in Times of War: Lessons Learned
from Gaza’s Trident Pier
FEATURED PAPER
By Prof. Dr. M. F. HARAKE
CEREGE Research Laboratory
University of Poitiers
Poitiers, France
Abstract
The aim of this study is to examine the project management process of the U.S. military’s floating pier that was intended to provide humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict since October 2023. The purpose of this research is to present a summary of the project management procedure for an obscure military capability known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS), which transports soldiers, vehicles, and equipment worldwide for military and humanitarian operations. Moreover, it seeks to gain insight into how this process can offer options to enhance mission effectiveness and efficiency to support guaranteed mobility, freedom of movement, and delivery of assistance in volatile and inaccessible areas. Additionally, it seeks to clarify how a complex project costing 320 million U.S. dollars, with a two-months lifespan, providing supplies equal to only a few days of aid, and now decommissioned before its intended completion, has become a representation of great project failure.
Key Words: Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore; Humanitarian Aid; Project Failure; Warzone.
1. Introduction
1.1 Context
Since the outbreak the 2023 Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there were major humanitarian challenges in getting aid to the deprived people in Gaza. It should be noted that before the war, less than 500 aid trucks were entering Gaza daily, while the enclave’s Border and Crossing Authority spokesperson suggests that 1,000-1,500 trucks were necessary to address the existing humanitarian need (Kahn, 2024). In May 2024, the UN World Food Program (WFP) cautioned that humanitarian efforts were on the verge of collapsing (WFP, 2024a); while in June 2024, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, declared that most individuals in Gaza relied entirely on humanitarian aid (EU Commission, 2024a).
As the war progressed, the logistics of delivering aid became increasingly challenging, posing obstacles for the few remaining humanitarian organizations carrying out their missions. These constraints have led to numerous serious humanitarian emergencies with devastating outcomes such as famine, diseases outbreaks, and more (WHO, 2024).
1.2 The Proposed Floating Pier Project
Within the context of the international community’s response to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the U.S. military proposed the creation of the ‘’Floating Pier’’ project, a floating dock designed to provide aid to the concerned and deprived community. The project was suggested right before the State of the Union Address on March 7, 2024, by President Joe Biden of the United States (White House, 2024).
The ‘’Floating Pier’’, also known as the ‘’Trident’’, was built by the U.S. military on ships near the Gaza Strip and linked to the shore with a causeway to bring maritime aid cargo to Gaza. The point of unloading connects to the Netzarim Corridor. The distribution of aid was to be mainly carried out by the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations (UN) (Martinez, 2024).
It was expected that the pier would provide an average of 150 trucks of aid daily (Baldor et al., 2024a). Nevertheless, despite numerous obstacles and issues such as the need to dismantle it thrice due to rough sea conditions, the pier had been in operation for 20 days and distributed 8,800 tons of aid when it was officially closed on July 17, 2024 (Britzky & Bertrand, 2024).
1.3 The Purpose of this Paper
The purpose of this paper is to examine the project management process of the U.S. military’s ‘’Floating Pier’’ project in Gaza. The study intends to review this relatively unknown or misunderstood military operation known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) and both how and why it was used in a humanitarian context. Furthermore, the research will decrypt the dynamic of the ‘’Trident’’ project deployed in the Gaza strip while reviewing its various steps and processes. Finally, the paper, will outline the various challenges and setbacks that led to its failure (from a project management perspective) after a two-months functional (more-or-less) lifespan which prevented it from attaining its intended project objectives in terms of aid delivery…
More…
To read entire paper, click here
How to cite this paper: Harake, M. F. (2024). Joint Logistics Over the Shore in Times of War: Lessons Learned from Gaza’s Trident Pier. PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/pmwj145-Sep2024-Harake-Joint-Logistics-Over-the-Shore-Lessons-from-Gaza-Trident-Pier.pdf
About the Author
Prof. Dr. M. F. HARAKE
Poitiers, France
Prof. Dr. M. F. HARAKE is a management Professor based in France. He is currently affiliated with CEREGE Research Laboratory at the University of Poitiers (France), and a visiting research fellow at CABMR Research Center (Paris – France). He is also an Honorary Academic Advisor and Research Scholar for the PM Library (Texas – USA). His research interests include Post-Conflict Public Management, Crisis and Urgent Operations Management, Humanitarian Logistics, and Project Management in Unstable Environments.
He can be contacted at mohamed.fadl.harake@univ-poitiers.fr
To view other works by Prof. Harake, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/mohamad-fadl-harake/
