Combat Service Support Guide

By John E. Edwards

Packed with logistics data, tables, and operational methods for CSS at the tactical level. Includes automated logistics planning tools, complete references, glossary, and Internet directory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Release date: Sep 9, 2004
• ISBN: 9780811749428

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PART I

Operational Concepts

1

Combat Service Support (CSS) Tactical Organizations

CSS leaders must operate and react rapidly, effectively, and continually in the tactical environment of forward positions. They must approach their mission with the same aggressive execution as the combat arms in the assault. Their planning must be accurate and complete, and their response must be immediate and decisive. Their plans, procedures, decisions, and soldiers must have the flexibility to adapt to rapidly and constantly changing situations. This professional application of management and leadership skills is the result of carefully employed CSS concepts.

BATTLEFIELD ORGANIZATIONS

An army is a dynamic and continuously evolving combination of personnel and equipment bound together in units for the common purpose of delivering decisive military power as directed by the executive authority of government. As such, it is always in a condition of transition between current organizations and systems and the conceptual organizational designs of the future. The architecture of these systems is driven by the missions they are expected to perform, the technology of the equipment available, and the training of the soldiers who serve in their ranks. In recent years the structure of military formations has moved from the massive mountains of men and materiel of the old heavy divisions toward more flexible, faster-moving, harder-hitting, leaner, and more streamlined structures. As this evolution continues each successive concept for tactical formations has required matching development and redesign of the combat service support formations maintaining and sustaining their combat power.

The Corps

The U.S. Army utilizes a building block concept to enable it to tailor its forces to effectively meet the demands of each mission. The smallest formation capable of operating independently in this concept is the corps, which is composed of a headquarters that is capable of commanding and controlling as many as nine divisions, a corps artillery, corps engineers, a signal brigade, and a corps support command (COSCOM). The COSCOM has no set organization but is specifically designed and developed to support the corps to which it is assigned. Any number of CSS units can be assigned to the COSCOM to meet the needs of the combat and combat support units that it must sustain. The primary tactical organization within the corps is the division.

The Division

Currently two basic types of combat divisions operate in the U.S. Army of the twenty-first century.

Army of Excellence (AOE) Division

The AOE division, designed in the last two decades of the twentieth century, is still the current structure for many of the divisions in the U.S. Army. This division structure has proven to be a flexible, fast-moving formation that has been deployed effectively and conducted major combat operations in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. It has also been used in several military operations other than war (MOOTW), such as those conducted in Bosnia and Kosovo and the ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. An AOE division consists of a division base capable of commanding and supporting as many as nine subordinate brigades, although the most common configuration includes three brigades, plus brigade-size supporting artillery and aviation.

The division base includes a division support command (DISCOM) comprising a headquarters, a materiel management center, and a main support battalion (MSB). These units can provide support to the division base and coordinate the support of subordinate brigades. A forward support battalion (FSB), under the command of the DISCOM commander, is assigned to support a specific brigade. As that brigade moves on the battlefield, the FSB moves with it. If the brigade is transferred, the FSB accompanies it and is subsequently assigned to the command of the new DISCOM. As the situation demands, each of these CSS units can carry the materiel resources and service capabilities to sustain the tactical units.

Force XXI Division

The second division concept is the Force XXI division, which launches the U.S. Army into the realm of twenty-first-century technology. The smaller tactical units of this division possess more lethality, quicker mobility, and real time situational awareness on the digitized battlefield. Situational awareness presents a complete, common, relevant picture of the battlefield, enabling every commander to quickly mass forces to defeat larger, but less technologically advanced enemies. A division base capable of administering the needs of up to nine brigades is still the central theme, but Force XXI units move more quickly and are far more flexible in their response than AOE units. Since this division will encounter not only conventional linear warfare but the more common modern situation of nonlinear operations, the assigned CSS units must match this flexibility and speed of response.

The capability of CSS organizations to project, receive, and support the tactical forces will directly affect the effectiveness of future military operations. To provide the resources to maintain the fast operational tempo, the new CSS units must be lean and unencumbered. They must move from a supply-based support system to an advanced distribution-based structure, which combines situational awareness capabilities with efficient delivery systems to form a continuous pipeline from the factory to the foxhole.

