87th Corps Support Battalion (CSB)
The 87th Corps Support Battalion deploys as a forward Corps Support Battalion. It operates in the Division Support Area providing direct and backup support to non-divisional units located in or passing through the division area of operations.
From August to October 1994, the 87th Corps Support Battalion's (CSB's) 396th Transportation Company (Medium Truck) at Fort Stewart, Georgia, replaced its aging M915 tractors and M872 semitrailers with a fleet of 48 palletized loading system (PLS) trucks. Since then, the company has been at the forefront of the Army's PLS testing program. Exercise Mojave Strike was held at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, from 26 April to 30 May 1995. During this rotation, the 396th Transportation Company used the PLS and its enhancements to support the 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). The 87th CSB support operations maintenance section coordinated with the task force S4 and forward support battalion (FSB) support operations section for spare parts needed by the task force. The FSB supply support activity (SSA) deployed with a limited combat authorized stockage list, so Fort Polk SSA's, AMC liaison officers, the AMC contingency SSA, and local vendors assisted in providing the parts. The 226th transported parts, and sometimes major assemblies such as engines and transmissions, from outlying base camps to customers at other base camps when needed.
During Exercise Bright Star '97, the US Army operated under challenging conditions. The 226th Quartermaster Company, 87th CSB, operated a 100,000 gallon Fuel System Supply Point (FSSP) in the desert at the Pyramid Log Base. They received Jet A-1, blended in additives, and ultimately issued 500,000 gallons of JP-8.
In 1999, the 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia, was tapped by the Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) to provide troops for Stabilization Forces (SFOR's) 8 and 9 in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The division immediately set in motion specific training plans to prepare Task Force Eagle for the peacekeeping operation. These training plans included theater-specific individual readiness training, platoon and company lanes training, weapons qualification, driver certification, and other training required by soldiers entering the theater. The training began in July 2000, when the 3d Infantry Division and elements from FORSCOM, the Army Reserve, and various Army National Guard units converged on the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, to participate in the SFOR 8 Mission Rehearsal Exercise, or MRE 00-09.
Combat service support (CSS) units supporting peacekeeping operations often have to interpret emerging CSS doctrine and embrace nondoctrinal support techniques to meet constantly changing support requirements. During MRE 00-09, the 226th Supply Company (Direct Support [DS]), 87th Corps Support Battalion (CSB), 24th Corps Support Group, did just that. Using both emerging CSS doctrine and nondoctrinal support techniques, the 226th provided support to three outlying base camps that supported battalion-level task forces and Eagle Base-the main base camp that sustained the division headquarters (-) and other slice elements that comprised Task Force Eagle.
