Between the end of the Cold War and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sweden’s defence logistics resources have been reduced. This trend has also meant that logistics command and control at the operational level have been deprioritized in operational defence. As the defence of Sweden's territory becomes a priority again, this study aims to use logistics principles to understand how structural organization affects the management of operational logistics units. Using pattern matching analysis combined with thematic coding, it was possible to compare a theoretical realm with two observed realms, represented by centralized and decentralized command and control structures, at the Swedish operational logistics level. The results indicate that neither centralized nor decentralized models individually fully matched the theoretical pattern based on Kress's principles for effectively managing operational logistics resources. A synergistic application of both models is suggested to ensure optimal coordination of logistics resources.