Multifunctional, modular units in direct support of the combat and combat support units form the cornerstone of this concept. A DISCOM containing an MSB and a headquarters remains in effect and each assigned brigade is supported by a FSB, but the units within these battalions will be modular, mobile, and multifunctional. The functions of the personnel service support (PSS) units such as manning, religious, legal, command information, funding, and resource management support are still handled by specialized units within the battalions and the DISCOM base units.

The Interim Brigade Combat Team

The frequency of MOOTW missions and contingency operations as the twentieth century drew to a close initiated efforts to develop a smaller, faster-moving, more easily deployed formation. These efforts produced the Interim Brigade Combat Team (IBCT). This unit has been designed for employment in small scale contingency operations in complex and urban terrain, confronting low- and mid-range threats.

This fast-moving, hard-hitting force is supported internally by a Brigade Support Battalion (BSB). This small and compact CSS unit can sustain the IBCT for up to 72 hours without augmentation. To continue operations beyond that point the BSB will require support from external sources, which could be either from echelons above the Brigade (EAB), host nation sources, or contracted resources. The BSB is designed to perform distribution-based, centralized CSS functions in accordance with Force XXI CSS concepts. Its effectiveness depends on the employment of the latest advances in CSS command and control (C2), enhanced CSS situational understanding (SU), and the exploitation of all available resources through joint, multinational, host nation, or contract sources. The BSB commander is the IBCT commander’s primary logistics operator. The BSB staff manages its CSS operations through an array of digital information systems and other technologies.

CSS STAFF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Logisticians will often find themselves at a loss to determine the responsibilities of each staff position in the logistics chain. This section identifies several logistic positions and their responsibilities. Because all staff officers, including the operations officer, operate as supporting elements, the section will discuss first the primary staff positions and then more specific logistic roles and positions.

Chief of Staff/Executive Officer

The executive officer is responsible for the coordination of all staff actions. The alternate name for this position, chief of staff, describes the primary function of this position. Executive officers complete the following actions:

• Formulate and announce staff operating procedures.

• Ensure the commander and staff are informed on matters affecting the command.

• Represent the commander when authorized.

• Ensure the commander’s decisions are implemented.

• Maintain master policy file.

• Ensure liaison is established and maintained.

• Require all staff officers, unless instructed otherwise by the commander, to inform the executive officer of recommendations or information they give directly to the commander or instructions they receive directly from the commander.

Assistant Chief of Staff/G1/S1

The G1/S1 is the principal officer for matters concerning human resources and has these responsibilities:

• Preparation of administrative plans, orders, and estimates.

• Maintenance of unit strengths.

• Replacement policies and requirements.

• Soldier support services.

• Safety and accident prevention.

• Discipline, law, and order.

• Headquarters management.

• Administrative support for other personnel, such as enemy prisoners of war, augmentees, and so forth.

Assistant Chief of Staff/G2/S2

The G2/S2 is the principal staff officer for military intelligence matters. The G2/S2 is responsible for these activities:

• Production of intelligence:

— Recommending priority intelligence requirements and information requirements.

— Identifying requirements for target acquisition, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

— Requesting, receiving, and processing information from other intelligence elements; processing information into intelligence.

— Supervising and coordinating the command’s intelligence collection/target acquisition activities.

— Conducting intelligence preparation of the battlefield.

— Disseminating information.

• Counterintelligence.

• Intelligence training.

Assistant Chief of Staff/G3/S3

The G3/S3 is the principal staff officer for operations, organization, and training and performs these responsibilities:

• Recommends priorities for critical resources for the command, such as ammunition basic loads, allocation of nuclear and chemical ammunition, required supply needs, need for unit replacements, and so forth.

• Maintains a current operations estimate of the situation.

• Prepares operational plans and orders.

• Develops and maintains the troop basis.

• Estimates numbers and types of units to be organized and equipped.

• Assigns, attaches, and detaches units, detachments, or teams.

• Receives units, detachments, or teams, and orients, trains, and reorganizes them.

• Processes the Army authorization documents system reports and submits modified or recommended changes to tables of organization and equipment (TOEs).

• Conducts training:

— Identifies training requirements based on combat and garrison missions and training status of the unit.

— Ensures that training requirements for combat rest on conditions and standards of combat, not on administrative convenience.

— Prepares and carries out training programs, directives, and orders, and plans and conducts field exercises.

— Determines requirements for and allocation of training aids and facilities, including ammunition for training.

— Organizes and conducts schools.

