text: Chapter 7
  • Tempo.
  • Phasing and transitions.
  • Culmination.
  • Operational reach.
  • Basing.
  • Risk.
  7-16. Commanders, both maneuver and sustainment, must consider these elements in planning. With proper
  consideration, each element can be used to develop a concept of operations that synchronizes and integrates
  sustainment with the other warfighting functions. Examples of how this can be done are shown below:
  • Determine what sustainment capability is required and where it must be located in order to achieve
  the desired end state. Establish desired conditions such as required quantities of supplies or
  operational readiness rate.
  • Determine if sustainment should be considered a critical requirement for the operation. Identify the
  components of the sustainment support structure such as supply storage and distribution that are
  critical and could cause failure if destroyed. Apportion protection capabilities to the sustainment
  assets as required.
  • Analyze the effects of sustainment in allowing a commander to maintain combat power and reach
  decisive points. An example might consist of analyzing the CL III(B) and CL V status or
  maintenance and personnel status and determining if the status is adequate to reach the point.
  • Determine how sustainment affects both lines of operation and lines of effort. Ask if sustainment
  will impact the ability to reach and control a geographic objective. The same should be done for
  lines of effort. Commanders should analyze how sustainment affects fires, protection, and
  movement and maneuver. Furthermore, commanders should determine if sustainment support is a
  line of effort required to establish the desired end state.
  • Analyze how sustainment will affect the desired tempo of the operation and if sustainment will allow
  maneuver forces to maintain a higher tempo than the enemy. Understanding the status of CL III(B)
  is critical to controlling the tempo since fuel directly impacts movement and maneuver.
  Commanders must also ensure the maneuver tempo does not outpace the sustainment support.
  • Analyze the effect sustainment has on completing the current phase of an operation and transitioning
  to the next phase. The commander and staff should use sustainment estimates to determine if the
  support concept is achieving the desired results in terms of the operational objectives. Identify the
  changes to the plan and the specific support required to complete the phase.
  • Know the point at which the operation will culminate due to sustainment limitations or inadequate
  sustainment support. As an example, lack of personnel replacement might cause the operation to
  culminate sooner than planned. Sustainment commanders and staffs should be able to determine the
  culmination point and communicate it to the maneuver commander for consideration. This
  information can be used to plan a deliberate transition from offense to defense.
  • Know the culminating points for supply since the culmination point is normally the limit of a unit’s
  operational reach. Supply, maintenance, personnel replacements, and medical support all directly
  affect endurance and the ability to employ combat power for extended periods.
  • Consider what type of basing is required to execute sustainment support. See ATP 3-37.10 for more
  information on basing. This includes proper positioning, dispersion, security, and command and
  control required to control the bases.
  • Determine the amount of risk to accept when committing sustainment forces. Commanders must
  balance the risk with the potential favorable outcome. As an example, a commander might commit
  an entire fleet of tactical fuel vehicles to reach a decisive point in the operation but must accept the
  fact that doing so jeopardizes future operations if the fuel assets are destroyed by enemy action.
  ADAPTING SUSTAINMENT FORMATIONS FOR MISSIONS AND
  TRANSITIONS
  7-17. Conducting successful sustainment operations requires commanders, staffs, and subordinate leaders
  that can anticipate changes and quickly adapt formations and operations to meet those changes. The
  responsibility for anticipating and quickly adapting to changes begins with the sustainment commander.