The word "logistics" derives from the Greek root logos, which at its simplest means "word," and at its most complex and philosophical (thanks to Heraclitus, sometime before 475 BCE) is that which establishes and governs the fundamental order of the cosmos. In other words, logistics can and should be viewed as "that which underpins and ties the universe together" (S. R. James, 1983). While the fundamental root is Greek, another root at least for the "modern" practice of logistics could well be the French word logistique, which itself was derived from loger, quarters for troops. In the 18 ^th Century, the marischal logis was responsible for encamping and quartering the French Army (perhaps the first documented quartermaster). Logistics was first used in the United States in the 19 ^th Century, when Rear Admiral Alfred T. Mahan, a naval strategist, introduced the word into the US Navy's lexicon.