— Plans and conducts training inspections and tests.

— Compiles training records and reports.

— Maintains the unit readiness status of each unit in the command.

— Plans the budget for training and monitors the use of training funds.

• Exercises staff supervision over psychological operations (PSYOPS).

• Incorporates electronic warfare into operational plans.

• Identifies the command’s operations security (OPSEC) and OPSEC support needs.

Assistant Chief of Staff/G4/S4

The G4/S4 is the principal staff officer for logistics and is responsible for these activities:

• Supply requirements, requisitions, procurement, storage, distribution, accountability, and security.

• Maintenance, including monitoring and analyzing status, determining requirements, and recommending maintenance priorities.

• Transportation.

• Services, including facilities and installations, real estate, real property, food service, fire protection, and personal services.

Assistant Chief of Staff(ACofS)/G5/S5

The ACofS/G5/S5 is the principal staff officer for the commander in all matters pertaining to civilian effects on military operations and the political, economic, and social effects of military operations on civilian personnel in the area of operations.

DIVISION MATERIEL MANAGEMENT CENTER (DMMC)

DMMCs control, plan, and manage the logistics operations within the AOE division. In the Force XXI division, these functions are conducted by the support operations office of the DISCOM headquarters. Automation and digital situational awareness of the tactical and strategic logistics support system have streamlined management elements. The basic functions that are described in the following paragraphs remain essential to effective support, but the more modern units use technology and improved information processing capabilities to replace the management personnel that were previously required.

Materiel management centers exist at levels of command from the separate brigade upward. This chapter, however, will discuss only the DMMC because it is typical of all materiel management centers in its functions and vital to the efficient operation of the division.

A DMMC provides materiel management for weapon systems, controls maintenance priorities, and coordinates and controls supply functions to meet the operational needs of its division. The center extends its management influence through liaison with the supporting and supported units organic to the division.

In its role of management support, a DMMC:

• Advises DISCOM commander and staff on management of supply and maintenance operations.

• Prepares or reviews and approves detailed plans and policies for the operation of distribution points, quick-service supply operations, direct exchange operations, self-service supply center operations, central issue facilities, and other supply and maintenance operations; coordinates this approval with, and in accordance with guidance received from, the DISCOM commander.

• Establishes coordination channels with higher echelon materiel management centers and takes action required in relation to evacuation of materiel, provision of backup support, emergency requirements, and technical assistance.

• Provides continuous evaluation, in coordination with assigned CSS units, of supply and maintenance workload/capabilities of supported units.

• Develops and monitors authorized stockage lists of supplies and equipment maintained by CSS units. Appropriate management elements of the materiel management center are responsible for the authorized stockage lists within their assigned classes of supply.

• Assists CSS units, upon request, in the discharge of their responsibilities as they relate to supply and maintenance operations.

• Prepares and distributes directives concerning materiel management procedures when authorized by the DISCOM commander. Makes direct contact with support operators on such matters as receipts, material release orders, inventories, input data for reports, and preparation and submission of requests. Although DISCOM headquarters retains authority for command directives relating to operational matters, the DMMC refers command and logistics directives relating to division operations external to the support command to the division G4. Implements all directives through the normal chain of command.

• Places requirements on the division movement control center (DMCC) for transportation to support materiel missions.

• Provides for the receipt and processing of requisitions from CSS units’ activities.

• Develops and controls operational readiness float lists for selected equipment stored and maintained in CSS units.

• Coordinates with CSS units for processing equipment before issue.

• Performs stock control (automated and manual) for items managed (the accountable officers are in the DMMC).

• Provides quality control for physical inventory and reconciliations of stock records.

• Provides catalog and technical document reference services.

• Maintains, with automated data processing (ADP) support, the Army equipment status reporting data.

• Maintains automated records on classes II, III (packaged), IV, and IX supplies.

• Assists the division G4 in developing plans for purchasing and contracting service relating to supplies and services.

• Provides maintenance management information for maintenance units.

• Coordinates with the division G4 and the DISCOM commander on all matters pertaining to the internal supply and maintenance support for the division.

• Routinely publishes technical directives and information for the division commander.

Within the DMMC the following personnel actually coordinate and manage the CSS efforts of the division.

