Chapter 114 - Logistics System Reform

“It’s a pity he can’t make it to this restructuring ceremony,” Thorpe said.

“He might not miss it,” Dongmen Chuiyu said, then realizing his words were a bit rash, he fell silent.

The others acted as if they hadn’t heard. He Ming pointed to the document in front of him and said to Thorpe, “The memorandum you wrote about the mobilization system is very good, very thorough. We are all very satisfied. As you wrote in the memorandum, besides materials and storage and transportation, the utilization of human resources such as reserve mobilization is the top priority! Many people only focus on that bit of material, but never think about how low our human resource utilization is.” He looked down at the chart in his hand and continued:

“The entire population of Hainan under our control is about to reach 30… 400,000, but we can only directly control over 100,000 people. Even in a core area like Lin’gao, apart from the various immigrant villages under our own communes, in the native villages, only the salt field villages and the eighteen villages where we control the village administration have directly controlled militia. The other militias are semi-detached from our control, like the clan soldiers of Huangjiazhai. Not to mention whether they are reliable, their combat skills are of little value to us. Only a part of the directly controlled militia has combat experience. In the second anti-encirclement campaign, the Battle of Chengmai, we could only deploy 5 army battalions and 1 marine battalion. Apart from the navy, there were no other strategic reserves—this is very dangerous. The industrial and agricultural departments treat their workers as precious treasures, and no one is willing to let them serve in active duty unless it’s a critical moment. Therefore, the top priority is to coordinate the mobilization of human resources, establish a complete reserve and militia system, and quickly form local garrison troops to free the field army from daily garrison duties and lay the foundation for future expansion.”

“Also, the resource mobilization system in newly occupied areas must be implemented. The current ‘reasonable burden’ in newly occupied areas is too crude and not conducive to mobilizing a large amount of materials,” Chen Haiyang added, handing Thorpe a document. “This is the approval from the Executive Committee and the Joint Operations Command for you to establish a strategic reserve of grain and fodder. Find some time to work out a plan with the comrades from the Planning Department, the Agriculture Department, and the Ministry of Colonies and Trade and implement it immediately.”

On April 30th, the Fubo Army Joint Conference was held in the Ma’niao Fort Army Auditorium. In front of the auditorium hung the army and navy flags of the Fubo Army, officially named the Star and Fist Red Flag, but privately called the “Iron Fist, Exploding Chrysanthemum, and Great Bleeding Flag.” The double-headed eagle emblem of the Fubo Army was also displayed. The auditorium was crowded with people. Besides the army and navy officers of the Fubo Army, there were also a large number of personnel from the industrial group, but there were few Elders. Most were technical backbones among the Guihua. The Executive Committee intended for the Guihua technical personnel to be the main force this time, with the Elders only responsible for supervision and guidance.

Dongmen Chuiyu sat on the rostrum, looking at the people below. The Guihua officers were all sitting very upright, their leather belts creaking. The Elders, on the other hand, were more casual, whispering to each other.

“Comrades, Rear Admiral Chen Haiyang, People’s Commissar of the Navy; Major General He Ming, People’s Commissar of the Army; Comrade Dongmen Chuiyu, Executive Secretary of the General Staff,” a serious-looking young army second lieutenant said loudly as he walked in from a side door at the back of the auditorium, then turned and saluted. Chen Haiyang, He Ming, and Dongmen Chuiyu walked in briskly. The officers and technicians quickly stood up and saluted.

“Please be seated, comrades,” Chen Haiyang said, sitting down in the middle of the rostrum and waving for everyone to sit. Dongmen Chuiyu, as the secretary of the General Staff, sat to his left, and He Ming sat to his right.

Dongmen Chuiyu waited for the auditorium to quiet down, then stood up first to greet Chen Haiyang and He Ming, and then said, “We will now begin the meeting. The meeting memorandum has been distributed to everyone. Please open it.”

There was nothing new in the content of the meeting. The officers and technical personnel present had more or less learned enough classified information. Today’s meeting was mainly for a situation report and, more importantly, for changes in organization and departments.

“First, with the approval of the Executive Committee, the General Military Affairs Department is abolished. The original logistics command is abolished, and a joint logistics headquarters is established to be responsible for the procurement, transportation, storage, and security of logistics materials and equipment for the army and navy,” Dongmen Chuiyu said, reading the document aloud after everyone had opened it.

“The order is as follows: from May 1, 1631, the allocation of all materials for the Fubo Army will be the responsibility of the Joint Logistics Headquarters. The main transport vehicles and logistics supply troops in the army will be under the dual command of their direct subordinate units and the Joint Logistics Headquarters. All civilian and colonial trade department transport vehicles requisitioned in the war zone will automatically be under the command of the Joint Logistics Headquarters.”

This new team was a great improvement over the previous logistics command, which was operated by two Elders and a few staff officers. First of all, the organization was perfected.

