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Field Services

GENERAL

Field services include:

The Army field feeding system.
Mortuary affairs.
Airdrop (to include parachute packing, air item maintenance, and airdrop rigging for both initial insertion and resupply operations).
Laundry and shower support.
Clothing and light ile repair.
Water purification.

A variety of units found at the tactical and operational levels of logistics,division, corps, and EAC,provide field services. Military personnel will provide the preponderance of field services support at the tactical level, with HNS or contractors providing only a limited amount. Conversely, HNS or contractors will provide a great deal of field services support at the operational level.
a. Field feeding is a basic unit function QM food service personnel perform throughout the theater of operations. Virtually every type of unit in the force structure, divisional or nondivisional, has some organic food service personnel. These personnel administer the unit's food service program as the commander directs.

b. Mortuary affairs personnel are very limited. Each division will have a small mortuary affairs element (two or three personnel) organic to the DISCOM. These personnel will train divisional personnel for the additional duties of initial search, recovery, identification, and evacuation of human remains. During hostilities, the mortuary affairs personnel organic to the division will operate the initial mortuary affairs collection point,with collecting, identifying, and returning human remains being a basic unit function. This procedure will continue until such time as the division is augmented with additional mortuary affairs personnel or a mortuary affairs unit establishes collection points in the division AO. A mortuary affairs unit assigned to the COSCOM or TAACOM will support nondivisional units at the tactical and operational levels on an area basis.

c. Airdrop. The airborne division is the only division with an organic airdrop support capability. The airborne division capability is designed primarily for preparing the division for the initial insertion into an operational area. Following insertion, the airborne division can provide its own airdrop resupply support for 10 days. At that time, the airborne division, the same as the other divisions, will receive its airdrop resupply support from a light airdrop supply company assigned to the COSCOM or a heavy airdrop supply company assigned to the TAACOM.

d. DS laundry and shower support at the tactical level will be provided by a COSCOM field service company that is able to send small teams as far forward as the FLOT but normally only sends them to division, brigade, regimental, or corps logistic support areas. Normally, a laundry and renovation company assigned to a TAACOM provides GS laundry capability. HNS and commercial contracting will be used when available to allow critical military assets to support forward.

e. There is a limited capability for minor clothing repairs in the field service company, with a larger capability in the laundry and renovation company. In addition, QM fabric repair specialists are organic to selected DSM and GSM units to repair a variety of canvas and fabrics.

f. Water purification for the division is provided by elements organic to the DISCOM. The supply company (DS) provides water purification for nondivisional elements at the tactical and operational levels on an area basis. These DS capabilities are normally sufficient for providing the requisite water in temperate regions. However, a GS capability, in the form of QM water purification detachments, will be necessary when operating in arid regions.

AIRDROP OPERATIONS

This field service is required at the outbreak of hostilities. Airdrop responsibilities are spread throughout the theater. Following are some of the major responsibilities:

a. Division. The airdrop support company found only in the airborne division is primarily responsible for supporting an airborne insertion. It provides the necessary air delivery equipment in a ready-to-use configuration and prepares division equipment for airdrop. After the division is inserted, it prepares for a second insertion by supporting recovery of airdrop equipment.

b. Corps provides airdrop support to divisions and nondivisional units. Under unusual circumstances, units at EAD may require airdrop resupply. Requirements that are beyond the corps units' capabilities are passed to the supporting TAACOM. Support for the corps normally comes from a QM light airdrop supply company and a QM airdrop equipment repair and supply company.

c. EAC. In a fully developed theater of operations, airdrop support units are required in each TAACOM. These units provide airdrop resupply to corps elements and forward areas when corps airdrop support units are unable to furnish it. The QM heavy airdrop supply company and a QM equipment repair and supply company provide this EAC support.

d. All levels. At all levels, the units receiving the airdrop resupply are responsible for recovering and initially evacuating airdrop equipment. The equipment is collected and evacuated to the nearest salvage collection point or collection and classification point. The equipment will be destroyed or buried only when the tactical situation does not permit recovery and retrograde.

