The world of the wasteland as presented in the 2015 movie “Mad Max: Fury Road” is brutal, unforgiving, and, most importantly, reliant on the shaky relations provided by the suppliers of critical logistics nodes.
It has been ten years now since the release of George Miller’s penultimate (so far!) and masterful addition to the “Mad Max” saga. As a military logistics professional and a former logistics advisor to the Afghan National Security Forces, the core concept of the film, one that the entire existence of life in the wasteland hinges on, was both immediate and striking to me.
Simply put: this movie puts military logistics right in the foreground as vital elements to the story.
Military logistics can be broken down into ten distinct “classes of supply,” but for the purpose of this movie, we are going to be focusing on three specifically: Class I (Subsistence), Class III (Fuel), and Class V (Ammunition). Additionally, it wouldn’t be a Mad Max movie without my favorite function of logistics: Transportation (Motor-T Marines represent!).
Now let’s break down exactly how “Mad Max: Fury Road” depicts these foundations.
Class I (Subsistence) – The Citadel
The Citadel, led by the nefarious and charismatic “Immortan Joe,” is the nexus for all food and water in this post-apocalyptic hellscape. As the gatekeeper for the very necessities of human life, Immortan Joe has a stranglehold on the peoples and economy of the wasteland.
We do not know to what extent or how deep the reservoirs of water run beneath the Citadel, but what we do know is that Immortan Joe controls the flow with an iron fist.
“Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence!” Joe proclaims from atop his balcony on one of the Citadel’s rock towers during a brief and ceremonial release of potable water to his thirsty citizens.
Immortan Joe recognizes that controlling the flow of water equals power in this world, and he wields this power with undeniable cruelty. While we are not shown any significant food production (other than the farming of “mother’s milk” by enslaved women in Immortan Joe’s protected spaces), we can assume that expanded lore would lead to some sort of food cultivation using the only available clean water portrayed in the movie.
With this incredible bargaining chip at his disposal, Immortan Joe is not only free to control his own populace at will, but also enter into trade negotiations with his allies at the “bullet farm” and “gas town.”
Class III (Fuel) – Gas Town
The next stop on our wasteland tour is the “Gas Town.” The epic convoy battles that have become a staple of the “Mad Max” franchise simply could not happen without the key ingredient of fuel, or “Guzzolene” as it is referred to within the movie. If Immortan Joe wants to extend his empire and defend against threats, he needs precious guzzolene.
The Gas Town is led by its mayor, the ominously named “People Eater.” Fittingly, the lore suggests that before he became a fuelmonger he was a banker. Surely the accounting skills he learned in this role suited him for controlling the production of Class III supplies in his refinery, surrounded by a moat of crude oil.
Class V (Ammunition) – The Bullet Farm
Closing out the logistics triangle of “Fury Road” is “The Bullet Farm.” Located within convoy distance of the Citadel, it provides the key function of security through ammunition production.
The plot of the movie depends on a distribution of labor across the wasteland whereby uneasy alliances between these logistics nodes provide for each others’ needs. In exchange for truckloads of mother’s milk, the bullet farmer provides Immortan Joe with the ordnance he needs to equip his army of “warboy” zealots who uphold Immortan Joe’s rule.
If you don’t think that maintaining large caches of arms and ammo is vital to survival in a world like this, then you clearly haven’t spent a day in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. As the Bullet Farmer himself proudly proclaims: “I am the scales of justice! Conductor of the choir of death!”
Ammo equals freedom of movement and security for the denizens of the wasteland; but its tight regulation also represents a control factor for the power brokers.
Military logistics are critical to survival
“Mad Max: Fury Road” depicts a dark vision of a society that’s been torn to shreds and forced to rebuild from the ashes. The most important lesson we can take away from this is that the foundations for a rebuilding world require extensive logistics capabilities. It’s not so different from the way economies of scale actually work in our own world, especially for expeditionary military logistics.
Although more crude and unrefined due to the unforgiving nature of their post-cataclysmic world, the logisticians of “Fury Road” have learned to sustain their forces in a manner consistent with how military strategists approach combat deployments.
Where am I going to get food and water? How am I refueling our vehicles? What type of ammo do I need to secure, and where am I getting it from? These are some of the first and most important questions that logistics planners need to figure out before any field operation or deployment. The operating environment, like “Mad Max: Fury Road,” is not always permissive. It’s often fraught with danger, hazards, and uneasy relationships with providers in order to sustain operations. Those who learn to master “the wasteland” will be well poised to succeed in any military operation.
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