Resource selection in support of humanitarian operations: a case of the United States Navy

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a model for selecting specific assets to be used in relief and disaster response missions based on the capabilities of, and contributions to, the demanded need for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. During past disasters, the US Navy (USN) has responded with whatever ships were in the area regardless of their contribution to the need. The authors use data from the USN that has been gathered in other studies as an illustration of how the model may be applied to allocate the most useful vessels at the lowest cost. Design/methodology/approach A simple optimization model is used that utilizes scored capabilities as well as the estimated costs associated with US Naval vessels that will allocate the most useful assets at the lowest economic cost. Findings The model selects the most effective assets while minimizing the estimated economic cost. The US Naval assets that contribute the most effective humanitarian assistance and disaster response capability at the lowest cost are amphibious ships, leased commercial vessels and ready reserve force cargo ships. Originality/value This research fills a critical gap in the literature as there is no research that takes into account national Navy capability and proposes a solution to find those assets that are most mission and cost effective. As the USN looks for ways to cut costs while meeting mission priorities it will be necessary to determine which ship classes and types contribute the most while saving cost. The model introduced in this research provides insight into where investments should be made to meet strategic goals.

Tradeoffs among Attributes of Resources in Humanitarian Operations: Evidence from United States Navy

“…Apte and Yoho (2017) further elaborate on the costs of the humanitarian operations, indicating that vertical lift is one of the most expensive capabilities for the USN. Combining the findings of these two articles, Apte and Yoho (2018) offer an optimization model that incorporates two of the attributes, capability and cost of USN ships. In this research, we push the research further to simultaneously incorporate capability, proximity to the disaster location, and cost.…”

Analysis of vertical lift capabilities of US Navy (USN) in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)

“…Most of the research used a "capability scoring system" to grade ship types in terms of capabilities and competencies to support HADR. Apte and Yoho (2018) and Apte et al (2020) confirmed these results, emphasizing that ships with vertical lift capabilities are far more valuable than the ones that do not have that capability, in the performance of HADR missions. Baker et al (2002), Salmeron and Apte (2010), Mogilevsky (2013), Burgos and McLean (2018) and Scott and Watson (2018) utilize optimization modeling to resolve issues in air-transportation of supplies to disaster-stricken areas.…”

“…Some of the literature finds out which ships in the Navy provide the most potential support to HADR and, perhaps more importantly, which ships do not (Kaczur et al, 2012;Apte et al, 2013Apte et al, , 2020Moffat, 2014;Apte and Yoho, 2018). Aurelio et al (2012) analyze the USN response to T ohoku earthquake in 2011.…”

“…In certain instances, USN has not necessarily responded strategically to humanitarian disasters (Apte et al, 2013(Apte et al, , 2020Apte and Yoho, 2018). The kneejerk reaction of USN to divert whatever vessel is in the vicinity of the affected area has resulted in high costs and marginal HADR.…”

“…The ship was unable to provide tangible relief to the devastated area, an example of a misplaced asset leading to underutilized capability (Apte et al, 2013). Apte and Yoho (2018), after researching capability and cost of the deployed ships found that, "amphibious, PM-2 and Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ships are the most capable ships to support humanitarian operations. On the other hand, Nuclear Carriers, Cruisers and Destroyers and Littoral Combat Ships are less desirable based upon their relative costs and capabilities.…”