There are some advantages to airdrop. Airdrop permits throughput of supplies from the corps and TAACOM area directly to the using unit even if a unit is in an otherwise unreachable area. In contingency operations where stocks have been established and prerigged, supplies can be throughput directly from CONUS or OCONUS locations. Airdrop reduces the need for forward airfields or landing zones, permits greater dispersion of ground tactical forces, and reduces delivery times. It reduces congestion at forward airfields and the need for MHE. It also provides a shorter turnaround time for aircraft than air landing, thus it increases aircraft availability.

There are also disadvantages to airdrop. Airdrop is vulnerable to enemy aircraft and ground fire. Fewer supplies and equipment can be carried for airdrop, vice air-land, because of the need to carry special airdrop equipment. Airdrop requires specially trained rigging personnel and appropriate airlift with trained crews. Adverse weather has a significant impact on airdrop operations' delivery capability and accuracy.

There are two types of airdrop request procedures,preplanned and immediate.

a. Preplanned requests are based on known or projected requirements and can be programmed in advance. Figure 9-7 shows the channels for a preplanned request. The request normally flows through logistic channels to the appropriate support level (corps or TAACOM). The MMC and MCC direct Army actions. Army respon-sibilities include moving the supplies and equipment from the storage site to the rigging site. After they are

Channels for a preplanned airdrop request.

rigged, they are moved to the supporting airfield. They should then be loaded aboard the delivery aircraft. If not loaded immediately, they are temporarily stored in a location that supporting aerial port personnel choose. Loading on Air Force aircraft is an Air Force responsibility, although Army personnel may assist. The Army submits an airlift request to the joint force commander's (JFC's) designated agent. The JFC agent validates the request, assigns a priority, and then sends it to the Air Force airlift control center (ALCC) for execution. The ALCC directs the Air Force actions.

b. Immediate airdrop requests stem from unanticipated, urgent, or priority requirements. These require-ments are critical for a unit to survive or complete its tactical mission. An immediate request may be filled by an immediate mission or by diverting an aircraft from a preplanned mission. These requests flow through Army operational channels to the validating authority, which saves time. When possible, the request is passed at the same time through Air Force channels. This allows maximum time to identify support aircraft and coordinate with the JFC agent.

Planning considerations are found in FM 101-10-1/2. Planning factors help determine the required force structure and aircraft requirements, airdrop work load, air delivery equipment stockage levels, and equipment recovery rates. If the required force structure is not available in the COSCOM or TAACOM, the planner should examine the appropriate time-phased force deployment list (TPFDL) to determine when forces will be available, then determine if they are committed to more than one TPFDL. One alternative to nonavailable airdrop support units would be to pre-rig critical supplies and equipment for airdrop, then store them for later delivery.

MORTUARY AFFAIRS

This is one of the most important and vital field services. Americans expect the Army to take proper care of servicemembers' remains. Traditionally, the Army has accomplished this with a level of support and respect unmatched by any other nation's military force.

a. Responsibilities.

The Mortuary Affairs Program is a broad-based program the military services use to provide the necessary care for deceased personnel. The Joint Staff provides general guidance and policy to unified commands and military departments within DOD. Within DA, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics implements the policy and recommends force structure. The unified command develops implementation plans based on joint staff policy, the force structure, and doctrine. The US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) develops the standardized training and doctrine for the military services.

All unit commanders must initially search, recover, identify, and evacuate the dead from their AO. Remains are evacuated to a designated collection point, mortuary, or burial site. The battlefield dead will be buried only when the tactical or logistic situation precludes evacuation. The authority for burial in theater is the theater CINC. All burials are considered temporary. As soon as conditions permit, buried remains will be recovered and returned according to policy.

b. Concept of operation. The Mortuary Affairs Program supports both peacetime and wartime operations. It is designed to support the battlefield in a force-projection environment under all combined/joint contingency operations. Flexibility is built into the program so theater commanders can tailor proactive support for both tactical and logistic situations.

