• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

FM 100-10-2

Table of Contents

Today's Army has transitioned from a force that was forward deployed to one that is primarily CONUS-based. This transition, however, has not changed the Army's national defense strategy role of providing land-based forces capable of operating across the entire military spectrum of operations. What has changed is the need to more rapidly generate and deploy forces to an operational area. As a consequence, some support forces will lag behind other, higher priority forces, resulting in a logistical shortfall. To bridge the gap before scheduled resources and CSS units arrive, or when other logistical support options do not provide the supplies and service needed, the Army is turning more frequently to contracting support to provide goods and services required. Contracting support is an integral part of the overall process of obtaining support across the entire spectrum. Contingency contracting provides the commander a flexible and responsive means to support deployed forces and their mission.

FM 100-10-2 addresses the contracting on the battlefield dimension of logistics, and is intended for the non-contracting reader responsible for, or involved with, the planning and obtaining of supplies or services through contracting support. Its purpose is to define battlefield contracting, also referred to as contingency contracting, in terms of its structure, organization, and process at the operational and tactical levels. References to the battlefield in the context of this manual include the theater or area of operations of any operationally-deployed Army force, anywhere in the world. The text recognizes that military operations include stability actions and/or support actions such as nation building and disaster relief, which defy traditional definitions of a battlefield. Principles discussed herein apply to Army missions spanning the operational spectrum. This manual addresses the role of contracting in force projection, and where it fits within the logistical support structure. It describes the operational concept of contracting support on the battlefield, the legal and regulatory parameters that govern its conduct, and the principles that guide its activities. This manual discusses the management of civilian contractor personnel in general terms; FM 100-XX, Contractors on the Battlefield, prescribes Army doctrine for this topic and discusses it in detail.

FM 100-10-2 describes the mission, organization, functions, and location of contracting elements in a theater of operations down to division-level. It discusses how they and the contractors they deal with are controlled and managed, who the main participants are in the planning, managing, and providing of contracting support on the battlefield, and briefly describes the relationship which influence contracting in a joint and multinational environment. This manual concentrates on planning for contracting support, to include requirements determination and funding, support to contractors, and the deployment of contracting organizations and contractors. It describes how contracting support is obtained, with emphasis on unit or requesting activity responsibilities, and the processing of contracting support requests. This manual recognizes the vital importance of the relatively small numbers of deployable contracting personnel found in our Active and Reserve Component military forces as well as Department of the Army civilian personnel. It informs commanders and their staffs throughout the Total Army how to use these scarce resources as force multipliers, and covers management of support contractor personnel in generic terms. FM 100-XX, Contractors on the Battlefield, addresses this topic in detail.

FM 100-10-2 is designed to assist Army service component commanders, Army force commanders and senior logisticians, theater support command commanders, corps and division commanders, and other Army logisticians and their staffs in identifying requirements and planning to facilitate procurement of goods and services on the battlefield. This manual implements relevant doctrine, incorporates lessons learned from recent operations, and conforms to Army capstone doctrine. It links FMs 100-5, 100-7, 100-8, 100-10, 100-15, 100-16, 100-23, and other tactical and logistics doctrine manuals with other joint and Army capstone manuals.

The proponent for FM 100-10-2 is the Commander, US Army Combined Arms Support Center (CASCOM). Send comments and recommendations on DA Form 2028 directly to Commander, USA CASCOM, CAPSTONE Doctrine Branch, 3901 A Avenue, Suite 220, Fort Lee, VA, 23801-1809.

Unless this publication states otherwise, masculine nouns or pronouns do not refer exclusively to men.