Editor’s Note: This Blast from the Past article was initially published in Army Logistician (the former title of Army Sustainment) in the May-June 1988 issue. The current regulations that govern force development are Army Regulation 71-32, Force Development and Documentation Consolidated Polices, and Department of the Army Pamphlet 71-32, Force Development and Documentation Consolidated Procedures.

To effectively and efficiently manage military assets, Army force managers and personnel and equipment resource managers must have the means of establishing and documenting personnel and equipment requirements for all Army units. The table of organization and equipment (TOE) system and the Army authorization documents system (TAADS) are the main sources that Army managers use for planning, programming, and budgeting for the force; procuring equipment; training personnel; and distributing assets.

The TOE system provides the method by which personnel and equipment requirements for combat, combat support, and combat service support units are structured and documented. The TOE document prescribes the mission, organizational structure, and personnel and equipment requirements for a specific military unit. It provides a basic guide or standard for the development of units on a worldwide basis. For example, a combat support hospital in Europe is organized under the same TOE and has the same basic structure as its counterpart in the Pacific. Units organized according to a TOE are referred to as TOE units.

The objectives of the TOE system are to:

  • Standardize like units.
  • Balance organizational structures.
  • Determine full combat operational requirements.
  • Measure operational readiness.
  • Establish a standard organization and equipment data base.

While TOEs specify requirements, they do not authorize the equipment or personnel for particular units. They must be viewed as documents that reflect the unit requirements needed to support the established doctrine and concept of the actual wartime mission. In essence, each TOE acts as a blueprint or planning document that can be modified to add or subtract items of equipment and personnel required for a particular unit depending upon geographical location; available funding; and unique and specific mission requirements that will vary depending on the terrain, weather, and political environment.

The TAADS bridges the gap between unit requirements and authorizations. TAADS is an Army-wide automated data processing system designed to centralize the control of personnel and equipment required by and authorized for Active Army and Reserve component units.

The objectives of TAADS are to:

  • Provide each Army unit with a basic authorization document showing its personnel and equipment requirements and authorizations.
  • Maintain current and complete data files on required and authorized personnel and equipment for use by planners, programmers, and resource managers.
  • Maintain qualitative and quantitative data on personnel and equipment requirements and authorizations for both individual Army units and the entire Army force structure.
  • Standardize authorization documents for similar parent units.
  • Centralize control of organizational structures, requirements, and authorizations at Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA).

Under TAADS, each unit’s requirements and authorizations for personnel and equipment are specified by a basic authorization document. This document describes the unit’s organizational structure, mission, capabilities, and personnel and equipment allowances. Units and organizations so organized are responsible for having all authorized equipment on hand or on request. There are four types of TAADS documents: the modification table of organization and equipment (MTOE), the table of distribution and allowances (TDA), the mobilization TDA, and the augmentation TDA.

The MTOE adapts the basic TOE mission capabilities, organization, personnel, and equipment to the needs of a specific unit or type of unit. The MTOE provides a major commander with the means to modify or adjust the standard TOE for any one or more of the TOE units within his command. While the TOE specifies the requirements for units on a worldwide basis, the MTOE authorizes the organization of a specific unit (or group of units) within an assigned command. Therefore, two like units located in separate regions of the world will have somewhat different MTOEs but have an identical TOE.

In essence, the MTOE is the official authorization document by which TOE units requisition personnel and equipment. Without this approved general order document, no unit in the force can be activated or organized, and absolutely no personnel or equipment authorizations are in effect.

All combat, combat support, and combat service support units, whether Active Army, Army National Guard (ARNG), or Army Reserve, are organized under MTOEs. Each MTOE consists of three sections:

  • Section I, Organization, which describes the principal modifications from section I of the base TOE and lists the parent units organized under the MTOE.
  • Section II, Personnel Allowances, which documents the parent unit and subunit header data and prescribes the qualitative and quantitative data for the required and authorized personnel allowances.
  • Section III, Equipment Allowances, which prescribes the line item number (LIN), generic nomenclature, and quantities of required and authorized equipment.

In the MTOE document, the required column entry depicts the level of personnel and equipment resources that should accompany an MTOE unit when deployed or committed to sustained combat. The authorized column entry indicates those resources applicable during peacetime operations as a result of budgetary constraints or manpower ceilings as directed by HQDA.

The TDA is another official authorization document. However, it is different from an MTOE in that it is tailored to perform a specific support mission for which no particular TOE exists. TDA units are basically nondeployable units organized to fulfill mission, function, and workload obligations of a fixed support establishment in the continental United States or overseas (for example, medical activities and medical centers).

For all TDAs the required column entry is based upon the military and civilian spaces and equipment recognized by manpower and equipment surveys. The authorized column entry shows the allocated resources as a result of budgetary constraints or manpower ceilings as directed by HQDA.

Each TDA consists of three sections and a supplement:

  • Section I, General, which describes the mission, organization, capabilities, and other general information pertinent to the unit.
  • Section II, Personnel Allowances, which documents the qualitative and quantitative data for the required and authorized personnel allowances.
  • Section III, Equipment Allowances, which documents the Army-adopted items of equipment which have a standard LIN as listed in SB 700-20 (exclusive of the chapter 8 CTA items and developmental items as described in AR 310-49). Equipment allowances are prescribed by LIN, generic nomenclature, and the required and authorized quantities.
  • Section III Supplement, Equipment Allowances, which is optional. It documents those items of equipment that do not qualify for inclusion in section III. These items are not Army-adopted and do not have a standard LIN as contained in SB 700-20. This section will not be forwarded to nor maintained at HQDA; however, it may be documented at the installation or major command level.

The mobilization (MOB) TDA is an authorization document that shows the planned mobilization mission, organizational structure, and personnel and equipment requirements for designated Active Army and Reserve component TDA units. MOB TDAs are developed by using the latest approved TDA as a base. In cases in which a TDA does not exist, a MOB TDA is developed using a similar TDA or DA staffing guide.

The augmentation TDA is a TDA document created to authorize additional personnel and equipment required for an MTOE unit performing an added non-MTOE mission. For example, if an ARNG TOE medical unit has the peacetime mission of performing ARNG physical examinations and the MTOE does not contain the appropriate examination equipment, then the unit may request that an augmentation TDA be added to the MTOE. However, this additional TDA equipment will not deploy with the unit upon mobilization.

The TAADS and TOE systems are not overly complex. They are, however, very labor intensive. They are also very difficult to keep current due to the required lead time needed for documentation processing. Nonetheless, they are important tools that all Army managers can and should know and understand. AR 310-49 provides guidance on establishing personnel and equipment requirements and authorizations for Army units under TAADS, and AR 310-31 explains the procedures concerning the development, preparation, and approval of TOE documents.

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MAJ Bolko G. Zimmer was an instructor of health care administration in the U.S. Army-Baylor University Graduate Program, Academy of Health Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He had a master’s degree in management and supervision from Central Michigan University and was a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College.

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This article was published in the spring 2025 issue of Army Sustainment.

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