Introduction
Logistics, human resources, financial management, and medical care are all aspects of national tactical sustainment for the army that must be maintained until the mission or national aim is achieved (Department of the Army, 2019). Providing logistics enables the execution of the planned movements to support the army. Logistics comprises all the elements of military operations, which deal with development and design; acquiring, storing, moving, distributing, maintaining, and disposing of the materials: acquiring and constructing; maintaining operations and disposing facilities; and acquiring and furnishing services. The logistics elements of the army constitute transport, maintenance, field services, supply, general engineering, operational contract support, and distribution.
Discussion
Financial management uses economic power and fiscal policy through the various levels of military operations. Financial management entails resource management and finance operations. Personnel services refer to sustainment functions that man the military to maintain the readiness of families and soldiers, facilitate the fighting qualities of the force, and promote the ethical and moral values of the country. Services offered by employees include those in the fields of religion, law, human resources, coordinating, scheduling, and operations support (Department of the Army, 2020). Health service support protects critical capabilities arranged and provided by the army medical; department to conserve, improve, promote, and restore the physical and behavioral well-being of the army personnel. Health service support includes hospitalization, medical treatment, casualty care, neuropsychiatric treatment for behavioral health, dental health, medical logistics, medical evacuation, treatment of radiological, chemical, and biological patients, and clinical laboratory services.
Strategic national sustainment has eight significant principles, which include the following. Responsiveness, integration, survivability, continuity, simplicity, anticipation, improvisation, and economy. Integration refers to the combination of every sustainment factor in the operations to ensure the unity of the efforts in command (Department of the Army, 2019). Integration requires deliberate synchronization and coordination of sustainment within the army at all levels of operations. The military integrates sustainment with multinational and joint operations to reinforce the effect of each service component and maximize the complementary resources. The anticipation principle refers to the capacity to foresee the requirements of the operations and take the necessary action that is deemed most appropriate to satisfy a response without waiting for fragmentary orders. Anticipation is built by professional judgment from knowledge, experience, intuition, intelligence, and military education. The staff and commanders must comprehend and visualize future operations and identify the appropriate support.
The principle of responsiveness means the capacity to react to changing needs and respond to meet the requirements to maintain support. Responsiveness means providing necessary support at the right time and place. Having an army that is both prepared and able to work together implies that the needs of operations can be anticipated. Responsiveness entails identifying, accumulating, and maintaining adequate resources, capabilities, and information to meet rapidly changing needs (Department of the Army, 2019). Simplicity is associated with the procedures and processes that minimize the complexity of sustainment. Confusion is created by too complex, unneeded processes, whereas clarity and consistency are gained by keeping things simple. It ensures efficiency in resource utilization and facilitates adequate support for the army. Economy means sustaining resources efficiently to enable commanders to employ assets to the most significant effect possible. The economy principle is attained through prioritization, discipline, efficient management, and allocation of resources. It is achieved by eliminating redundancies and working on joint interdiscrepancies.
Survivability is all factors that simultaneously protect weapons, supply, and personnel and deceive the enemy. Survivability constitutes the capability and quality of the military forces to avoid and withstand harsh conditions and hostile environments to retain the capacity to fulfill the primary mission. Continuity means providing sustainment uninterruptedly at all levels of a national objective. Continuity is attained by a system of focused and integrated networks associated with the sustainment of operations. Continuity is attained through strategic and tactical distribution and ensures confidence in sustainment because it allows the commander’s freedom of operational reach, action, and endurance. Improvisation means adapting to sustainment operations in unanticipated circumstances that may affect a mission. It entails arranging, creating, and fabricating resources to meet sustainment requirements. Improvisation may entail creating methods to adapt to changes in operational needs.
Sustainment operations of the United States Army support the sustainment operations of the joint forces land competent commander under the joint and army doctrine. The doctrine clearly explains how the army may exercise command and delineates clear command to support relationships. The sustainment headquarters are usually expected to spearhead sustainment with no apparent relationship in command. It discharges mission command of sustainment units with authority over the units under its task organization. The mission command of sustainment operations is in charge of sustainment and guides all sustainment operations according to the priorities of sustainment formulated by the combatant commander.
During joint operations, the mission command of sustainment may consider various stages of joint operations that require sustainment. In a combined mission, the combatant commanders are the logistical control. However, they must delegate authority to the senior sustainer on the ground. The combatant commander’s authority is reserved to ensure the unity of all the sustainment units. Nevertheless, all units of sustainment are under the combatant commander in the directive authority for logistics regardless of the service or organization of sustainment, and they follow the priorities established by the commander. The combatant commander may delegate the headquarters of senior logistics of a subordinate service to be the joint command for logistics. The expeditionary sustainment command is normally designed to accomplish the responsibility with the powers to synchronize, plan, and execute sustainment according to the sustainment priorities of the combatant commander.
Tactical-level logistics operations are composed of six logistic functions: fueling, arming, manning, moving the force, fixing, and sustaining the soldiers. The tactical level of sustainment operations includes personnel services, field and health services, and quality of life. The tactical level sustenance of operations is meant to sustain the welfare and morale of the soldiers. The personnel services include legal, public affairs, chaplain activities, finance support, and postal services. The army doctrine recognizes the stress in combat, and the chaplain plays an important role. The chaplain counsels the commander and their staff on morals and religion. Morale supports battle fatigue and enhances the cohesion of the unit. Legal services are provided to advise the commander on matters related to national and internal laws. Finance support gives the limit that can be disbursed to soldiers according to the tactical situation, while medical support provides basic surgical capabilities.
Conclusion
The United States sustenance is facilitated for the joint forces land component commander. It supports tactical-level sustenance operations by providing personnel services, health services support, financial management, and logistics. The eight sustainment principles ensure that sustainment efforts are achieved in tactical operations. They include continuity, Responsiveness, integration, survivability, simplicity, anticipation, improvisation, and economy. Sustenance is important because it allows the army to fulfill its mission while meeting its needs in defending the country.
References
Department of the Army. (2019). This We’ll Defend. Joint Publication 4-0 Joint Logistics. Web.
Department of the Army. (2019). Fm 4-0 Sustainment Operations Headquarters, Department of The Army. Web.
Department of the Army. (2020). ATP 4-90 Brigade Support Battalion Headquarters, Department of the Army. Web.
Department Of the Army. (2019). ADP 4-0 SUSTAINMENT HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY. Web.