What does it take to deliver weapons into a war zone?

What does it take to deliver weapons into a war zone?

Ukraine has been receiving a stream of weapons from the United States and NATO for the past several weeks. Like the goods that come to your door, these weapons have to go through a supply chain.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The Pentagon says some initial shipments of weapons from the U.S. have reached Ukraine. They're part of an $800 million package of aid approved by the Biden administration. But what does it take to deliver weapons into a war zone? From NPR's daily economics podcast The Indicator¹, Adrian Ma and Stacey Vanek Smith explain how the process compares to supply chains for online retailers³, like Amazon or Walmart, with much, much higher stakes.

STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE⁴: When Vince Castillo was in Iraq doing combat logistics patrols, he says his responsibility was basically figuring out how to get the right stuff in the right quantity to the right place at the right time.

VINCE CASTILLO: I was an infantry⁵ officer. But I guess that was the first time in my career where I started dabbling⁶ in logistics.

VANEK SMITH: He went on to become a logistics professor at the Ohio State University, where he studies things like online retail².

ADRIAN MA, BYLINE: Vince says the e-commerce supply chain provides a rough analogy for understanding how weapons are making their way into Ukraine. He says you can basically think about it as having three stages. In logistics lingo⁷, these are called the first mile, the middle mile and the last mile.

VANEK SMITH: So first up, the first mile. This is where stuff is being transported from a supplier to a manufacturer. Second up, the middle mile. This involves moving goods from the manufacturer to a distribution point, like a warehouse⁸. And from there, No. 3, the final mile. This is where products go from that warehouse to the customer.

MA: So for the first mile of this military supply chain, Vince says think of the military itself as the supplier of weapons.

CASTILLO: Whether it's machine guns, rifles, body armor, anti-air Stinger missiles, the U.S. has stocks of weapons all over Europe.

VANEK SMITH: One of these weapons is called a Javelin⁹.

MA: It kind of looks like a bazooka because you hoist¹⁰ it on your shoulder.

VANEK SMITH: Except the Javelin fires a heat-seeking missile. They can take out a tank. And the U.S. has committed thousands of these Javelins¹¹ to Ukraine. And Vince says these weapons were probably flown in bulk from somewhere in Europe to military bases of NATO members, countries along Ukraine's western border - places like Poland and Romania. And when they arrive at these places, that first mile part of the journey is complete.

MA: Next comes the middle mile. And for this leg of the journey, Vince says that shipment of Javelins is likely crossing the border by ground, making its way to Ukrainian cities near the fighting.

CASTILLO: Any information about the timing¹² and location of shipments - it's all going to be classified to the maximum extent possible.

VANEK SMITH: When Vince was in Iraq, he says the shipments he escorted were these miles-long caravans¹³ of vehicles.

CASTILLO: Convoys¹⁴ that were comprised of anywhere from 20 up to maybe 50 or even 60 big-rig trucks.

VANEK SMITH: In other words, a huge target for Russian tanks, planes and helicopters.

CASTILLO: So ideally, you want to break it down into smaller shipments. Smaller convoys are a little bit more agile¹⁵. And if there's more of them, it can be like a game of whack¹⁶-a-mole for Russia, and it can be harder to deal with.

VANEK SMITH: And if you want to protect your supply chain, you have to be able to whack back if you need to. Vince says this can be done by positioning armed soldiers along a route, soldiers who have Javelins of their own or Stinger missiles or other weapons.

MA: Of course, avoiding a firefight can also be good. And to that end, soldiers moving weapons can do a number of things to try and mask their movements.

CASTILLO: Things like taking different routes, ferrying the times at which you're traveling - most of these convoys will likely be moving at night. And there's going to be fewer civilians¹⁷ on the road at night. So any movements would be less likely to expose civilians to being attacked as well.

VANEK SMITH: And so back to our hypothetical supply chain of Javelins. Let's say it has now made it safely to that middle-mile city in Ukraine. The journey is not over yet. This cargo¹⁸ still has to complete the final mile of our supply chain.

CASTILLO: That final mile in the military combat zone is where the goods are going to reach the soldiers who are actually going to be using them. This process is usually one of the most precarious¹⁹ because that's where you're closest to active combat.

VANEK SMITH: Big shipments get broken down into smaller ones. And then intelligence is used to decide what goes where.

MA: So there you go - the three-step journey of a Javelin missile. And that, hypothetically speaking, is how weapons are delivered into a war zone. But as this conflict drags on, there is a lingering question - will it be enough? Or to put it in logistics terms, will enough of the right equipment get to the right place into the right hands in time?

VANEK SMITH: Stacey Vanek Smith.

MA: Adrian Ma, NPR News.

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1 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

6 dabbling   

v.涉猎( dabble的现在分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资

参考例句：

• She swims twice a week and has been dabbling in weight training. 她一周游两次泳，偶尔还练习一下举重。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boy is dabbling his hand in the water. 这孩子正用手玩水。 来自辞典例句

7 lingo   

n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语

参考例句：

• If you live abroad it helps to know the local lingo.住在国外，学一点当地的语言自有好处。
• Don't use all that technical lingo try and explain in plain English.别尽用那种专门术语，用普通的词语解释吧。

8 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

9 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

10 hoist   

n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起

参考例句：

• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。
• Hoist the Chinese flag on the flagpole,please!请在旗杆上升起中国国旗！

11 javelins   

n.标枪( javelin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwing javelins just before the clash. 在正面交火之前，庞大的兵团会整体向前移动并投掷标枪。 来自互联网
• Elite mercenaries, originally from Aragon, armed with javelins and light armour. 加泰罗尼亚标枪兵为精锐雇佣部队，最初来自阿拉贡，装备标枪和轻甲。 来自互联网

12 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

13 caravans   

（可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队）

参考例句：

• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。

14 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

15 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

16 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。

17 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

18 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

19 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。