There are three subprograms of mortuary affairs:

(a) Current death provides mortuary supplies and services to permanently dispose of remains and personal effects of persons for whom the Army is or becomes responsible. It operates around the world in peacetime and may continue in areas of conflict depending on logistic and tactical situations.
(b) Graves registration provides for search, recovery, initial identification, and evacuation of remains for temporary interment. It provides for care and maintenance of those burial sites and for handling and disposing of personal effects. When hostilities end, mortuary affairs personnel exhume remains from temporary burial sites for return to CONUS or other designated location and for permanent disposition under the return-of-remains program. Next of kin may request the remains be interred in a permanent US cemetery overseas or shipped to a cemetery of their choice.
(c) Concurrent return provides for search, recovery, and evacuation of remains to a mortuary. It provides for the positive identification, embalming, and disposition of remains as the next of kin directs. It also handles and disposes of personal effects. It is activated during emergencies or major military operations when conditions and capabilities permit.

Each service must provide or arrange support for deceased personnel and their personal effects. The Army provides GS to other services when their requirements exceed their capabilities. At the theater level, the prime objectives are to maintain morale; provide field sanitation; and comply with the rules of land warfare, international law, and international agreements. Remains are evacuated to port of entry mortuaries in CONUS as logistics and transportation permit. Otherwise, temporary burials are performed within the theater. The theater commander determines which of the mortuary affairs subprograms to use to support the tactical and logistic situations.

Collection points, located throughout the theater on an area support basis, receive and process remains (see figure 9-8). Then, depending on the subprogram in effect, the remains and personal effects are

Wartime concept of operation for theater mortuary affairs.

evacuated to CONUS or temporarily interred. Personal effects are processed along with the remains to the theater effects depot. Mass fatalities involving US and allied forces require emergency war burial procedures outlined in Quadripartite Standardization Agreement (QSTAG) 665 and STANAG 2070. Historically, insufficient mortuary personnel are available in the early stages of hostilities. This shortage usually requires field command-ers to use combat, combat support, and CSS personnel to handle remains.

Either a mortuary affairs collection company or a graves registration company is normally attached to the S&S battalion of the rear CSG. The graves registration company can process and inter up to 204 remains per day, while the mortuary affairs collection company can process and evacuate up to 400 remains per day. The mortuary affairs units can also operate in DS of contingency operations and task forces.

In the division, the DSA and BSA mortuary affairs facility is the mortuary affairs collection point. These collection points receive and evacuate remains with personal effects but have limited capability to search for and recover remains. They move to support the maneuver elements. Mortuary affairs collection points employed in the DSA can be attached to the DISCOM. Those employed in the BSA can be under the FSBs' operational control. Each collection point can process approximately 20 remains per day. Commanders will use any available means of transport to evacuate remains to the mortuary affairs activity in the rear. Evacuation responsibility is from lower to higher. For swift, successful evacuation, commanders must coordinate closely with the MCC for transportation.

In the corps, area collection points and/or temporary burial sites are established as needed. Remains are evacuated from forward collection points to rearward, main collection points where they are further evacuated to the rear by air and surface transportation. Depending on the program in effect, the remains will be interred or further evacuated to CONUS or a forward-deployed mortuary in a third country. Personal effects are transported to the personal effects depot.

c. Planning considerations.

During special operations and operations other than war, mortuary affairs support should be planned to begin on day 1. In a theater, the Joint Mortuary Affairs Office (JMAO) provides guidance, planning, coordination, and staff supervision of the overall theater Mortuary Affairs Program for all services.

Due to its sensitivity, mortuary affairs requires intense command involvement. Logistic units operating the mortuary affairs facilities must handle deceased personnel from the collection point to the port of embarkation. Close communication and command involvement at all levels ensure the necessary controls are provided throughout the chain of command.

LAUNDRY, SHOWER, AND CLOTHING AND LIGHT ****ILE REPAIR

These services are projected from the tactical and operational levels as far forward as the brigade area. The goal is to provide soldiers with two showers per week. However, the current force structure is only equipped and manned to provide one shower per soldier weekly. The second shower would be provided by field expediency, small-unit shower equipment, and HNS or contract operations. An additional goal is to provide soldiers up to 15 pounds of laundered clothing per week. In this process, the tactical laundry will return soldiers' laundry within 24 hours.

a. Responsibilities.

