English philosopher roger bacon famously observed that knowledge was power. Four centuries later, bacon’s conclusion still makes sense. As a means of empowering both sustainers and non-sustainers alike, the sustainment center of excellence developed a series of new products that will increase your knowledge and sharpen your skills.
Army Sustainment Resource Portal: Serving the Warfighter
The Army Sustainment Resource Portal (ASRP) is the successor to the Sustainment Unit One Stop and serves as the primary vehicle CASCOM uses to deliver pertinent sustainment resources to the warfighter in operational units. CASCOM has modernized the ASRP’s user interface and serves multiple devices, allowing the warfighter to access ASRP via telephone and tablet, not only computer. ASRP has also undergone a transformation and has moved away from sustainment unit categorization of resources. To better serve the operational force, the site has moved to a resource-driven organization of references and other material. Usability is further enhanced through a built-in search function, optimizing user experience while perusing numerous sustainment resources, references, and training aids.
The ASRP is CASCOM’s premier one-stop-shop for sustainment needs, including doctrine, collective training tasks and standards, mission essential tasks, and force structure. The ASRP also features many virtual training resources and aids, such as virtual maintenance terrain walk, Petroleum and Water Development (PWD) virtual training products, property accountability virtual playbook, virtual training schematics covering weapons, equipment, and vehicles, unit movement officer resources, ship navigation, and the Sustainment Virtual Playbook (SVPB).
The SVPB is targeted toward leaders, brigade and below, and covers myriad topics such as roles and responsibilities, deployment and RSOI, sustainment planning, decisive action, unit defense, and more. The SVPB is part of a larger effort seeking to operationalize sustainment resources, making this a site for all leaders and Soldiers, not just logisticians.
Resources are also offered to the Warfighter organized under the Operations Process, to better enable leaders and staff officers to locate the best references to plan, prepare, execute, and assess. Resources have also been curated to best serve the end user through training focus areas, including deploy, relocate, establish, defend, and conduct mission. These changes have been made to best serve leaders across the Army, in operational units. The ASRP team here at CASCOM always welcomes feedback. The contact link on the ASRP reaches the entire team at once, and they are eager to answer questions or review feedback for the ASRP in order to better serve the customer.
ASRP is found at https://cascom.army.mil/asrp/index.html.
Sustainment Training Strategy
The Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) recently updated the Sustainment Training Strategy (STS). In the five years since CASCOM last published a training strategy, sustainment force structure and Army doctrine have changed considerably, driven by the publication of Field Manual (FM) 3-0, Operations, and FM 4-0, Sustainment. The Army now faces a large-scale combat operations (LSCO) operational environment that presents more complex challenges to the sustainment force than any experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The STS is designed to support building and assessing LSCO sustainment unit progressive training readiness which directly impacts our ability to provide critical support to units and enable their operational reach, freedom of action, and endurance to prosecute campaigns.
It provides an overarching training vision for the sustainment force, and it articulates that vision, by echelon. It focuses on foundational training for sustainment units such as deployment, unit defense, establishing a new support area, operating in an austere environment, and sustainment unit gunnery that units must master to accomplish their core missions.
The STS provides a step-by-step overview and reinforcement of the FM 7-0 Training unit training management (UTM) process. Commanders and leaders need to embrace current training products to train their unit mission in a progressive crawl, walk, run approach to build and assess unit training readiness. Appendixes provide a detailed description of unit training paths by echelon, with emphasis on platoon level training. They contain Notional Training Path Models for “how to train” at sustainment platoon, company, and higher headquarters level (battalion, brigade, theater sustainment commands, and expeditionary sustainment commands).
The STS can be found on the ASRP at: https://cascom.army.mil/asrp/index.html
Brigade Combat Teams Logistics Battle Book (BCT LBB)
The Brigade Combat Teams Logistics Battle Book (BCT LBB) is a handy pocket guide that provides a quick, consolidated reference for BCT logistics in tactical environments. The book focuses on maneuver and logistics planners, and it provides useful information for leaders at all levels within the armored, infantry, and Stryker BCTs. When printed to actual size, the BCT LBB is 6 inches wide and 5 inches tall, allowing it to fit conveniently in the Soldier’s ACU cargo pocket or take up minimal room in an assault pack.
The BCT LBB provides an in-depth break down of the mission and capabilities of all maneuver battalions and supporting logistics organizations within the BCT, to include a wire diagram of each. The book then details all classes of supply to include capacity, running estimates, and consumption rates based on current doctrine and trends. It also describes combat trains, distribution methods, and resupply techniques. Lastly, the BCT LBB provides the reader a guide on operational terms and graphics, sustainment considerations in decisive action, and much more.
This BCT LBB can be found on the ASRP at: https://cascom.army.mil/asrp/index.html
Army Tactics Publication (ATP) 4-90.5, Logistics Platoon Leader
The platoon provides the basic building block for every warfighting formation within the Army. Leadership at the platoon level can spell the difference between victory and defeat. Based on a handbook developed by Army Logistics University, Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 4-90.5, Logistics Platoon Leader, codifies basic troop leading skills at the small unit level.
The publication provides logistics platoon leaders with a knowledge baseline, identifying what logistics platoon leaders must know and do to effectively command and control their platoons. The principal audience for ATP 4-90.5 is junior officers who are leading or preparing to lead ordnance, quartermaster, and transportation platoons. The contents also apply to other members of the profession of arms. In addition, the ATP includes a fictional account, “The Resupply of Duffer’s Drift,” which updates a century-old allegory about combat leadership to address basic leadership challenges in the 21st century.
Along with the Logistics Battle Book, ATP 4-90.5 offers a valuable resource for commissioned and noncommissioned officers seeking to improve their knowledge of tactical level logistics. Upon publication, the ATP will be available at the Army Publishing Directorate website and on the Army Sustainment Resource Portal.
CASCOM designed each of these tools to provide leaders with the information necessary to maintain the readiness of their personnel and equipment. Each of these publications deserves a place on your reading list. That said, these publications are not perfect, please share with us any recommendations for updates and improvements.
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This article was published in the Oct-Dec 2021 issue of Army Sustainment.
This content is published online in conjunction with the Oct-Dec 2021 issue of Army Sustainment.
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