The Human Side of Logistics with Retired Lt General Leo Kosinski
In Episode 26, Kevin Sampels sits down with retired Lieutenant General Leo Kosinski, currently Chief Strategy Officer and General Manager at ASI. In his role, Kosinski leads the company’s strategic efforts in Japan and across the broader Indo-Pacific, leveraging more than three decades of senior leadership experience in defense integration, regional security, and the U.S.–Japan alliance. In this conversation, they engage in a wide-ranging talk about his career in military logistics, leadership, aviation, and working with allies and partners around the world.
Foundations in Leadership
Kosinski shares how growing up in Japan as the son of a Marine Corps pilot shaped the way he viewed culture, relationships, and military operations. His career took him from the cockpit of the T-38 and C-17 to senior leadership positions, including serving as Director of Logistics for the Joint Staff. Along the way, he learned that logistics is about much more than moving people and equipment. It depends on relationships, trust, communication, preparation, and a real understanding of the people and organizations involved.
Building Trust Across Multinational Coalitions
He talks about lessons from working with multinational forces, including an experience in France where a communications problem turned out to be a cultural and language issue. He also discusses helping build a 12-nation strategic airlift capability in Hungary and what it takes to bring different countries, organizations, and ways of thinking together around a common mission.
navigating Supply Chain Risk in a Contested Era
The conversation also looks at how logistics has changed through COVID, the war in Ukraine, operations in Africa, and the growing challenge of contested logistics. Kosinski explains why military leaders need to look deeper into their supply chains, understand where critical parts and raw materials come from, and recognize that supply chain risk goes well beyond the prime contractor.
balancing Artificial Intelligence with Human Judgment
Kosinski and Sampels also discuss artificial intelligence, decision-making, and the importance of using new technology while understanding its limitations. For Kosinski, technology can help, but it does not replace experience, judgment, relationships, or trust.
Japanese Principles of Duty and Multinational Interoperability
The episode closes with a look at the Japanese values of giri, on, and gimu and how they influenced Kosinski's approach to service and relationships throughout his career—principles that continue to inform his leadership at ASI today. He also discusses his ongoing academic work on multinational defense integration and interoperability.
At its core, this is a conversation about the human side of logistics and the lessons that come from a lifetime of working across cultures, organizations, and military services.
