Trilateral Naval Logistics Dialogue Focuses on Sustainment

Ms. Elizabeth Nashold (Acting Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Installations and Logistics, OPNAV N4), Rear Adm. Mike Carl (Director Logistics Division, OPNAV N4L), Rear Adm. Harunobu Kinoshita (Director General of Logistics Department, Maritime Staff Office, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF)), Rear Adm. Hidehiko Yoshii (Surgeon General & Director of Medicine, JMSDF), and Commodore Catherine Rhodes (Director General Logistics, Royal Australian Navy (RAN)) and members of their staffs discussed these and related topics during a flag-level principals summit at the Pentagon on 17 Sept.

"The U.S. Navy is analyzing lessons learned from recent and ongoing conflicts and applying them across all the vectors of maritime sustainment," said Rear Adm. Carl. "We will share those lessons with Japan and Australia and continue seeking new ways to collaborate."

The principals summit is a follow-on to the logistics agreement signed by all three navies in July 2025 just prior to the kickoff of Talisman-Sabre. The agreement established a trilateral Naval Logistics Working Group (NLWG) that meets multiple times per year and actively pursues sustainment initiatives. To date, NLWG members have facilitated the transfer and real-time 3D printing of repair parts, supported the evaluation of bolt-on cradle systems to enable expeditionary reload of vertical launch systems (VLS) on partner surface vessels, integrated logistics cells into wargames, and shared data on innovative methods for refueling and repair.

The principals agreed to have the working group expand information sharing on wargames, exercises, and key conferences planned for the coming year. Other areas for further work include contingency planning for sustainment, as well as policy alignment and technical demonstrations for advanced manufacturing, medical logistics, unmanned systems, and contracting methods for transfer of fuel, food, repair parts, and medical equipment.

Commodore Rhodes pledged to continue RAN support for these efforts, and to ensure that RAN personnel are familiar with mechanisms such as Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreements (ACSA) that can streamline the transfer of logistics commodities between navies. "We need junior officers to pressure-test them and prove they can work, so they'll be ready to use them when the need arises."

During the week, the RAN team participated in a tour of the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group (NAVELSG) in Williamsburg, Va., where U.S. Navy personnel are trained to reload missile systems on afloat platforms. They also visited advanced manufacturing facilities, expeditionary energy labs, and other research and development activities at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock and received briefings at the Office of Naval Research on logistics-related programs.

The JMSDF team also participated in an unmanned maritime systems conference in Arlington, where Rear. Adm. Kinoshita delivered a speech on the future of unmanned and distributed logistics with ally and partner nations.

"Logistics in the future is not only transportation, but also about synchronizing capabilities and sustaining adaptation," said Rear Adm. Kinoshita. "Success or failure will depend on the coordination mechanisms prepared in peacetime."

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