‘Expeditionary Logistics and Southern African Operations’
‘Expeditionary Logistics and Southern African Operations’
Guest Editors: Evert Jordaan and Ron Ti
Following the SIGLA webinar on ‘Expeditionary Logistics and Southern African Operations: What Next for the South African Military?’ in 2024, this special issue will pay attention to the broad theme of Expeditionary Logistics and Southern African Operations, including topics that are relevant within the scope of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a sub-region. Given the existing papers from the webinar, this call for papers is specifically for potential authors outside Stellenbosch University.
The term ‘expeditionary logistics’ is generally applied to sustainment occurring far enough from a domestic support base to require sustainment over longer distances with increased time intervals. The South African military has a history of both past and recent involvement in unilateral interventions (e.g., Central African Republic) as well as multinational stabilisation operations in theatres such as Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These have all required sustainment through expeditionary logistics. Besides United Nations, African Union, and Southern African Development Community-based operations, the South African military has rarely been involved in operations further afield. Since logistic and financial capacity for expeditionary operations in the sub-region is limited, the optimal use of scarce resources to prepare forces and sustain them during operations is crucial. Thus, there is a need for research on operational and expeditionary logistics in Southern Africa in terms of case studies and a future perspective.
Armed forces have to keep current with technological developments on modern battlefields and the logistic implications. For example, the prominent and constant presence of unmanned platforms, increasingly weaponised, in current combat zones have made operational logistic facilities in previously ‘safe’ rear areas increasingly vulnerable to direct targeting. Joint support network arrangements consisting of operating bases, theatre logistic bases, and other aggregations of logistic facilities have been prominent in much of the African operational context. In the evolving threat environment, these logistic arrangements will need re-evaluation, particularly regarding the need to factor in key elements such as dispersal, concealment, electromagnetic signature management, disaggregation, command arrangements, and force protection.
In a constrained political environment where political will and perceived domestic support are critical enablers of any military operation, the effectiveness of medical personnel support may be a particular determinant of operational success in future African military operations, especially if casualties are anticipated. Strategic communication issues arising from medical support issues may be critical for future Southern African governments in retaining public support for prospective expeditionary operations.
The role of commercial firms in supporting expeditionary logistics has become a major component in the provision of contemporary expeditionary logistics. This has resulted in the widespread use of commercial firms to provide logistic capabilities such as strategic airlift, fuel services, camp real-life support services, and multi-modal transport. The question is how should Southern African militaries view the potential outsourcing of expeditionary logistics with reference to the risk of force protection and providing logistics in high-risk zones.
This special issue seeks to highlight research that examines whether SADC militaries, including the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), are fit-for-purpose over expeditionary distances in Africa. We are particularly interested in topics related to the following themes:
- Strategic logistics
- Expeditionary logistics in theory and practice
- Best practice for expeditionary logistics
- Commercial solutions for military logistics
- Best practice in approaches to market for contracted solutions: transparent processes for commercial tendering and defence contracting
- Medical support and expeditionary operations
- Lessons from recent/contemporary wars and armed conflicts (e.g., Russo-Ukraine War)
- Operational logistics and its influence on future deployments in Southern Africa
- Case studies within the context of Southern Africa
- Whether SADC militaries, in particular the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), are fit-for-purpose over expeditionary distances in Africa
If you are interested in proposing a paper on these or any other topic around expeditionary logistics in Southern Africa, please contact Dr Evert Jordaan (ejordaan@sun.ac.za) or Dr Ron Ti (ronald.ti@kcl.ac.uk).
Suggested Timeframe
January 2025 - Call for abstracts
10 February 2025 - Abstract submissions
14 February 2025 - Notification of acceptance of abstracts
19 February 2025 - Online workshop on draft articles
14 May 2025 - Submission of draft articles for internal peer review process (authors)
11 June 2025 - Submission of full articles and send out for double blind peer review
31 July 2025 - Return of peer reviewed articles
30 August 2025 - Submission of final versions of all articles
September to October 2025 - Language editing
November 2025 - Layout
December 2025 - Publication
Click here to download a copy of the Call for Papers and here for the Guidelines and Referencing Style for Articles, as well as here for the Guidelines on the use of AI and AI Tools.
