Humanitarian Logistics: Overlapping Humanitarian Logistics Roles and Attaining a Strategic Fit in Civil-military Relations

Humanitarian logistics is a complex science because actors are compelled to work with outmost speed in interrupted environments with unknown players. Even more complex are civil-military relations because as studies reveal, the differences between these two actors run deep. This work examines civil-military relations in the preparedness and response phase of humanitarian crises by developing a frame of reference, setting forth operational and theoretical definitions, examining overlapping supply chains, civil-military cooperation framework and proposing a working model. Data collection is based on two NGOs and a military task force, and this data analyzed vis-a-vis the frame of reference. From the analysis, some conclusions were drawn. First, a number of strategies are employed during the preparedness and response phase. Also, overlapping roles generate both positive and negative impact. Meanwhile, different organizational structures and funding outlay mean differences in how activities are coordinated and information shared. Lastly, cooperation, trust, information sharing and coordination are closely linked when finding a strategic fit among actors."