Military

Since the end of the Cold War when the US reduced its forward presence overseas, the centerpiece of US defense strategy has been power projection. Power projection is the ability to rapidly and effectively deploy and sustain US forces in and from multiple, dispersed locations. Complementing overseas presence, power projection strives for unconstrained global reach. Power projection assets are tailored to regional requirements and send a clear signal of US commitment. Being able to project power means being able to act even when we have no permanent presence or infrastructure in the region. If necessary, it means fighting our way into a denied theater or creating and protecting forward operating bases. The ability to assemble and move to, through, and between a variety of environments, often while reconfiguring to meet specific mission requirements, is essential to offsetting an adversary's advantage in mass or geographic proximity. Global power projection provides our national leaders with the options they need to respond to potential crises.

To make power projection and force projection a reality, the Army developed force closure timelines as part of the Mobility Requirements Study to maximize strategic transportation and materiel assets. The Army Mobility Requirements Study specifies that the US must be able to rapidly deploy 5 1/3 divisions and their associated corps support 8,700 nautical miles, from fort to foxhole, within a 75-day period, meeting the following timelines (Figure 1-1):

• A light or airborne brigade-size or Army pre-positioned land (APL) force arrives in theater by C+4, with the remainder of the division to close not later than C+12.
• An afloat heavy combat brigade closes in the theater and is ready to fight by C+15.
• By C+30, two heavy divisions sealifted from the continental United States (CONUS) close in theater. These divisions can be a mix of armor, mechanized, or air assault as determined by the supported commander-in-chief (CINC).
• The remaining two divisions and a corps support command arrive in theater by C+75.

Figure 1-1. Force Closure Timelines

Essential for meeting force projection timelines is the strategic mobility triad as shown in Figure 1-2. The strategic mobility triad consists of pre-positioning, airlift, and sealift. Historically, 10 percent of materiel sent to a theater arrives via airlift, while the remaining 90 percent arrives via sealift. However, strategic airlift and sealift often face multiple demands and cannot immediately deliver large amounts of heavy equipment to meet short-notice crises. Therefore, Army pre-positioned materiel around the world plays a critical role in rapidly equipping forces deploying to major theater wars (MTWs), smaller-scale contingencies (SSCs), stability operations, or support operations.

Figure 1-2. Strategic Mobility Triad

APS constitute one leg of the strategic mobility triad. The purposes of APS are to reduce the initial amount of strategic lift required to support a CONUS-based force projection Army; and to sustain the warfight until sea lines of communication (SLOC) with CONUS are established. Accordingly, APS is pre-positioned at several sites to quickly project power to potential contingency areas.

APS is owned by Headquarters, Department of Army (HQDA) and delinked from Army component commanders and from specific CINCs and theaters. APS is managed and accounted for by United States Army Materiel Command (AMC) and the Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG).

The Army War Reserve Support Command (AWRSPTCMD) and the US Army Medical Materiel Agency (USAMMA) manage APS at APL storage sites. During military operations, APL draws are accomplished under the AMC logistics support element (LSE) umbrella organization. Common user stockpiles are positioned ashore in CONUS, in other countries, and afloat to support multiple CINCs and scenarios. Storage and maintenance procedures on land vary depending on the geopolitical situation at each storage site. For example, equipment in Europe and Korea is generally stored inside fixed facilities and serviced on a periodic cycle. Equipment in other areas may be stored outside and serviced on a more frequent basis to ensure that it is ready for immediate issue/employment because of the volatility of the region. APS are protected go-to-war assets and will not be used to improve peacetime readiness or fill unit shortages. HQDA must approve all issues and loans of APS.

There are four categories of APS as described below.

• Pre-positioned Sets. The unit sets consist of pre-positioned organizational equipment--end items, supplies, and secondary items--stored in unit configurations to reduce force deployment response time. Equipment is configured into brigade sets, division units, and corps/echelon above corps (EAC) units. Materiel is positioned ashore and afloat for the purpose of meeting the Army's Global Pre-positioning Strategy requirements of more than one contingency in more than one theater of operations.
• Army Operational Project Stocks. Operational project stocks are materiel above normal table of organizations and equipment (TOE), table of distribution and allowances (TDA), and common table of allowance (CTA) authorizations tailored to key strategic capabilities essential to the Army's ability to execute its power projection strategy. They are used to authorize supplies and equipment above normal modified TOE (MTOE) authorizations to support one or more Army operations, plans, and contingencies. They are primarily positioned in CONUS with tailored portions or packages pre-positioned overseas and afloat.
• War Reserve Stocks. War reserve stocks are acquired in peacetime to meet increased wartime requirements. They consist of major and secondary materiel aligned and designated to satisfy the Army's wartime sustainment requirements. They provide minimum essential support to combat operations and post-mobilization training beyond the capabilities of peacetime stocks, industry, and host nation (HN) support. Sustainment stocks are pre-positioned in or near a theater of operations to last until resupply at wartime rates or emergency rates are established.
• War Reserve Stocks for Allies (WRSA). WRSA is an Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) directed program that ensures US preparedness to assist designated allies in case of war. WRSA assets are pre-positioned in the appropriate theater and owned and financed by the US. They are released to the proper Army component commander for transfer to the supported allied force under the Foreign Assistance Act upon a declaration of defense condition 2, and under existing country-to-country memorandums of agreement.