The QM field service company (FSC) (DS) primarily provides tactical field services to division and nondivisional personnel from the corps area to the FLOT. This includes shower, laundry, limited clothing repair, and delousing. It is normally assigned to a CSB in the COSCOM.
The CSH and MASH both have organic equipment to support their patient loads. Hospital staff personnel are supported by the FSC in their AO.

b. Concept of operations. The concept has been developed around the FSC (DS). The FSC normally operates at the tactical level of logistics in the corps forward or division area as far forward as METT-T allows. Maximum use of HNS will augment the FSC capability to provide support as required to support forces to the rear. The FSC is modular by design, with an HQ and five SLCR sections. The SLCR sections are 100-percent mobile, capable of supporting 500 soldiers per day, and may be deployed to support a brigade-sized element. Soldiers arrive at the shower point dirty, with their dirty clothing for turn in and clean clothing to change into. They can take their showers and turn in dirty laundry and clothing in need of minor repair. When medical personnel have determined that mass delousing is required, the operations are conducted in conjunction with shower operations.

c. Planning considerations. This is an extremely limited resource in the Army force structure so advance planning is important. Site selection should allow for plenty of clean water, proper drainage, gentle sloping terrain, good roads, and natural cover and concealment. The general planning factor for hot, cold, and temperate climates is 6.5 gallons per soldier per day for laundering clothing and 3 gallons per soldier per day for showers.

WATER PURIFICATION

Water operations were covered earlier as a supply item, but it is also a field service.

a. Responsibilities. The Army coordinates policy and procedures for joint plans and requirements for all DOD components that are responsible for water resources in support of land-based forces in contingency operations. The Army ensures that coordinated plans for technological research and development and equipment acquisitions meet DOD goals and that duplicative efforts are resolved. Each service provides its own water resource support. However, the Army or another service will provide support beyond a service's capability in a joint operation.

Within the theater, the TA commander controls water and distributes it to US Army forces, to other US services, and, as required, to allied support elements. The senior engineer HQ and its subordinate organizations must find subsurface water; drill wells; and construct, repair, maintain, and operate permanent and semipermanent water facilities. They also assist QM water units with site preparation when required. The command surgeon performs tests associated with water source approval, monitors potable water, and interprets the water testing results.

Medical command or corps PM personnel are primarily responsible for water quality monitoring. Water supply units perform routine testing.

b. Concept of operations. Water support in a theater of operations is provided at two levels,DS and GS. QM units normally provide water using supply point and limited unit distribution. In most regions of the world, surface water is readily available and normal DS capabilities are sufficient to meet requirements. In an arid environment, available water sources are limited and widely dispersed. Surface fresh water is almost nonexistent, and the availability of subsurfacd water varies within geographic regions. The lack of water sources mandates extensive storage and distribution. GSUs provide this capability.

Strategic level. Because of the scarcity of potable water in Southwest Asia, water support equipment is pre-positioned afloat to provide initial support to a contingency force. Additional water equipment is available in CONUS depots to sustain operations. Most of the equipment is packaged for tactical transportability and configured to allow for throughput to the user with minimal handling in the theater of operations.

Operational level. In an operation where surface water is abundant, the QM supply company (DS) provides water on demand. During the early stages of the operation, combat forces may be required to provide water until CSS units arrive. In arid regions where there is no sufficient water source, GS water systems are established. The petroleum group or area support group commands and controls all GS water assets. The water supply battalion commands two to six water supply companies, purification detachments, and transportation medium truck companies dedicated to water line-haul. Corps truck companies augmented with semitrailer-mounted fabric tanks (SMFT) line-haul potable water throughout the theater. GS purification detachments and teams and DS water elements produce all potable water required within the theater.

Water supply companies are assigned to the force to establish and operate bulk storage and distribution facilities. Arrival in theater is such that the water distribution system expands with growth of the theater and provides adequate support to tactical operations. Tactical water distribution teams are assigned to water supply companies, as required, to augment capabilities for hose line distribution. Potable water is distributed to terminals within the TA area and forward into the corps.

