| I had the privilege of being a reader on MAJ Jason | | | | which he found himself constantly surfing on waves of |
| Murphy's master's thesis from 2008, an inquiry into the | | | | change. In time he developed a feel for the flow, and |
| art and science of sustainment and sustainment | | | | an intuition for what might work, and an innate |
| education. Throughout his career, MAJ Murphy had | | | | appreciation for risk and risk management. |
| held every critical assignment you could want a tactical | | | | He came to CGSC and found more science than art |
| logistician to hold, and he did very well in them. He | | | | in our curriculum and decided to make a more formal |
| attended every school and then some, having earned | | | | study of the situation, powered by the memory of his |
| his Masters in Logistics Science in conjunction with his | | | | cognitive dissonance. Over the course of his year in |
| graduation from Logistics Executive Development | | | | SAMS he developed a number of insights into the |
| course. In short, he was as skilled int he science of | | | | relationship between art and science, comprising equal |
| logitics as you could reasonably hope based on his | | | | measures of tension, friction and mutual support. we've |
| education, experience and aptitude. | | | | taken his insights to heart and engaged in deep |
| Yet, when he found himself in Afghanistan, he quickly | | | | reflection into how to accommodate a balanced |
| discovered that the challenges he faced extended | | | | treatment of sustainment as both art and science, |
| immediately beyond the boundaries of pure science | | | | working within the iron constraints of curriculum. This is |
| and calculation. In order to make things work at the | | | | work still in progress, and a work that ought to always |
| operational level, he had to navigate the uncharted | | | | be in progress, and in conjunction with other Army |
| waters of the art of sustainment, incorporating the | | | | schools on our left and right, informed by the needs as |
| richly nuanced human dimension. He found that | | | | reported by field commanders and our students upon |
| success usually came from an artful application of | | | | arrival. Adapting is like systems thinking: once you start, |
| solutions tailored to a dynamic chaotic situation, one in | | | | you never stop. |