The so-called perfecting the organization meant expanding the personnel establishment. The new version of the Joint Logistics Headquarters had four bureaus. Because the army was small and there were not enough high-ranking officers, it seemed inappropriate for a group of lieutenants and captains to occupy positions equivalent to the heads of the bureaus under the four headquarters, so it was decided to call them “groups” for the time being.

Personnel and Materials Group (Bureau): Responsible for the mobilization, distribution, and allocation of reserve personnel and various materials, and for coordinating public relief matters with the civil affairs department.

Material and Equipment Procurement Group (Bureau): Responsible for the design, production, inspection, procurement, and storage of equipment and materials; and responsible for jointly handling the requisition, procurement, and seizure of civilian materials with the civil affairs department.

Sea and Land Transportation Group (Bureau): Responsible for the design, production, inspection, and procurement of logistics transport vehicles; taking over and coordinating the use of army and navy transport vehicles; responsible for requisitioning civilian and colonial trade department transport vehicles (including civilian laborers) in the war zone, and for the planning and management of transport routes and cargo flow.

Logistics Internal Security Group (Bureau): Responsible for the internal security of logistics storage and transportation. In wartime, with the approval of the Joint Operations Command, it can directly mobilize combat troops.

After announcing the establishment, as usual, came the personnel appointment orders:

“With the approval of the Executive Committee and the Organization Department, it is appointed: Major Hong Huangnan as the head of the Joint Logistics Headquarters! Major Thorpe as the deputy head of the Joint Logistics Headquarters.”

Amidst warm applause, Thorpe received the unit flag, appointment letter, and the commander’s sword from Chen Haiyang. Since Hong Huangnan was not present, Thorpe received his set of paraphernalia on his behalf.

“Do a good job. From now on, you will be the great steward of our Fubo Army,” Chen Haiyang said, patting Thorpe’s shoulder. “Planning is important, but execution is more important. We look forward to your performance.”

Thorpe silently saluted Chen Haiyang and the several big shots of the Fubo Army on the rostrum, then turned and saluted everyone in the auditorium, which was met with another wave of thunderous applause.

“Second, with the approval of the Executive Committee, the Fubo Army’s reserve mobilization system is established as follows: the reserve mobilization system is composed of three parts: the militia, the National Guard (Army), and the Coast Guard (Navy). The militia is a non-full-time mass armed organization that, under the command of the Council of Elders and the Fubo Army, undertakes combat readiness duties, defensive combat tasks, and assists in maintaining social order. The militia is the main source of reserves for the Fubo Army, the National Guard, and the Coast Guard. The National Guard and the Coast Guard are army and navy units composed of retired Fubo Army personnel, full-time professional personnel, and part-time personnel. Their main responsibilities are, under the command of the Council of Elders and the Fubo Army, to undertake the security and defense of their respective regions, maintain social stability, and participate in emergency rescue and disaster relief. The National Guard and the Coast Guard are also the main sources of reserves for the Fubo Army. The Fubo Army can mobilize National Guard and Coast Guard units to the war zone for rotation and combat participation, with a rotation period of 9 months.”

The composition of the reserve force was also a focus of debate among the Elders. There was no objection to the establishment of a system composed of a militia and a National Guard similar to the armed police + reserve force of the old world. However, many Elders proposed the establishment of reserve forces for various professional branches, on the grounds that professional branches such as artillery and engineers were highly specialized and ordinary reserve personnel could not handle them. Opponents cited the example of the German army in World War II, where there was a severe shortage of manpower, while the reserves of the navy and air force were idle. They also believed that Lin’gao’s current human resources could not support so many different establishments at the same time. The final compromise was that the reserve force system was temporarily abolished, and the various units of the Fubo Army established their own support troops (garrisons), while the establishment and composition of the National Guard would be aligned with that of the Fubo Army.

Since the navy was unwilling to share the name “National Guard” with the army and did not like the idea of a “Maritime National Guard,” it was finally decided that the navy’s National Guard would be called the “Coast Guard.”

The Coast Guard was a long-existing branch—but for a long time, the Coast Guard had been nothing more than a nameplate and a lone commander, Gao Xiaosong. After this military system adjustment, it would be formally established as an independent service.

The National Guard and the Coast Guard were still under the command and operational guidance of the army and navy respectively. However, in the future, they would each become independent services.

“Third, the proposal for the standardization of transport containers and vehicles, jointly submitted by the Joint Logistics Headquarters and the Ministry of Colonies and Trade, has been approved by the Council of Elders, the Executive Committee, and the Joint Operations Command, and will be implemented from today. For specific regulations, please refer to Annex B of the meeting memorandum.”

Although Wu Nanhai joked that he was taking away people’s jobs, Thorpe still insisted on his own opinion, strongly demanding the standardization of packaging sizes and all spatial dimensions related to the flow of goods to improve logistics efficiency. This involved all goods packaging containers and vehicles, including the cargo space dimensions of railway wagons, heavy vehicles, and ships, and even the design dimensions of warehouses and cargo stacking areas. This immediately caused a lot of complaints from the Elders in the industrial group—it meant that all existing specifications and drawings had to be modified, and it would also increase the consumption of materials.