Combat loading and the Falklands task force

Why is combat loading important, and what happens when ships are not loaded that way?

Stores must be packed in reverse order of use; the Falklands task force had to reorganize loads at Ascension because critical items were inaccessible.

A ship packed for peacetime convenience can have urgently needed items buried beneath less important cargo. Combat loading therefore works in reverse: stores needed last go aboard first, and stores needed first go aboard last. During the Falklands deployment, the rush to sail left the task force badly arranged, so Royal Navy logisticians reorganized ships at Ascension Island before sending them south. A First World War example in the same answer shows how missing American rail-gun bolts and French metric replacements could complicate an expedition. These cases make loading order and compatible standards operational capabilities rather than minor administrative details.