APS are positioned as follows (Figure 1-3):

• APS-1 (CONUS) - Operational project stocks and war reserve sustainment stocks.
• APS-2 (Europe) - Pre-positioned sets, operational project stocks, and limited war reserve sustainment stocks.
• APS-3 (Army pre-positioned afloat (APA)) - Pre-positioned sets, operational project stocks, and war reserve sustainment stocks.
• APS-4 (Pacific) - Pre-positioned sets, operational project stocks, war reserve sustainment stocks, and War Reserve Stocks for Allies-Korea (WRSA-K).
• APS-5 (Southwest Asia (SWA)) - Pre-positioned sets, operational project stocks, and war reserve sustainment stocks.

Figure 1-3. Army Pre-positioned Stocks Locations

Figure 1-4 depicts AMC's organization for managing APS materiel. Combat equipment groups (CEGs) and the subordinate elements positioned worldwide provide on-site management for AWRSPTCMD.

Figure 1-4. AMC Organization for Managing the APS Program

As described, there are four categories of APS, and there are two types of storage locations, sea and land. The remainder of this manual focuses on procedures concerning land-based pre-positioned sets and refers to them as "Army pre-positioned land (APL)." However, procedures describing the issue and turn-in of these sets generally apply to the other categories of land-based APS. For detailed information on Army pre-positioned afloat operations, see Field Manual (FM) 100-17-1.

The underlying concept of the APL program is to rapidly match deploying units with pre-positioned materiel and then move the APL-equipped forces to their assigned area of operation (AO). As such, APL is an integral part of the overall process of power projection. The APL concept has three essential steps. First, expeditiously unite airlifted unit personnel with pre-positioned materiel at APL sites. Second, quickly organize deploying forces for onward movement at a staging base in the area of responsibility (AOR). Finally, rapidly move them to a tactical assembly area (TAA).

Under the APL concept, all personnel and a minimum amount of unit equipment deploy from home station via strategic airlift. Equipment that typically deploys with unit personnel includes to-accompany-troops (TAT) materiel, such as personal weapons and chemical defensive equipment (CDE), and not authorized pre-positioning (NAP) materiel. NAP is authorized unit materiel, such as missiles and selected communications items, that for various reasons, (cost, availability, sensitivity, unsuitability for storage) is not authorized for storage at APL sites and must be brought from home station or elsewhere to complete the unit set. See Figure 1-5 for examples of TAT and NAP items. Equipment available in each APS unit set is visible in the Army Battlebook System (ABS). From the ABS, deploying units can determine the additional equipment that they must bring from home station. (See Chapter 3 for additional information regarding ABS.) The deploying unit sends nothing needed for immediate use from home station via sealift, as this would incur delays and negate the advantages of employing APL equipment. However, unit equipment not mission essential early in an operation may be sent by sealift for subsequent link-up with the deployed force.

Figure 1-5. Typical TAT and NAP Items

A unit that is equipped with APL stocks is not normally employed alone but fights as part of a division. It is a significant element of a larger deployment involving multi-modal operations. A CINC's decision during the window of opportunity to request that the deploying forces be equipped with APL equipment has a significant impact on all aspects of a deployment. Once made, the decision is difficult to change and affects the rest of the deployment.

APL enhances force projection capability by reducing the time it takes to deploy a heavy task force or brigade-sized force. It also reduces the need for heavy lift assets during the critical "early entry" phase. It allows a rapid buildup of heavy forces to demonstrate US resolve, reduce risk of open conflict, and counter hostile actions before arrival of the expansion or force protection mission prior to the arrival of surge sealift.

The intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB) provides an awareness of infrastructure availability and other demands on the infrastructure. The APL brigade must define, for inclusion in the IPB process, those essential elements of information required for APL operations. The IPB is a source for developing threat assessments, particularly the asymmetric threat expected during the early entry period of deployment operations.

To facilitate the expeditious issuing of equipment, the deploying unit sends an advance party to help AWRSPTCMD and USAMMA site personnel prepare equipment for issue. In addition, if required, other force modules may deploy to operate aerial ports of debarkation (APODs), coordinate with the HN for staging base real estate, prepare for onward movement of APL forces, and accomplish other missions as directed by the supported CINC or Army service component commander (ASCC). Most often, extensive deployment of forces is unnecessary for APL operations because of developed HN infrastructures and existing HN agreements where the Army stores APL materiel. However, deployment of additional forces for theater force opening may be essential if the area of employment of APL equipment lacks adequate infrastructure to logistically support APL forces and operations. By the time the main body arrives in the AO, most tasks necessary to execute an APL draw are complete.

In accordance with (IAW) the APL concept, deploying forces draw all serviceable equipment from the APL storage site. Under certain circumstances, partial draws of equipment can occur. Although, this manual focuses on doctrinal procedures, that is a draw of complete unit set(s) of APL equipment in support of a contingency, history has shown that draws of task forces of battalion size or smaller can occur.

There are two methods for drawing APL equipment: emergency and administrative. The primary difference between these options is time. Because the focus of APL operations is on short-notice crises, emergency draw procedures are the model for US forces to plan, train for, and execute. However, on the basis of the tactical situation, regional CINCs can modify draw procedures to best support the mission. Below are summaries of the two draw options. Detailed procedures are in Chapter 3.

• Emergency. This is the most time-sensitive draw method for US Army forces. It emphasizes rapidly drawing all serviceable equipment and quickly leaving the APL site for a staging base. While major end items are inventoried at the AWRSPTCMD storage facility, secondary tasks such as conducting 100 percent inventories of equipment components, filling materiel shortages, and repairing and servicing equipment are usually postponed until unit arrival at the staging base. Staging bases may be adjacent to APL sites or up to several hundred miles away in the same or a different country based on tactical, transportation, and security considerations.
• Administrative. This option allows for a more orderly draw of equipment. It emphasizes maintenance and property accountability actions at the APL site rather than rapid issue of equipment and movement to the staging base. Under administrative procedures, personnel inspect and repair equipment on site, they thoroughly inventory and hand receipt materiel, vehicles marshal in the vicinity of the APL site, and convoy serials depart for the TAA in orderly columns. The entire process takes several days to execute, unlike the speedier emergency procedures. Administrative issue procedures may be used for stability operations or support operations.

APL operations consist of seven stages--planning; alert; deployment; reception, staging, onward movement, and integration (RSO&I); employment; redeployment; and replenishment. Each stage is described below

No single formula incorporates the use of an APL force into an Army force (ARFOR), or a joint or multi-national effort. Mission, enemy, terrain and weather, troops, time available, and civilian considerations (METT-TC), and other factors ultimately dictate the role of an APL-equipped force. Deliberate and crisis action planners should consider using APL materiel when developing courses of action (COAs). Once allotted APL stocks in support of an assigned contingency or mission, the unit commander and staff conduct required planning. Contingency planning involves preparing for potential crises and military operations. Crisis action planning, which begins with receipt of an alert order, can convert contingency plans into operations orders (OPORDs) as mission requirements become known. Staffs may also create new OPORDs to satisfy unforeseen requirements. Updates and modifications to plans and OPORDs continue until the operation is complete. (See Chapter 2 for details concerning APL planning.)

During this stage, the deploying unit prepares for movements of personnel and TAT/NAP equipment to ports of embarkation and subsequent boarding and loading aboard aircraft and ships. It is essential to ship TAT and NAP equipment by the most expeditious means (preferably airlift) to enhance APL operations. The unit also dispatches an advance party to the APL site to assist AWRSPTCMD and USAMMA site personnel with preparing equipment for issue. The unit should also prepare to ship organic items when APL on-hand levels are below authorizations and constitute unit shortages. Deploying units use the ABS to determine this requirement. Chapter 3 discusses ABS in more detail.

Deployment is the relocation of forces and materiel to desired AOs. Deployment encompasses all activities from origin or home station through destination. It specifically includes intra-continental US, intertheater, and intratheater movement legs, and activities in staging and holding areas. The supported CINC's requirements drive deployment planning. Deployments involve three distinct, but interrelated segments:

• Fort to port.
• Port to port.
• Port to destination.

