Marine Corps Commandant Wants to Prioritize AI Use in Logistics

The highest ranking U.S. Marine Corps officer wants emerging artificial intelligence capabilities to focus mainly on solving logistics challenges. Gen. David Berger, the Corps’ commandant, told an audience during the recent Sea-Air-Space conference that logistics is both an area of extreme importance in a potential future war and one where AI can be particularly helpful.

Military planners today assume a potential war with Russia or China would involve logistics being targeted by adversaries in a bid to prevent the resupplying of U.S. troops. Marines on the front lines cannot fight without the ability to refuel vehicles or get more ammunition, Berger emphasized.

The four-star general said that using emerging technology to make more resilient resupplies and harden infrastructure would go a long way in preparing for any potential war. He said relying on the human mind alone to manage complex supply chains in a battle “is not going to work.”

Berger lamented the fact that much of the technology needed to assist military logisticians is already commercially available in the market today but not yet accessible to the Marines. The Corps is already testing 5G telecommunication tech in logistics centers to improve warehouse operations, FedScoop reported Thursday.

However, Berger envisions that the USMC will eventually expand the use of emerging technology in the delivery of supplies right on the future battlefield, not just to warehouses located inside bases. The commandant said he would rather have younger officers testing and evaluating new tools from industry since they grew up using such technology.

Meanwhile, FedScoop earlier reported that the USMC has also begun the construction of a new wargaming center that will use AI to test its capabilities against potential adversaries.