Tactical level. DS water elements provide potable water by supply point and limited unit distribution. Water supply points are established as far forward as possible depending on the location of available water sources, consuming units, and the commander's tactical plan. The most forward location is normally the BSA. Supported units draw water from supply points using organic transportation. Water purification elements draw and purify water from ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, wells, and local water systems. When water elements are unable to meet user requirements, they request assistance from higher HQ. See figure 9-9 for DS operations and figure 9-10 for GS operations.

Corps QM DS supply companies provide nondivisional water support on an area basis. The water supply section is structured to operate three water points. Each point can produce as much as 3,000 gallons of potable water per hour and store up to 30,000 gallons. The unit also delivers water to major users unable to support themselves and establishes mobile supply points. Water elements provide divisional water support on an area basis. The division or brigade/ACR establishes procedures and allocations for subordinate units. The division MSB water section establishes water points in the DSA and each BSA. The division, as well as the separate brigade and ACR, has enough water production and distribution capabilities to allow it to be self-supporting under normal conditions. Water element capabilities vary according to the modified tables of organization and equipment (MTOE). FM 10-52 has more detail on unit capabilities.

In arid regions, GS water units are allocated to the corps to supplement DS water elements. Because of the lack of sufficient water sources, treated water will most likely be transported from the TA area via hose line, pipeline, or tanker truck to terminals operated by GS water supply companies. Terminals range in capacity from 400,000 to 1,600,000 gallons and store a portion of the theater reserve. In GS operations, divisions are augmented with storage and distribution systems to provide for 1 DOS on the ground in both the DSA and BSA.

FIELD FEEDING

Class I has already been covered. The encompassing program that covers class I support is Army field feeding operations, a field service. The shift to a force-projection Army has imposed requirements for more mobility, responsiveness, and flexibility on Army field operations. The new Army Field Feeding System,Future (AFFS-F) is designed to meet these requirements for current and future Army operations. The AFFS-F improves Army field feeding operations; provides efficiency in labor, water, and fuel requirements; and increases mobility.
a. AFFS-F feeding standard. The standard is that soldiers will be fed three quality meals daily. When units deploy under combat conditions or in support of contingency plans, they will initially consume the MRE. As the theater matures and METT-T allows, soldiers will also consume a variety of group feeding rations. The commander should not authorize A-ration meals until static and mobile refrigeration is available to safely move them through the system until they are consumed.

b. Rations. Rations are packaged as individual or group meals. The MRE is the general individual operational ration. The individual meal is best suited for intense levels of combat when soldiers are in transit, in movement to contact, or in convoy. It is supplemented with an individual ration heating device and is issued for consumption in situations where it is not feasible to use a prepared group ration. The group meals (T-, B-, or A-rations) or the new unitized group meal are best used when units are located in more stable or uncontested regions on the battlefield or in the AO. Group meals can be prepared using either heat-and-serve (T-rations) or full-scale raw food preparation methods. Group rations require more time and resources (water, fuel, labor) to prepare and serve.

c. Bread. Bread or bread-like components are essential parts of Army field feeding. When using the MRE, pouch bread will be the primary source for bread. It will always be the initial source for bread on the battlefield. As the tactical and logistic situations permit, the HNS or commercial vendors may provide fresh bread. HNS and commercial contracting will be the primary source of bread.

d. Equipment. There are several items in the Army inventory used to support AFFS. They range from individual pieces of equipment, such as the canteen cup stand, to items designed to support entire units such as large field kitchens. The two primary systems remain the mobile kitchen trailer and the kitchen, company-level field-feeding.

Quality of Life

Ensuring quality of life is a command responsibility. Quality of life and family considerations affect every soldier's readiness and willingness to fight. Effective personnel services, health services, general supply support, and field services ease immediate soldier concerns. The soldier fights best who is reassured that his loved ones are adequately cared for at home station, especially when units deploy from forward-presence locations. The family supports the soldier best when it is assured that the soldier is appropriately cared for. Accurate and timely delivery of mail enhances the quality of life of the soldier in the field. CI provided to family members must be as timely and accurate, especially in an age of instant communications in which a soldier's friend may be sharing news about a loved one in almost real time. There is a direct relationship between adequate, well-thought-out soldier and family quality of life programs, soldier morale, and combat effectiveness.