Division Materiel Management Officer (DMMO)

Within the Force XXI division, the DMMO is replaced by the support operations officer (SPO) of the DISCOM headquarters. This officer uses a reduced staff and enhanced automated management systems to perform the same functions. This modern technology in conjunction with improved data transfer and communications systems allows the support operations officer to maintain a greatly expanded logistic situational awareness from the front lines to echelons above division (EAD) levels.

The DMMO plans, directs, and supervises all center operations. The DMMO implements DISCOM managerial policies and prescribes procedures and mission performance standards in concurrence with appropriate interpretation of higher echelon policies. It is the DMMO’s responsibility to ensure the completion of required recurring reports concerning center operations and the logistic system status of the division. The DMMO coordinates the interface between the divisional and supporting nondivisional CSS units and assists the supported units in using the services of the support units. The DMMO is a primary advisor to the DISCOM commander and through the DISCOM commander to the division commander on the logistic status of the division.

General Supply Officer (GSO)

These duties and functions are controlled and coordinated by several managers within the support operations section of the Force XXI DISCOM headquarters. Many of the stocks within the division support units in AOE divisions are actually maintained in EAD support units where they can quickly be called forward on the digitized battlefield. The management person nel previously needed to maintain these stocks are thus no longer required.

In supervising the class I, II, III, IV, VI, and VII management elements of the DMMC, the GSO exercises manual stock control over all the supply assets of the division in these classes, including water and class VI free issue supplies. It is the GSO’s responsibility to monitor division requirements in each commodity that he or she manages and determine appropriate basic load quantities. The GSO advises and coordinates with the divisional support units to receive, store, and distribute supplies to requesting units. In the case of controlled or scarce resources, the GSO advises the DMMO and the DISCOM commander on indicated allocation quantities to each unit and also develops contingency plans and load data to prevent critical shortages at times of great demand. The GSO also coordinates the turn-in of all major items of equipment.

Division Ammunition Officer (DAO)

The DAO serves as the chief of the class V section of the DMMC in the AOE division. In the Force XXI division, the DAO is assigned to the support operations office of the DISCOM headquarters. The DAO represents the DISCOM commander in all matters concerning ammunition and ammunition supply operations. This officer assists the G3 and the G4 in establishing required supply rates (RSRs) and checks the RSRs against the established controlled supply rates (CSRs) established by higher headquarters. The DAO’s section provides ammunition expenditure data to the division for planning and management purposes. The DAO computes and develops basic load data for the division based on weapon density and supervises and directs the ammunition transfer points (ATPs) to maintain those basic load quantities while providing adequate support to the combat units.

Division Property Book Officer

The SPO in the Force XXI DISCOM headquarters is responsible for the administration of the primary property documentation in the division. Within the support operations office under his supervision is a property book team. This team coordinates and manages the class VII transactions and operations within the division and fulfills all the functions of the property book officer in the AOE division.

The property book officer supervises and controls the property book and assets accounting section of division materiel management centers. This officer ensures that the authorized property of the division is accounted for and further ensures that all units are equipped in accordance with their assigned TOE. The property book officer manages the hand receipt accounts for the division’s units, as well as procedures for requesting and turn-in of organization and installation property. The property book branch also processes reports of survey, statements of charges, and similar documents for the adjustment of accountable property.

Division Maintenance Management Officer

In the Force XXI division, the division maintenance management officer is assigned to the support operations office of the DISCOM headquarters. Although this maintenance management office is physically smaller than the maintenance management section of the DMMC of the AOE division, it is capable of fulfilling the same functions through the digitized technology of the division’s automated management system. The division maintenance management officer, therefore, serves the same role as is described in the next paragraph for his AOE division counterpart.

The division maintenance management officer supervises and controls the efforts of the DMMC’s maintenance management section, the primary centralized management center for the overall maintenance system within the division. This officer assists the units of the division in planning, reporting, compiling, and interpreting maintenance data to provide the basis for sound management decisions about both organizational and direct support functions. The maintenance management officer has staff supervision of the maintenance reporting system in the division, identifying trends and problem areas and recommending support actions to correct systemic problems. He or she monitors the readiness of critical weapons systems and critical equipment and compiles the division’s reported materiel readiness analysis. This officer assists all levels of command in the formulation of policies and procedures concerning maintenance operations and develops support concepts and plans for tactical operations. He or she also coordinates maintenance support plans with both the supported and the supporting units and assists them in executing effective maintenance operations.

Division Class IX Officer