Army sustainment is the allocation of logistical, financial management, human services, and healthcare support needed to keep operations running until the mission is completed successfully. Sustainment is a critical part of the war and has four components of the warfighting purpose: logistics, financial management, personnel services, and healthcare support. It is achieved via coordination and incorporation of federal and universal assets, ensuring that military forces are present physically and properly braced at the appropriate time and location to hold up the CCDR. The sustainment warfighting function uses combined, interdepartmental, global, and other available powers to offer sustainment assistance to the force, thus enhancing militia preparedness. A synchronized web of data systems joining sustainment to operations ensures maintenance of military forces by utilizing skilled army men and leaders, financing with the needful assets, equipment, militia, and family preparedness, and empowering military forces for decisive actions. These actions, in return, empower the commanders to foresee needs in time and space, monitor and dispense the needs, and in critical decision making for responsive sustainment.
Each element of the warfighting function is relevant to a completed mission. Logistics entail maintenance, transit, donation, distribution, and field services, among other generalized engineering services. Financial management addresses taxes and economic strength within the military operations’ scope. Planning, coordination, and sustenance of human efforts at the functionality and diplomatic levels. Health service support encompasses casualty care, medical evacuation, and logistics. There are eight principles of sustainment: integration, anticipation, responsiveness, simplicity, economy, survivability, continuity, and improvisation (Department of the Army, 2019, p.1-3). Sustainment, therefore, sees that army personnel are well taken care of need wise, health wise, mentally, physically and emotionally to ensure success in the missions they undertake.
Continuity is the constant provision of sustainment at all war levels, attained via coordinated and steady linking networks between support capabilities and operations across all war levels. This principle ensures confidence in sustainment, allowing commanders freedom of action, operational reach, and prolonged endurance. Its main objective is to provide the needful resources at the right time and place. A case in point, at the tactical level, having a fighting rhythm for replenishment that is based on coordinated and timely commodities delivery is referred to as continuity. Also, in Army healthcare systems, moving the patient through progressive, graded roles of care, spanning from the place of harm or trauma to the CONUS support base, ensures continuity in care and treatment.
Each type of AHS unit provides a logical, measurable increase in care based on its location and capabilities. Lower casualty rates, the availability of rotary-wing air ambulances, and other situational variables allow patients to be evacuated straight from the place of injury to the supporting combat support hospital in current operations. Higher casualty rates, longer distances, and patient conditions may dictate that a patient get care at each role of care to preserve physiologic state and increase chances of survival in more traditional combat operations (Department of the Army, 2019, p.21). The medical commander’s depth of medical knowledge, ability to anticipate follow-on medical treatment requirements and assessment of the availability of specialized medical resources can all be used to adjust the patient flow so that each Soldier receives the care needed to achieve the best possible patient outcome. The medical commander might suggest adjustments to the theater evacuation policy to alter patient flow within the deployed context.
One of the factors of consideration for sustainment Preparation of the Operational Environment is the keen study of geographical and environmental elements of the place, which enables proper planning on the types of equipment and when required. For instance, unfavorable terrains hinder transportation using specific modes of transport due to fuel cost and maintenance. The lack of water or unsafe water for consumption would lead to the deployment of well-digging and purification equipment. In the case of endemics and pandemics, army leaders would ensure earlier strategies for prevention. Another factor is the supply and services; organizers of the operation should familiarize themselves with the services and supplies rendered at their place of the process alongside their compatibility. The third factor is infrastructure, such as warehouses, safes, chills, etcetera which is cost-efficient against the deployment of US resources. The last one is the general skills whereby the locals under this operation need educators, interpreters, and other personnel.
In conclusion, army sustenance is vital for every successful mission on land, sea, or air. It enhances the readiness of the soldiers for war and any event that shows up during the war. Sustenance also ensures the wellness of an army person in overall dimensions. Continuity becomes the most relevant principle in this case study because it enhances the constant supply of army people’s needs while boosting commanders’ confidence in the war places. While ensuring sustenance, key factors need to be considered, namely geographical and environmental factors, supply and services, infrastructure, and general skills available at the place of operation. These considerations will ensure that the operational point is strategic and operational at different levels of war.
References
Department of the Army. (2019). Sustainment operations. Web.