text: Leadership and Training for Sustainment Operations
  UNIFIED ACTION PARTNER INTEGRATION
  7-56. Unified action partners are those military forces, governmental and nongovernmental organizations,
  and elements of the private sector with whom Army forces plan, coordinate, synchronize, and integrate during
  the conduct of operations (ADP 3-0). Unified action partners include joint forces and components,
  multinational forces, and United States Government agencies and departments. Ultimately, all sustainment
  is aimed at ensuring the success of operations, so sustainment leaders consider the capabilities and
  requirements of unified action partners and establish appropriate relationships with them. As discussed earlier
  in this chapter, Army sustainers will be both supporting and receiving support from unified action partners.
  SUSTAINMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
  7-57. Sustainment information systems provide the visibility required for sustainment decision making. It is
  important that Army sustainers understand what enterprise resource planning programs are, what enterprise
  resource planning programs the Army has, and how these are integrated. See appendix D for more
  information on sustainment information systems.
  OPERATIONAL CONTRACT SUPPORT
  7-58. Operational contract support is the process of planning for and obtaining supplies, services, and
  construction from commercial sources in support of combatant commander-directed operations (JP 4-10).
  While varying in scope and scale, OCS is a critical force multiplier across all phases and types of operations.
  Sustainment commanders, all primary staff, and most special staff plan for, integrate, execute, and manage
  contracts and contractor personnel within the OE. On the Army staff, the G-1/S-1 is responsible for contractor
  reporting and accountability; the G-2/S-2 is responsible for contractor threat assessment and vetting; the G-
  3/S-3 is responsible for organization of contractor personnel and integration into the operation; the G-4/S-4
  is responsible for OCS planning and coordination; and the G-8/S-8 is responsible for resourcing and financial
  management. For additional information on OCS, see ATP 4-10.
  7-59. The OE requires an agile, flexible approach to contracting. Planners should conduct risk analysis for
  OCS and consider operational and contractor risk as well as performance, schedule, and cost risks. Contractor
  support is important to sustaining Army forces across the range of military operations.
  PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUSTAINMENT LEADERS
  7-60. Sustainment is inherently a simultaneous requirement in terms of execution to support a scheme of
  maneuver and a sequential requirement in terms of positioning and moving capabilities/commodities in time
  and space. There is no escaping the linear nature of time and its impact on the effectiveness of sustainment.
  However, effective use of the mission command philosophy, the orders process, and correct task organization
  can mitigate potential impacts on sustainment.
  7-61. Sustainment commanders utilize the operations process to develop an effective task organization. The
  task organization identifies the units with the necessary capabilities required to support the mission. This
  ensures that—
  • The correct number of the right types of units are available.
  • Correct command relationships are established to determine authorities.
  • Correct support relationships are established as required.
  7-62. Once command and control relationships are established, sustainment commanders and their planners
  select locations for units to best support the operation. The placement of units must be coordinated with the
  unit assigned the area of operation within which the sustainment units are located. Commanders and planners
  must consider all mission variables to include analysis of how each will affect the placement of units. Critical
  mission variables include mission (to include priority of support), enemy, terrain and weather, troops and
  support available, time available, and civil considerations, each of which have informational considerations.
  Applicable operational variables should also be considered. Sustainment support normally has an associated
  execution cycle. Some examples (though not all inclusive) include the following:
  • For unit distribution, a cycle is the time it takes for a distribution platform to move from an SSA to
  the supported unit and back to the SSA.