The Sustainment Battle Staff & Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) Guide

About the Book

Since 2004, the US Army has started a revolution of reorganization and doctrine development throughout its Combat, Combat Support and especially Combat Service Support “logistics” organizations, known as “Transformation.”

In the logistics or “Sustainment” arena, the Army’s concept towards supporting other units has changed from the old “out-stockpile” the enemy concept towards a system used by modern civilian distributors – “Just-In-Time” sustainment, leaving planning and synchronizing throughput of commodities and support to the customer with little margin of error. To successfully accomplish this, Sustainment planners must thoroughly understand the Military Decision Making Process or “MDMP” for short.

Conducting a Sustainment oriented MDMP is essential in integrating the Sustainment War Fighting Functional Area into the unit’s plan and for ensuring a synchronized and supportable course of action. Successful integration is a result of having the right personnel, available tools, correct MDMP methodology, and synchronized timeline throughout the process. If this guide can assist logistics’ planners in accomplishing this process, then it has accomplished its intent and mission.

About the Author

Colonel John M Menter was commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant in Armor through the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Program and assigned to an Armored Cavalry Regiment following completion of his bachelors degree in Civil Engineering & History from the California Polytechnic University – Pomona, CA in 1979. He is also a graduate of the US Army War College Defense Strategic Studies Course, the US Army Command and General Staff College, the Armor Officer Basic & Advance Course, Quartermaster Officer Advance Course and the Army’s Medical Officer Qualification Course.  His civilian education also includes a Doctorate in History as well a Masters Degree in Logistics, and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of La Verne. In 2005, he qualified as a Certified Logistics Professional (CLP) through the Institute of Logistics Management. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Order of Saint Martin from the US Army Association of Quartermasters and the Honorable Order of Saint Christopher from the US Army Transportation Corps Regimental Association.

Dr. Menter has served in a variety of tours world-wide in both armor and combat service support positions from company up to Division level. He retired after 25 years from active duty in April 2002, and is now working for General Dynamics Information Technology as the Distributive Battle Simulation Program (DBSP) Warfighter Functional Area Team Chief, with his specific focus on training sustainment type units. In the time since, he has conducted dozens of classes and seminars for the U.S. Army combat and sustainment units in the Military Decision Making Process as well as Unit Command Post Exercise simulations to galvanize the process to its completion. It is here where he gained the knowledge and experience to develop the ideas and procedures for a Modular Transformation Sustainment Battlestaff MDMP guide. He currently resides in Columbus, Indiana with his wife, Jeanette.