Pentagon IG faults navy and army for inability to provide adequate resources and training for Gaza JLOTS

US forces employed JLOTS equipment, shown here, during the 2023 ‘Talisman Sabre' exercise in Australia. Readiness, capacity, and training issues hampered JLOTS in Gaza in 2024. (US Army)

The US Navy (USN) and US Army failed to “meet service-level standards for equipment and unit readiness” and to “organise, train, and equip their forces to meet common joint standards, known as joint mission essential tasks” in the services' attempt to execute Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) operations in Gaza, according to the Pentagon Inspector General (IG).

“The Department of Defense (DoD) JLOTS capability allows the DoD to deliver cargo in areas where fixed-port facilities are not available,” the IG noted in its report Evaluation of the DoD's capabilities to effectively carry out Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore operations and exercises, publicly released on6 May.

The IG also concluded the army and navy “JLOTS equipment was not interoperable and that planners at the geographic combatant commands did not fully consider mission-specific information requirements when developing their operational plans involving JLOTS”, the report said.

The IG cited two conditions that caused these issues – “The army and navy did not allocate sufficient maintenance, manning, training, and procurement resources to their JLOTS units, and USTRANSCOM [US Transportation Command] did not fully exercise its authority under DoD [regulations] to assist in establishing joint mission standards, interoperability requirements, and minimum planning elements for JLOTS operations and exercises”.

For more information about JLOTS problems in Gaza, please seePentagon nixes US Army logistics pier for Gaza aid .

The IG said, “The DoD faces potential challenges meeting JLOTS requirements in fast-paced, contested, or simultaneous regional or global operations.”