The nature of a particular disaster or emergency determines the form of response and the mix of military or non-military commitment. Whatever the balance between military and non-military involvement, logistical support and replenishment of supplies form crucial aspects of the stabilisation process. This paper examines the processes involved in emergency relief and highlights the relationships between the participating bodies. A generic portrayal of emergency response was initially proposed by Jennings et al. (Emergency relief logistics: a disaster response model, Occasional Paper No. 64, Cardiff University, 2000) and discussed further by Beresford et al. (Emergency relief logistics: a disaster response model, in Proceedings of the Logistics Research Network Conference, 2002, pp. 121–128). This paper presents recent research that proposes a refined model for logistics requirements in emergency conditions, taking account of existing response models, both military and non-military, and of results from field research conducted partially under sponsorship by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. The composite model proposed here, which incorporates Jennings et al. 's model as well as the military/non-military dimension, appears to be robust and workable in a range of geopolitical and operational circumstances.