LESSON 1
PRINCIPLES OF AND ORGANIZATION FOR ARMY MEDICAL LOGISTICS
Section I. INTRODUCTION
1-1.
GENERAL
Once an organization has been established, assigned a mission, and
given the funds and men to do the job, it then needs the materiel to successfully
accomplish the mission. In order to fulfill the need for materiel, we must know the
methods to obtain it and the principles and procedures of controlling and maintaining
the materiel.
1-2.
PHILOSOPHY OF A MATERIEL SYSTEM
a. The philosophy of a materiel system centers on three main principles. The
system must be:
(1) Responsive. Any materiel system, military or civilian, must be
responsive. The system should respond to each demand placed upon it and provide
the right item to the right place at the right time. The ultimate objective of
responsiveness is to achieve a 100 percent customer satisfaction
(2) Economical. In addition to being responsive, the system must be
economical. By being economical, the system provides high quality materiel at
minimum cost. If a materiel system is not economical, it cannot exist for any period of
time.
(3) Manageable. Finally, a materiel system must be manageable all levels
of the scalar, or ladder-like, structure--integrated and interrelated, vertically and
horizontally.
b. A weakness in anyone of the principles of response, economy, or
management will have a corresponding effect on the other two. During this instruction,
we will see how the military materiel system of today meets and upholds these
principles.
1-3.
MEDICAL SUPPLY--A SEPARATE SYSTEM
a. The Army Medical Department (AMEDD) adheres to the three basic supply
principles already mentioned and, at the same time, operates a medical materiel system
separate from that used for other commodities. By that, we mean medical supply
officers manage, control, and supervise the issuance of medical materiel worldwide.
The awareness of and the sympathetic feeling of the AMEDD supply personnel towards
the needs of doctors, nurses, and other professional personnel to ensure a responsive
medical materiel supply system.
MD0029
1-2