Figure 1-6 depicts the deployment process. For further information on deployment planning, see FM 100-17-4.

Figure 1-6. Deployment Process

RSO&I consists of those essential and interrelated processes in the AO required to transform arriving personnel and materiel into forces capable of meeting operational requirements. APL is an integral part of RSO&I planning and operations. The four processes of RSO&I are--

• Reception. The process of unloading personnel and equipment from strategic or operational transport, marshaling local area transport (if required), and providing life support to the deploying personnel.
• Staging. The process of assembling, holding, and organizing arriving personnel and equipment into units and forces, incrementally building combat power, and preparing them for onward movement; and providing life support for the personnel until the units become self-sustaining.
• Onward Movement. The process of moving units and accompanying materiel from reception facilities and/or marshaling or staging areas to TAAs or other theater destinations; moving arriving non-unit personnel to gaining commands; and moving arriving sustainment materiel from reception facilities to distribution sites.
• Integration. The synchronized transfer of authority over units and forces to a designated component or functional commander for employment in the theater of operations. When this stage concludes, force closure is achieved.

The purpose of RSO&I is to produce combat-ready units in the theater of operations. Initial sustainment from pre-positioned stocks, normal time-phased force and deployment data (TPFDD) flow, or HN is handled within the RSO&I process. When unit deployment is complete, emphasis transitions from RSO&I to reception and distribution of sustainment resources. During RSO&I, forces deploying to draw APL materiel are probably not the only units that deploy to the theater. However, they may be the lead elements. Details concerning RSO&I are in FM 100-17-3.

Employment occurs when the deploying unit begins accomplishing its assigned mission following departure from the TAA. Length of the operation dictates the duration of this stage. It concludes when the supported CINC or ASCC releases the unit for redeployment. Employment considerations for a heavy brigade are in FM 71-3.

Redeployment is the transfer of unit personnel and organic equipment from one area to another. Redeployment may return a unit to home station, send it to another theater, or transfer it within the same theater for subsequent operations. (See FM 100-17-5 for further redeployment information.)

Replenishment is the process of replacing APL equipment lost or destroyed during the employment stage. Department of the Army (DA) Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (ODCSOPS) and Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics (ODSLOG) are responsible for coordinating APL replenishment.

Certain capabilities as shown in Figure 1-7 must exist in order to successfully execute APL operations

Figure 1-7. Capabilities Required for APL Operations

An underlying concept of APL is uniting airlifted personnel with pre-positioned equipment, even though some follow-on unit equipment may arrive later via sealift. The unified commander documents movement requirements in the TPFDD in accordance with the Joint Operational Planning and Execution System (JOPES) to provide for strategic movement planning. US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), through the Air Mobility Command, provides common-user airlift allocated to the supported CINC (primarily C141/C5/C17 military aircraft and commercial airliners) to expeditiously transport deploying forces to theater APODs.

In order for airlift to be effective, sufficient APOD facilities must be reasonably close to APL sites. Suitable APODs usually are airports/airfields that can accommodate and support strategic aircraft. In the absence of improved APOD facilities, forces may arrive through austere landing facilities via strategic air or through a combination of strategic and tactical airlift. In addition to the facilities, APODs require sufficient personnel and materiel handling equipment (MHE) to conduct clearance operations. Arrival/departure airfield control groups (A/DACG), as needed, can be used to receive deploying forces.

The SPOD is a seaport capable of accommodating large, deep draft, ocean-going vessels. In cases where suitable SPOD facilities are unavailable, supercargo and equipment may be off-loaded onto shallow draft vessels for final movement to land.

Once a unit draws APL equipment, it needs an area large enough to organize into unit configurations, draw and distribute combat loads, accomplish maintenance, reconcile equipment shortages, calibrate and test-fire weapons, and prepare for onward movement to the TAA. The staging base can be in theater several miles away from the APL site, or it may be established out of country or out of theater thousands of miles from the AWRSPTCMD issuing facility.

In order to reach the staging base and complete the RSO&I process, a surface transportation infrastructure is usually necessary. Critical surface transportation infrastructure elements include:

• Highways, railroads, tunnels, and bridges that are intact and of sufficient capacity.
• Railroad systems with rail cars of adequate types and quantities.
• Compatible tracks if more than one country is transited.
• Suitable rail loading/unloading facilities.

Two other surface transportation options are inland waterway and intercoastal waterway. These last two methods transport equipment over rivers, canals, or coastal waters using US Army or HN barges and other suitable watercraft. If unavailable in theater, required lighterage may be available from APA assets. Finally, APL equipment may be transported via sealift in order to traverse long distances. This option requires arrival and departure seaports.

