The petroleum disruptions experienced in 1973 and 1979
demonstrated to the Department of Defense (DoD) that, for
numerous reasons, the normal support for DoD requirements
could rapidly deteriorate. Crude oil shortages caused DoD's
historical supplier to prorate or completely cease deliveries
under existing contracts, and it became difficult for the
Defense Fuel Supply Center (DFSC) to secure replacement or
follow-on contracts for fuels. In order to sustain necessary
peacetime activities, the services were forced to dip into the
war reserves. The effect was a decrease in the wartime
sustainability of our forces until the war reserves were
reconstituted.
As a result of DoD "Supply Assurance" initiatives
prompted by the 1979 disruption, numerous policy options have
been developed to help the Office of the Secretary of Defense
(OSD) more effectively deal with future shortage situations. The key to avoiding the problems of 1973 and 1979 is early
identification of shortage situations and selection of
appropriate policy options designed to ensure a steady supply
of military fuels during energy emergencies.
The Petroleum Disruption Response System (PDRS) is a
decision support system designed to assist DFSC energy
analysts and planners in preparing recommendations for the
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (OASD) energy
policy staff on appropriate policy options to ensure adequate
petroleum supplies for the national defense.
This paper contains a conceptual model of PDRS that is
based on a network optimization distribution model. The model would optimize the resupply distribution network in terms of
minimum cost solution.
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