Logistics Matter: How The National Stock Number Works

It’s said that amateurs study tactics, but professionals study logistics. Sounds boring, huh? As a lifelong student of military history, I thought the same thing. My attitude changed when I began formally studying at the graduate level. I soon learned why Stonewall Jackson’s small army in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley made Robert E. Lee’s smashing victory in the 1862 Seven Days Battles possible. I also discovered why the 1918 German spring offensive ultimately failed, despite their new “Stormtroop” tactics blowing a 90-mile-wide hole in the British trench lines. The answers weren’t tactical. They were logistical. Let’s talk about how modern logistics work and where the National Stock Number comes into play.

Those are just two examples, but look deep enough at any war, any campaign, and you’ll find that logistics drive tactics and strategy. The most brilliant commander can’t do a thing if he doesn’t have the weapons, ammo, fuel, food, and other supplies that fighting men require. After all, if your tanks run out of gas, or your men run out of food, your campaign is done, no matter how relentlessly you’re driving the enemy.

You Need a System

Supplying an army effectively requires a sophisticated logistical system. It’s been a long time since armies could live off the land. And even William T. Sherman’s 1864 March to the Sea had some special logistically inspired circumstances allowing it to happen as it did. Sophistication requires organization, and higher organizational levels really require some kind of numerical system.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the most intricate military alliance in history. Even World War II’s Grand Alliance wasn’t as complex since there was no standardization of weapons, ammo, vehicles, parts, or general supplies. Even when the United States provided war materiel to the British and Soviets, those nations just absorbed those items into their existing systems. American aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and Red Air Force, for example, had different designations than their US counterparts.

Enter the NATO Stock Number (NSN), or National Stock Number as it’s called in the United States. NATO adopted the NSN in 1953 as an outgrowth of the US Federal Stock Number (FSN) developed after World War II. Interestingly, the United States used the FSN domestically until 1974, when it changed to the NSN, though the domestic system is, as noted, called the National Stock Number.

The NSN system allows standardization of supplies and equipment, or aligning analogous items, across the entire alliance. Many non-NATO countries use the NSN for simplicity’s sake when dealing with NATO members. Even the Russian Federation had some NSN designations until NATO cut ties after the 2014 Crimean invasion.

How the National Stock Number Works

Each NSN consists of a 13-digit stock number. A sample NSN, provided by the US Defense Logistics Agency, is 8415-01-530-2157. The number is read by breaking it down into two main parts: 

• The Federal Supply Classification (FSC) or National Supply Classification (NSC): The NSN’s first four numerals make up the FSC. The first two numerals identify a broad category of material. In our example, “84” represents clothing. The third and fourth numerals further refine the type of clothing. “8415” refers to special purpose clothing. The DLA doesn’t specify the type of special purpose clothing, so I used this NSN database to learn that NSN 8415-01-530-2157 refers to an elbow pad.
• The National Item Identification Number (NIIN): The remaining nine digits make up the NIIN. The first two numerals identify the nation assigning a specific item to the NSN system, meaning it’s also the country of final manufacture. In this case, 01 designates the United States. These two digits are called the Country Code (CC), representing each country’s National Codification Bureau (NCB). The NCB is each nation’s organization charged with maintaining the NATO Supply Class (NSC) database. The NIIN’s other seven numerals designate further details on a given item.

Knowing the NSNs for superior equipment choices is crucial: make note of ours!

Who Uses the NSN System?

All 32 NATO members use the NSN for obvious reasons. Each nation has a Country Code. The United States has two CCs (00 and 01), as well as nine others reserved for its use (02 through 10). These are for items originating in the US, for which other nations may have analogous items, such as 5.56×45 ammo.

NATO standard items are identified by the Country Code “11.” Other NATO countries have their own two-digit numeric designation. Furthermore, 33 non-NATO nations have Country Codes, making it easier to purchase NSN-designated items from NATO members. All these nations, including NATO members, are divided into three tiers:

• Tier 1 Nations: These countries have access to unclassified NSN data. This data is communicated via a one-way only process, and these nations do not participate in technical NSC management. Tier 1 nations are Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brunei, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Georgia, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Thailand.
• Tier 2 Nations: Tier 2-designated countries have a certified NSC-compliant codification system. They have access to a two-way data exchange. These nations are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Serbia, Singapore, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.
• Tier 3 Nation: Tier 3 nations are all NATO countries. These nations all enjoy full NCB membership. Iceland and Luxembourg, both NATO members, do not use their NCB codes (24 and 28, respectively). Iceland uses other nations’ codes, while Luxembourg uses Belgium’s code (13). I don’t know why.
• Other nations have, or had, 2-digit NCB codes, though they operate with special circumstances. Several nations, Ireland, for example, lack codes but maintain NCB connections via a liaison office.

What Does the National Stock Number System Include?