Deploying forces airlifted into a theater have minimal capabilities for self-defense until they organize for onward movement in the staging base. Therefore, the supported CINC must provide security at key nodes such as APODs, APL sites, and staging bases, and along transit routes. Security includes gaining air superiority for the AO, preventing attacks by direct or indirect fire, and providing area security. A nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) team should develop an operational concept to minimize unit vulnerability to attack from weapons of mass destruction and to develop specific chemical-biological defense requirements.

Forces deploying to a theater arrive with limited self-sustainment capabilities. The APL site issues initial quantities of Classes I, II, III(P), V, and IX supplies, site dependent (see applicable battlebook), to support the APL equipment draw. The site also provides initial repair parts (Class IX authorized stockage list/prescribed load list (ASL/PLL) items) at time of the APL draw. The supported CINC or ASCC provides deploying units with sustainment supplies such as food, water, fuel, ammunition, and repair parts until SLOC closure. SLOC closure occurs with the arrival of surge sealift. If the theater does not possess enough sustainment stocks to last until SLOC closure, the theater CINC can request that supplies loaded aboard APA ships be issued in support of the APL operation.

Because APL operations are complex, multiple Services, commands, and agencies are involved. Each organization has specific responsibilities. A comprehensive list of organizations and responsibilities is at Appendix A. However, the five organizations most critical for executing APL operations are the following:

• AMC, which is the executive agent for APL operations.
• AWRSPTCMD, which stores and manages nonmedical APL materiel.
• USAMMA, which manages medical supplies and equipment and non-medical associated support items of equipment (ASIOE) for hospital units.
• USTRANSCOM, which provides or acquires strategic lift.
• The deploying unit, which receives APL materiel.

Listed below are general responsibilities of those organizations and deploying forces.

AMC serves as executive agent for all APL stocks, less Class VIII and hospital related non-medical ASIOE. It delegates maintenance and storage responsibility to AWRSPTCMD.

During operations, AMC delegates command and control authority over deployed AMC elements to the LSE deployed in the AO. The LSE, as AMC's single command and control element for all AMC elements/assets within the AO, is AMC's focal point for APL operations during contingency operations, including APL draws.

The AWRSPTCMD stores and manages nonmedical APL materiel. In that role, it--

• Coordinates APL draws with the theater LSE at initiation of operations or at earliest indication of a possible APL draw.
• Exercises command and control (C2) over APL draws under peacetime conditions.
• Develops all procedures necessary to support APL draw, storage, and care of supplies in storage (COSIS). It executes procedures as required.
• Provides combat ready equipment.
• Provides initial supplies of Class III (packaged), limited Class III (bulk), Class IX (ASL/PLL), and other commodities as available (site specific). The issue of Army Working Capital Funds (formerly known as Defense Business Operations Fund (DBOF)) items (that is ASL/PLL) in support of a contingency is against a funded requisition.
• Issues or lends equipment and supplies, less medical and hospital related non-medical ASIOE, from AWRSPTCMD storage facilities to receiving units.
• Provides maintenance assistance to the receiving unit during the draw.

USAMMA coordinates, manages, and controls all Class VIII equipment and supplies stored at APL sites as authorized by HQDA. It--

• Maintains total item property records for Class VIII stored at APL locations.
• Transfers accountability for all Class VIII equipment and supplies from APL storage sites.
• Dispatches a medical logistics support team (MLST) to coordinate with and assist AWRSPTCMD and receiving unit representatives with the issue and accountability transfer of APL Class VIII and hospital-related non-medical ASIOE located at APL storage sites.

As with all other operations, USTRANSCOM provides strategic lift for APL operations. It selects air and sea ports in coordination with the supported command. Location of APL storage sites will significantly affect port selection.

Commanders of units which may draw APL materiel have the responsibility to prepare to draw APL equipment. Specifically, units--

• Organize and train to draw APL materiel.
• Provide an advance party to assist site personnel with the draw. (See Appendix B for composition and functions of the advance party.)
• Ensure unit equipment needed to assist with the draw process (such as, tool boxes, cold weather gear, and personal weapons) accompanies the advance party.
• Inventory drawn equipment, perform preventive maintenance checks and services (PMCS) on equipment, and move equipment to the staging base.
• Augment site security elements.
• Prepare to draw and decontaminate equipment in an NBC environment. See Annex 2, Appendix B, for a checklist of NBC considerations.