Defense & Aerospace Report Defense & Aerospace Technology Report [Jan 28, 25] Brig. Gen. “Geoff” Kent on Sustaining & Supporting in Highly Contested Conflicts
Jan 28, 2026
Brig. Gen. James “Geoff” Kent, a seasoned Army sustainment and logistics leader, discusses contested logistics and regional sustainment frameworks in Europe. He covers fabricating parts forward and autonomous delivery. He talks about treating sustainment as a weapon system, building redundancy and alternate hubs, and integrating AI, wargaming, and civil‑military partnerships for resilient support.
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Fabricate Forward And Use Autonomous Delivery
- Do deploy "factory in the foxhole" capabilities so units can fabricate parts forward and shorten sustainment legs.
- Do invest in autonomous land, sea, and air delivery and assured logistics C2 to enable distribution under contest.
Operating In The Open Can Be Deterrence
- If logistics are transparent, forces must learn to operate in the open and use sustainment as deterrence.
- Kent proposes creating a complex "spider web" of caches and options to increase survivability.
Preposition Regionally, Tailor To Partners
- Do assess NATO partners' preparedness and preposition tailored stocks regionally rather than relying on massive centralized depots.
- Do design readiness tools that measure each nation's sustainment posture against Article 4/5 requirements.