text: Chapter 5
  • Changes to distance that affect distribution calculations.
  • Status of HSS capabilities to include medical treatment (holding), hospitalization (surgical and bed
  status), medical logistics (CL VIII, blood on hand, medical device maintenance and shortages), and
  medical evacuation. Planners should assess the positioning of medical units to support operations
  and priority efforts.
  • Status of sustainment information systems interfaces to the Sustainment Transport System.
  • Status of HR support capabilities, casualties, personnel strength, and availability of personnel
  replacements to ensure adequate HR support, religious support, and identify any critical personnel
  shortages, and/or combat ineffective units to rebuild combat power or consider reconstitution. HR
  managers report personnel requirements through a personnel requirements report. This report lists
  unit personnel replacement requirements by grade and military occupational specialty and is based
  on comparison of authorized versus assigned strength.
  • Status of financial management capabilities, funding authorities, and funds available (status of
  funds) to support mission requirements.
  SUSTAINMENT SYNCHRONIZATION
  5-95. Logistics, financial management, personnel services, and HSS require coordination and
  synchronization at every stage of the planning process. This synchronization is crucial in large-scale combat
  operations with its inherent distributed nature. Only by integrating and synchronizing sustainment functions
  can the sustainment system produce required effects at the speed, volume, velocity, and lethality of large-
  scale combat operations.
  5-96. Sustainment commanders and staffs present synchronized courses of action commensurate with
  sustainment capabilities to allow as much freedom of action as possible. Limitations such as insufficient
  infrastructure or non-availability of key classes of supply have a bearing on the commander’s ability to
  execute the mission and are accounted for in the planning process. Sustainment leaders also coordinate,
  synchronize, and integrate the sustainment plan with joint and other unified action partners to ensure
  continuous linkage with strategic-level providers. A successful sustainment plan will extend operational
  reach, prevent culmination or loss of the initiative, manage transitions, exploit possible opportunities, and
  mitigate risk.
  5-97. Throughout the operations process, commanders and staffs use risk management to identify and
  mitigate risks associated with all hazards that have the potential to injure or kill friendly and civilian
  personnel, damage or destroy equipment, or otherwise impact mission effectiveness. For sustainment
  commanders and staffs, identifying and mitigating risk must always include not only risk to finite and limited
  sustainment capabilities, but also how those capabilities are employed to enable freedom of action and extend
  operational reach.
  5-98. Sustainment synchronization remains the focus as sustainment commanders plan for and coordinate
  support through such continuing activities as battle rhythm events, information collection, liaisons, meetings,
  protection efforts, and reporting. For the purposes of sustaining large-scale combat operations, two of these—
  liaison officers and reporting—require special emphasis.
  5-99. Liaise refers to contact or intercommunication maintained between elements of military forces or other
  agencies to ensure shared understanding and unity of purpose and action. Most commonly used for
  establishing and maintaining close communications, liaise continuously enables direct, physical
  communications between commands.
  5-100. Sustainment commanders and staffs have the continuous requirement to coordinate with higher,
  lower, adjacent, supporting, and supported units and civilian organizations. The sustainment liaisons
  participate in boards, bureaus, cells, centers, and working groups, especially in the case of the TSC with the
  ASCC, the CSC with the corps, the DSB with the division, the BSB with the maneuver brigade, and the ASB
  with the CAB. While the use of liaisons taxes organic staff manpower in sustainment organizations, their
  presence and active participation is essential to sustaining large-scale combat operations and mitigating the
  effects of dispersion, threat disruption of communications, and accelerated tempo.
  5-101. Both maneuver and sustainment commanders rely on LOGSTAT and PERSTAT reports to identify
  support requirements and capabilities to enable large-scale combat operations. Sustainment staffs use data