text: Chapter 3
  SUPPORT AREA CONSIDERATIONS
  3-10. Commanders, supported by their staffs, use the operations process to drive the conceptual and detailed
  planning necessary to understand, visualize, and describe their operational environment; make and articulate
  decisions; and direct, lead, and assess military operations. The activities of the operations process are not
  discrete; they overlap and recur as circumstances demand. Planning starts an iteration of the operations
  process. Upon completion of the initial order, planning continues as leaders revise the plan based on changing
  circumstances. Preparing begins during planning and continues through execution. Execution puts a plan into
  action by applying combat power to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative to gain a position of relative
  advantage. Assessing is continuous and influences the other three activities. This section uses the operations
  process activities (plan, prepare, execute, and assess) to discuss considerations that are important to
  conducting support area operations. The primary considerations of commanders and their staff are the
  positioning, employment, and protection of assets required to sustain, enable, and control operations.
  Note. The MEB is an integral part of corps and division ability to command and control in support
  areas. The mobilization and deployment of the MEB must be prioritized in planning and operations
  to ensure that it arrives as early as possible. Depending on the situation, corps and division
  commanders may consider deploying their assigned MEB ahead of their divisional combat power.
  PLAN
  3-11. Corps and division planners must analyze METT-TC to determine what capabilities and units the MEB
  needs to successfully accomplish the support area mission. A troop-to-task analysis must be done during
  mission analysis to determine the required capabilities. The corps or division commander must then assess
  the level of risk and allocate resources to MEB. In some tactical situations, the corps or division commander
  may accept risk in the support area, but then plan to apportion additional combat power to the support area
  to improve the tactical situation throughout the AO.
  3-12. The placement of support areas is influenced by enemy threats. To increase their survivability, support
  areas are generally placed out of range of the majority of the enemy’s indirect-fire systems to increase their
  survivability when possible. However, security considerations must be balanced with maintaining
  responsiveness units conducting close and deep operations. Figure 3-3 provides a notional example of depths
  and frontages of the operational area. Below are general considerations for minimum distances for
  establishing corps and division support areas behind the forward line of troops:
  * The division support area extends from 29 to 36 kilometers behind the forward line of troops.
  * The corps support area extends from 70 to 90 kilometers behind the forward line of troops, or 40
  to 60 kilometers behind the division support areas.
  Note. Corps and division planners must ensure that supporting sustainment units (especially fuel,
  water, and ammunition) are positioned no further than 90 kilometers from the support area during
  operations demanding high operating tempo and movement. This can be extremely critical when
  conducting offensive operations and maintaining combat power against the enemy. Poor terrain
  or weather conditions may reduce the distance.