The Army released the new Field Manual 4-0, Sustainment, June 17 during the Association of the United States Army's 2009 Army Logistics Symposium and Exposition held in Richmond, Va.
Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers, Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee commanding general, introduced the new manual which replaces the 2003 edition of FM 4-0, Combat Service Support.
FM 4-0 is the Army's keystone manual for sustainment. Its purpose is to provide guidance for sustainment of forces in full spectrum operations. It defines sustainment as one of the six warfighting functions (movement and maneuver, intelligence, fires, sustainment, command and control, and protection) and presents doctrine for the provision of personnel, supplies and equipment.
"The development of FM 4-0 was an Army effort," Chambers said. "We drew from the experiences of active and Reserve Soldiers, Civilians and contractors, as well as active and retired senior leaders.
"It's not focused solely on the sustainment Soldier - it's focused on the entire community," Chambers said. "This doctrine will be used in our schools and centers across all branches because it describes how we operate and how we support combat operations. FM 4-0 gives the community an owner's manual on how sustainment works in the Army."
Sustainment encompasses all of the materiel, field services, human resources, health, religious and legal support required to support Army operations.
"Sustainment by nature affects every Soldier," he explained. "It covers everything from what a Soldier eats and wears to religious, legal and medical support affecting the Soldier. FM 4-0 describes the sound principles for how sustainment supports Soldiers individually and as a combat ready force."
In addition, the manual discusses how sustainment builds and maintains combat power, supports strategic and operational reach, and ensures Army forces have the readiness and endurance for sustained land operations. It also describes how sustainment is integrated and synchronized into the overall operations process.
"The manual lays out the architecture and framework of sustainment in the theater of operations," Chambers said. "It basically illustrates how Army logistics and sustainment work. It explains the operational environment and the organizations that provide sustainment, not only to the Army, but to our joint and multinational partners as well. Sustainment is what keeps Army forces moving (reach) and gives them the strength to continue operations (endurance) until successful mission accomplishment."
In 2008, the Army released FM 3-0, Operations, which describes how the Army operates, and sustainment is introduced as one of the warfighting functions. With the release of FM 4-0, the sustainment doctrine introduced in FM 3-0 is now expanded to incorporate a broader approach to sustaining the fighting force.
"Now is absolutely the right time to release this manual. It is really a natural continuation of themes from FM 3-0 to FM 4-0," Chambers said. "FM 3-0 stresses the importance of sustainment in the fight."
In the same way that FM 3-0 redefined the operational environment, FM 4-0 describes how sustainment is conducted in that environment. FM 4-0 discusses command and control from a sustainment commander's perspective. Linked to FM 3-0, it covers the art of battle command and introduces the eight principles of sustainment - integration, anticipation, responsiveness, simplicity, economy, survivability, continuity and improvision - which guide commanders in the operations process.
One of the most notable changes is the title of the manual from combat service support to sustainment. In accordance with FM 3-0, the terms combat arms, combat support and combat service support are no longer used in Army lexicon. The term sustainment now covers many of the functions, tasks, and organizations formerly described under CSS.
"Sustainment builds combat power and maintains Army readiness. Without sustainment, Army forces would not have the capability to engage and defeat our adversaries," Chambers said.
The manual describes how sustainment is provided to the new modular Army and serves as a bridge between joint and Army sustainment.
FM 4-0 supports Soldiers in the field by providing them a single authoritative source for information on sustainment operations, supporting organizations and functions. It will help prepare Soldiers and Civilians for success in the training environment and provide doctrinal guidance to those in both the operating and generating forces actively supporting operations.
To watch Maj. Gen. Chambers interview with the TRADOC News Service go to www.vimeo.com/tradoc
To download FM 4-0, go to the Reimer Digital Library at http://www.adtdl.army.mil.
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