Everything. If the military uses an item or stocks it for any reason, that item will have an NSN. Don’t believe me? Well, check this out. NSN 9930-01-669-3752 is for a bath toy, specifically a rubber duck. Let’s break that down and look at why the NSN system might list a Duck, Toy, Rubber, 1 Each.

The FSC 9930 stands for “Memorials; Cemeterial and Mortuary Equipment and Supplies.” The NIIN makes it a US-listed item with a unique identifier. The NSN system doesn’t provide reasons for items being listed. But we can speculate that perhaps certain toys were requested as comforting aids for children whose parent may have died in service. 

Mastery of this system could make you a god in certain circles. Think Don Rickles’ character Crapgame in Kelly’s Heroes. If, by chance, you haven’t seen that World War II cinema classic, consider yourself grounded until you’ve rectified that colossal cultural faux pas.

NSN in the Future

We know the NSN will be used in the future thanks to the movie Aliens. The authorities, however, seem to have changed up the item codes by that time. Ellen Ripley’s badass M41A Pulse Rifle, with attached 30mm grenade launcher, is listed as NSN 3055-00-721-4790. But the FSC is wrong. The M41A’s FSC of 3055 indicates “Mechanical Power Transmission Equipment.” Currently, FSC 1005 identifies “Guns, through 30mm.”  So, it seems the Logistical Powers That Be will make changes at some point. The Country Code of “00” is correct for the United States Colonial Marine Corps.

Logistics Matter

To say that logistics win wars is not an overstatement. Efficient logistical systems place vital equipment in soldiers’ hands when and where they need it. You can be the most high-speed operator on the planet, but you still need your tools and the means to maintain them. The Germans didn’t stop General Patton’s dash across France in 1944. Lack of gasoline did.

The US outproduced Japan in terms of steel and coal by 13 to 1 in World War II. The munitions production gap was 10 to 1. But systems to move that production are critical. The US logistical system had 18 people supporting each frontline fighting man. Most other nations had about 8 people per soldier. Japan’s ratio was around 1 to 1. By mid-1944, logistically speaking, each American fighting man averaged four tons of war material supporting him. Each Japanese soldier averaged two pounds.

A multinational alliance like NATO requires the highest level of logistical sophistication. Most nations produce at least some of their requirements, while many items are standard across the entire organization. The NSN allows NATO logisticians to streamline those items into a workable system so that something like Bulgarian-produced M855 5.56 ammo is available for use by, say, the Dutch military. 

Without such a system, each nation would have to maintain its own logistical network, and Alliance-wide standardization would next to impossible. 32 separate logistical systems trying to supply a general European war would be a Charlie Foxtrot of the highest order. The system itself also encourages standardization since it incentivizes member nations to use similar, if not identical, equipment, thus easing the supply of parts, ammo, etc.

So yes, professionals do indeed study logistics. Don’t get me wrong, tactics do matter. But without the right equipment on hand, tactics are just unrealized ideas. The NSN system helps to ensure that those tacticians have what they need for their ideas to succeed.

Notes

1. Stonewall Jackson’s 17,000-man army threatened the Potomac River crossings by which supplies traveled to McClellan’s army on Virginia’s York Peninsula as it threatened Richmond. That threat kept Union General Irvin McDowell’s 40,000-man command close to Washington instead of moving south to join McClellan. McDowell’s absence left McClellan’s right flank “in the air,” which J.E.B Stuart found, forming the basis of Lee’s attack plan. Lee flanked McClellan, eventually kicking him off the Peninsula, saving Richmond and ending the Union’s best chance for victory until late 1864.
2. The German “Michael” Offensive of March 1918 employed the attackers’ new “Stormtroop” infiltration tactics, along with evolved artillery deployments, to break the British trench lines. The operation aimed restore mobility to the Western Front and take the French Channel Ports, cutting the British supply lines. Logistics again. 

The Germans blew a hole in the British lines some 90 miles wide and penetrated as far as 40 miles deep before the attack faltered. But why did it falter? The British were literally on the run. Logistics. 

The Germans lacked motorized transport and were therefore unable to supply their assault divisions as they moved further from their supply bases. They used men and horses to pack supplies forward. The further the attack elements moved, the more manpower was needed to supply them. This soon became untenable. The British, meanwhile, were falling back directly onto their bases of supply. The British got stronger as the Germans got weaker.

This situation directly impacted the German search for mobility between the World Wars, emphasizing the need for mobile logistical systems, which made World War II German armored doctrine possible.

1. Sherman’s march from Atlanta to Savannah, and then up through the Carolinas was not designed to take and hold territory. This allowed his army to forage, not having to worry about the land sustaining them after they took it. The ensuing damage to the local and overall Confederate economies was a deliberate move to break the South’s will to fight. Logistics inspired the entire campaign.

See what we mean when we say an NSN is important? And not just important, but the sort of quality and testing it represents?

Find all B5 Systems NSN information here.