Proposed Unit of Action/Unit of Employment,
X Doctrinal Concept of Support

CPT Jeremy D. Smith

     The Army’s divisions cannot easily break into smaller units. The Army needs a new, modular organization that can be tailored to fight across the full spectrum of military operations. Another requirement is to develop a force pool of units available to deploy in support of any contingency. All these units must be self-contained and mission-oriented. These units need the capability of rapidly unplugging from their garrison command and control, rapidly deploying and then rapidly plugging into a parent organization task-organized for the mission. In short, the Army needs to reorganize its structure and how it accomplishes its missions.

     In October 2003, the Chief of Staff, Army (CSA) directed the commanding general of the 3d Infantry Division to reorganize his division into four or five brigade-sized combat elements with greater unit integration of combat arms, combat support and CSS units. The intent was to create a modular "brigade-based" Army that will be more responsive to the needs of regional combatant commanders, better employ joint military forces, facilitate force packaging and rapid deployment, and deploy self-contained units capable of full spectrum operations. The approved "Marne Plan" for the 3d Infantry Division called for a division headquarters with four similar maneuver brigades, one aviation brigade, division artillery and a division support brigade. Meanwhile, the US Army Training and Doctrine Command was tasked to develop the concept of task force modularity as one of the CSA’s areas of immediate focus.

     The 24th CSG’s proposed reorganization into an LSG called for the conversion of the 260th and 559th Quartermaster Battalions into multifunctional, modular LTFs to better support the 3d Infantry Division and the Army’s overall transformation goals. A key lesson learned during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan was that functional battalion headquarters cannot serve as multifunctional LTFs without additional personnel and equipment.

     The 260th and 559th Quartermaster Battalions regularly execute multifunctional missions in garrison. They also executed multifunctional missions during recent deployments to Southwest Asia. However, without the authorization to be a multifunctional headquarters, these battalion headquarters continuously face turmoil as they prepare to execute missions. A similar lesson learned during Operation Iraqi Freedom was that creating new task organizations during a combat operation is overly risky.

     These two lessons drove the 24th CSG’s reorganization efforts. Each LTF would have a multifunctional staff. The 24th CSG would retain its functional supply, maintenance and transportation company headquarters. However, the functional teams, sections and platoons would be redistributed as modules between companies and battalions so all would have similar capabilities. Separate general supply (GS) and maintenance supply support activities (SSAs) would be consolidated in the Quartermaster DS supply companies. Petroleum supply companies would be reorganized from two platoons of three squads each to three platoons of two squads each, similar to the organization of transportation platoons. These reorganized platoons would be redistributed as modules to other companies and battalions. Transportation assets would be diversified to provide task-organized companies with separate Palletized Load System (PLS), stake and platform (S&P) and petroleum platoons.

     This proposal, as presented at the CSS Logistics Transformation Conference at Fort Lee, VA, in February 2004, created three LTFs. Each LTF has modular capabilities to support up to three similar, reorganized maneuver brigades in the 3d Infantry Division or two similar maneuver brigades and the aviation brigade. This proposal addressed the themes of the conference and task force modularity. Figure 2 shows the 24th CSG’s proposed redesign.

     Figure 3 is an example of the task organization for one of the new multifunctional LTFs. The 260th LTF’s task organization for upcoming Rotation 04-10 of the Mission Readiness Exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, LA, in support of the 3d Infantry Division illustrates how to create multifunctional companies and battalions by redistributing functional teams, sections and platoons from different units from different locations. The 559th LTF successfully tested a similar task organization during Rotation 04-07 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, CA.

     By February 2004, the 3d Infantry Division’s reorganization and task force modularity merged. Brigade-sized units are now called Units of Action (UA). There are two types of UA: maneuver UA and support UA. Maneuver UA consist of integrated combat arms, combat support and CSS units. Support UA specialize in the following tasks: protection, aviation, sustainment, reconnaissance and surveillance, and fires. Division-sized units are now referred to as Units of Employment, X (UEx). The UEx headquarters plans future operations for any number of maneuver and support UA and may serve as a joint task force headquarters with augmentation of personnel from the US Marines, Air Force or Navy.

     A new organization, called the Sustain UA, replaces the DISCOM and the forward CSG that traditionally operated in the division area. The Sustain UA commander and staff are now solely responsible for providing support to all units operating in the UEx area of operations. The Sustain UA assumes DISCOM’s mission to support UA and UEx units and assumes the CSG’s mission to support any non-UA and non-UEx units operating in the UEx area. The Sustain UA consists of a headquarters, the FSBs and any number of CSS battalions task-organized to support the mission. These task-organized CSS battalions are similar to the 24th CSG’s proposed LTFs. The Sustain UA headquarters has a robust support operations section with distribution and materiel management, contracting, aviation and medical planning. The Sustain UA headquarters also has signal and medical companies and a component repair platoon to help it manage its new, expanded mission.

     The FSC provides DS to the combat arms battalion, but the FSC is assigned to the FSB that habitually supports the UA. CSS capabilities migrating from the combat arms battalion’s headquarters, headquarters company (HHC) form the nucleus of the FSC. These capabilities include the support platoon, food service and organizational maintenance. The maintenance support team that the FSB traditionally aligns with the organizational maintenance becomes permanently assigned to the FSC. The support platoon receives additional personnel, equipment and transportation assets. The creation of FSCs consolidates the battalion’s support capabilities under a logistics captain, allowing the HHC commander to focus on combat tasks.

