior Military Leadership (2022), Crossing the Strait: China's Military Prepares for War with Taiwan (2022, lead editor), The PLA Beyond Borders: Chinese Military Operations in Regional and Global Context (2021, lead editor), System Overload: Can China's Military Be Distracted in a War over Taiwan? (2020), and Chairman Xi Remakes the PLA: Assessing Chinese Military Reforms (2019, co-editor). His research has also appeared in journals such as Asian Perspective, Asia Policy, Asian Security, The China Quarterly, Chinese Journal of International Politics, Joint Force Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, Journal of Strategic Studies, Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, and in edited volumes.
Prior to joining NDU, Dr. Wuthnow was a China analyst at CNA, a postdoctoral fellow in the China and the World Program at Princeton University, and a pre-doctoral fellow at The Brookings Institution. His degrees are from Princeton University (A.B., summa cum laude, in Public and International Affairs), Oxford University (M.Phil. in Modern Chinese Studies), and Columbia University (Ph.D. in Political Science). He is proficient in Mandarin.
Photo Credit: Photo Description: Thematic creation by students at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute to express their contempt for Taiwan independence. Photo Date: May 21, 2020 Source: Wikimedia Commons Authors: Planning: Grizzly Photography: Fang Yue, Tang Yuqi, Grizzly, Jiage, Luo Daxin, Ren Jia, Yang Yuqing Production: Grizzly Appearances: Yang Xingang, Li Ziwei, Sun Liangliang, Huang Qibai, Luo Jiading, Tan Zheng, Shen Yang, Wang Jingze, Tang Jinwen, Screw, Dong Zhiqiang, Li Jiajun, Zhang Bixin Logistics: Qiuqiu (new president), Li Zhen, Grizzly, Fang Yue, Li Zehan, Qian Mo Website: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%B7%9D%E7%BE%8E%E5%86%9B%E8%BF%B7%E 7%A4%BE-%E3%80%8A%E6%AD%A6%E5%8A%9B%E7%BB%9F%E4%B8%80%E3%80%8B%E4%B8%93 %E9%A2%98%E5%A4%96%E6%8B%8D_11.jpg
