DescriptionMission critical logistics focuses on the application of cutting edge project and supply chain management techniques to solve problems involving truncated timelines, where failure to meet such a timeline results in a substantial loss to business or mission effectiveness. This dissertation studies two exemplary topics in mission critical logistics – Game Transportation and Naval Logistics. First, we explore transportation planning and scheduling for a real world, one-time mega sporting event, the Special Olympics 2014 USA Games. The Games were hosted in New Jersey where over 4,000 athletes and coaches competed in 16 sports spread out across 10 locations within a 40-mile radius. We designed timely, convenient, and reliable bus routes and schedules for thousands of people with intellectual disabilities to attend games and special events over eight days under a budget of $600K. We solved this transportation problem using a three-phase approach. Phase 1 optimizes the number and routes of shuttle-loops and buses required to efficiently transport athletes and coaches to competition venues using the enumeration method. Phase 2 sees the integration of the athletes proposed travel habits and a more focused volume estimation model detailed in hourly variations instead of a daily volume total. Finally, Phase 3 solves the shuttle-bus problem by developing a set of direct easy-to-follow routes. Secondly, we diagnose a complex logistics network by analyzing historical data of a destroyer fleet for the US Navy. Naval logistics represents an important facet of mission critical logistics, as timing and inventory play a key role in the fulfillment of onboard parts while the ship is on deployment. A general problem that the US Navy has encountered is that critical parts, which make up part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, have the potential to either malfunction or breakdown during an operation. We will extend the mission critical logistics domain by analyzing the fulfillment process for 17 US Navy destroyer’s. We will also evaluate the current logistics fulfillment performance of the Defense Logistics Agency, who in this scenario is the distributor to the US Navy, and identify potential drivers behind the performance.