text: Chapter 7
  Sustainment Considerations
  Engineer support to operations carries special sustainment challenges which, if not
  overcome, can seriously inhibit or even stop engineer support. Engineers must
  anticipate these challenges and work within the sustainment warfighting function to
  overcome them. Doing so requires that engineers thoroughly understand the
  sustainment warfighting function, including sustainment organizations, the principles
  of sustainment, sustainment roles and responsibilities, sustainment functions, and the
  integration of sustainment into operations, as described in ADP 4-0. This chapter
  focuses on the sustainment support for engineer capabilities and highlights the
  sustainment considerations that affect engineer support.
  SUSTAINMENT CHALLENGES FOR ENGINEER SUPPORT
  Many sustainment challenges are common to all units, but engineer units face several unique
  sustainment challenges. Engineers and staffs who employ engineer units/capabilities need to thoroughly
  understand, anticipate, and work to overcome these challenges.
  Many engineer tasks require the use of engineer equipment that is large and heavy; these heavy items
  require low-density haul assets if they are to be moved more than short distances. Engineer equipment often
  exceeds size and weight restrictions, making its movement even more challenging.
  Engineer equipment is also often low-density, which poses challenges to its maintenance and repair.
  Obtaining engineer-specific Class IX repair parts frequently requires extraordinary coordination. The number
  of mechanics who are capable of maintaining and repairing engineer equipment may also be limited,
  increasing the difficulty of keeping engineer equipment operating.
  Engineer equipment also consumes large amounts of fuel (higher than most equipment found in
  infantry and Stryker BCTs). Refueling is often complicated by the fact that many pieces of engineer
  equipment cannot easily travel to refueling points. Any time spent travelling between work sites and refueling
  points can significantly reduce productivity; however, bringing fuel trucks to work sites can be difficult,
  especially when the sites are widely scattered over large distances in difficult terrain and the risk for the loss
  of fuel trucks is increased. The availability of fuel trucks for other critical missions is also reduced.
  Construction materials often require long lead times and can be difficult to acquire in the required
  quantities and specifications. For example, statutory, regulatory, and command policies may dictate the
  source of construction materials, requiring the maximum use of local procurement.
  All of the previously mentioned challenges are further complicated by the frequent movement of
  engineers within the AO and by likely changes to task organization and command and support relationships.
  Limited engineering assets often require that they be repeatedly shifted throughout the AO to meet mission
  requirements. These movements and changes often have a ripple effect in the sustainment system, which may
  have difficulty keeping up with multiple changes. This is exacerbated when engineer missions are conducted
  in austere environments while infrastructure is being established or improved.