     Current LOGSTAT reporting for UA combat arms companies, troops and batteries is transparent and does not change. The only visible change for a combat arms unit is that the S4 (Logistics) is now authorized as a 90A logistics officer instead of a combat arms officer.

     Unit status continues to be reported through unit supply sections to the battalion S4. The battalion S4 continues to consolidate unit reports and sends the battalion’s report to the UA S4. The UA’s status is reported to the FSB support operations officer (SPO) before being forwarded to the Sustain UA SPO. The Sustain UA SPO consolidates all UA reports and sends the UEx report to the UEx G4 for visibility and the next higher unit for action. This echelon above UEx could be any one of the following: corps, theater, outside the United States (CONUS), another military service, an allied nation or the host nation.

     Current LOGSTAT reporting for non-UA and non-UEx units also does not change with reorganization. The CSBs or LTFs will continue to offer direct support to non-UA units operating in their areas and to offer reinforcing support to FSBs. External non-UA and non-UEx units report their status through their supply sections to the CSB/LTF SPO. The SPO consolidates reports and sends them to the Sustain UA SPO. The CSB or LTF units also send their status through their supply sections to the CSB/LTF SPO, who consolidates and reports to the Sustain UA SPO. The Sustain UA reports to the echelon above UEx and furnishes a copy of the report to the UEx G4 for visibility.

     The UEx headquarters LOGSTAT report should be sent to the brigade troops battalion (BTB) S4. The BTB S4 reports the UEx headquarter status directly to the Sustain UA SPO.

     Resupply above the UA level changes significantly without an MSB or division rear. Requirements flow culminates at the echelon above UEx organization. Based on strategic priorities, the theater distribution center located at any theater seaport, railhead or airport is responsible for pushing supplies forward to distribution hubs utilizing corps, theater or contracted assets.

     The non-FSB, CSS subordinate battalions of the Sustain UA are best organized to serve as area distribution hubs responsible for supporting both UA and non-UA units operating within its area. These battalions, organized similar to traditional CSBs, have SSAs that regularly receive, store and issue supplies to divisional and nondivisional units, Special Operations Forces and other military services during deployments. The support operations offices for these battalions also maintain the expertise for planning, managing and executing the CSS missions of water production, water distribution, food storage and shipment, fuel testing and distribution, field services, mortuary affairs, transportation and maintenance. These battalions also maintain the flexibility to rapidly weigh support throughout their areas of operations based on the commander’s guidance.

     Although the FSB may also serve as a distribution hub, the mission will always be secondary to the FSB’s primary mission of supporting the FSCs and the UA. FSBs are neither equipped nor staffed to support a distribution mission in support of non-UA units. FSBs are organized to plan, supply and reinforce the FSCs. Assuming an additional mission to serve as a distribution hub would greatly tax the FSB’s resources. FSBs may serve as distribution hubs under limited, specific conditions in new areas with relatively small support requirements until the Sustain UA begins support operations with a CSB or LTF.

     The theater distribution center would push supplies forward utilizing corps, theater or contracted assets to the various distribution hubs operated by the Sustain UA’s subordinate battalions. The theater distribution center may also push supplies directly to the FSB as a secondary option. The CSB/LTF is responsible for distributing supplies to any FSB and any non-UA, non-UEx unit operating in its area of operations. Based on the new UA MTOEs and unconstrained by geography, one CSB serving as a distribution hub could support up to three similar UAs.

     The UA combat arms Unit Level Logistics System-Ground (ULLS-G) computers transmit maintenance information to the Standard Army Maintenance System-1 (SAMS-1) computer located in the FSC in direct support of the maneuver battalion. Units in the BTB in direct support of the UA and the FSB transmit their maintenance information from their ULLS-G to the SAMS-1 located in the FSB field maintenance company. All UA units send ULLS-S4 and ULLS-G supply requisitions to the Standard Army Retail Supply System-1 (SARSS-1) computer located at the FSB’s SSA.

     The SAMS flow begins to simplify as information passes from SAMS-1 to SAMS-2. The FSC’s SAMS-1 connects to the SAMS-2 computer located with the FSB SPO maintenance officer. The field maintenance company’s SAMS-1 computer also sends data to the SAMS-2 in the FSB SPO. The DS maintenance company sends its information to the CSB/LTF SPO maintenance officer.

     The SARSS flow for divisional units changes. SARSS information previously sent to the division materiel management center SARSS-2A/D computer is passed from the SARSS-1 computer located in the support battalion SSAs to the SARSS-2A/C computer located at the Corps/Theater Automated Data Processing Service Center (CTAS) assigned to the divisional unit, following the same SARSS flow that nondivisional units already use. The UEx G4 and the Sustain UA SPO may still review unit SARSS information by utilizing a remote CTAS workstation.

     SAMS-2 flow remains largely unchanged. The SAMS-2 located with the FSB sends information to the Sustain UA SPO readiness officer, formerly the maintenance officer. The SAMS-2 located with the CSB/LTF also sends its information to the Sustain UA SPO readiness officer. SAMS-2 information then proceeds to the CTAS.