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CHAPTER 3

CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS

CONOPS are crisis situations involving imminent military action. Light armor units take part in such operations with light infantry forces. This chapter is not intended to repeat information found in other manuals. Rather, it examines the nature of light armor unit employment as part of division, corps, and JTF CONOPS; the stages of CONOPS; and how light armor units fit into each stage. Additional information on the characteristics of division CONOPS and planning systems is in PM 71-100. Corps CONOPS and planning systems are discussed in FM 100-15.

Section I. Fundamentals of Contingency Operations

CONOPS involve military forces to achieve US objectives or protect national interests. They are usually in response to a sudden or short-notice crisis or emergency and occur across the scope of operations. Army forces, including armor, may take part in several types of CONOPS involving other US services or an allied or coalition contingency TF. CONOPS are usually terminated in their own right or evolve into sustained operations. They may serve to--

• Defend US citizens and interests abroad.

• Support foreign policy.

• Promote regional stability.

• Defuse a sudden crisis or contain spontaneous conflict.

• Conduct short-notice humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and NEOs.

• Conclude military operations on terms favorable to US interests and objectives.

CONOPS are quick-response actions that are designed to bring early resolution to a crisis. They require the following:

• Rapid projection of CONUS-based combat power.

• Timely, detailed intelligence of objective area.

• Opposed entry capability.

• Precise C2 during initial stages.

• Joint warfighting expertise.

• Practice.

US Army light divisions may be required to respond to a variety of contingencies or to rapidly reinforce US and allied forces deployed anywhere in the world. Conflicts in these areas may be at any level on the continuum. The versatility of light armor presents planners with multiple employment options. Selection of the preferred option or a combination of options is based on careful consideration of the terrain, the type enemy expected to be encountered, and the inherent capabilities and limitations of light armor. Light armor units must be prepared to--

• Augment, task organize, and support the light infantry TF before deployment. When this option is selected, units assigned to support the TF must possess strategic mobility compatible with the parent unit.

• Augment, task organize, and support the light infantry TF after deployment. Forward deployed light infantry forces can be quickly augmented by light armor units. The LID's C2 structure has the capability to accept and quickly integrate these assets into the scheme of maneuver.

- Task organize the light armor unit to meet theater-specific requirements.

- Employ light armor as it is organized. In this instance, the unit's maneuver manpower, tactical transportation assets, FS, and logistic capabilities must be considered to determine what is needed for sustainment.

- Designate selected items of pre-positioned equipment in theater for issue to the light armor unit.

Regardless of the option selected, on arrival in theater, the light armor unit becomes an integral part of the larger infantry force, normally the battalion, brigade, division, corps, or JTF to which it is attached. Light armor may deploy for operations in areas where there are no US or allied bases and where the indigenous population ranges from friendly to neutral to overtly hostile to US forces.

CONOPS require that the force first be tailored for the specific mission, then echeloned to permit simultaneous deployment and employment. The division organizes into an assault echelon, a follow-on echelon, and a rear echelon. Light armor units will normally deploy in each of these echelons. The initial assaulting echelon must organize with sufficient combat power to seize the lodgement and begin combat operations. The echelon that immediately follows must be equipped to expand the lodgement and undertake decisive combat operations. The final echelon must provide the sustainment for expanded operations.

A secure airfield, port, or beach must be available for resupply; it must be by the host nation, other US forces, allied forces, or an irregular force. Local air superiority and TACAIR support are essential in all stages of a CONOPS.

TYPES OF CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS IN OPERATIONS OTHER THAN WAR

The following paragraphs discuss in greater detail the types of CONOPS in which armor forces may participate in operations other than war. A crisis response involving light armor directly into war is also a CONOP, but would involve combat operations as described in Chapters 4, 5 , and 6 .

NOTE: There are other types of CONOPS in operations other than war that are not likely to involve light armor units except in extreme circumstances, including disaster relief, surveillance operations, and support to counterdrug operations.

Noncombatant Evacuation Operations. NEOs remove threatened civilian noncombatants from locations in a host foreign nation. NEOs normally affect US citizens, but they may also include selective evacuation of host-nation and third-country nationals. An NEO involves a swift insertion of a force and possible temporary occupation of an objective, followed by a rapid withdrawal.

Light armor force options for NEOs depend on the operational environment in which NEO will be conducted. Semipermissive and nonpermissive environments may require formation of an infantry/armor TF and/or deployment of combat and support forces from CONUS locations. Host-nation capabilities, to include airstrip facilities, will play a major role in determining force options for NEOs. The TF commander should consider a light armor force option that provides both early response to a developing situation and the capability to quickly expand should the environment become more hostile.

Show of Force and Demonstration. Shows of force and demonstrations lend credibility to US promises and commitments, increase the nation's regional influence, and demonstrate its resolve. They can take the form of combined training exercises, forward deployment of military forces, or introduction or buildup of military forces in a region.

Light armor force options for shows of force and demonstrations range from a single TF with a light armor platoon to a massive deployment and buildup of a joint US military force involving one or more light armor battalions. Such a buildup would often occur as part of a regional allied or coalition show of force or demonstration.

Security Assistance Surge. Security assistance surges are employed when a friendly or allied nation faces an imminent military threat. They are normally focused on providing additional combat systems (weapons and equipment) or supplies, but may include the full range of security assistance, to include financial and training support.

Some limited security assistance surges may be conducted by forward-deployed forces; however, most surges will require deployment of combat systems and/or supplies from CONUS locations via strategic airlift. Light armor gives the contingency commander an armor option with airlift deployment capability.

Quarantine and Blockade. Quarantines and blockades often follow shows of force or demonstrations and may be conducted as precursors to further escalation of military actions. Their purpose is to restrict movement of persons and things from entering and/or leaving a designated country. Quarantines are less restrictive than blockades and normally target specific types or classes of persons and things. Blockades are very restrictive and normally prohibit all persons and things from entering and/or leaving the designated country. Quarantines and blockades normally involve air, land, and sea operations to stop, search, and divert or redirect commercial and military means of conveyance. They require clearly articulated rules of engagement (ROE) as well as extensive coordination within the quarantine and blockade forces, especially when regional allied or coalition forces are participating.

Depending on geography, quarantines and blockades normally involve a combination of air and surface forces. Light armor units provide surface forces with tactical mobility and firepower that enable them to mutually support and communicate with other contingency forces. Light armor units may have to reinforce forward-deployed forces, regional allied forces, and/or coalition forces used to initiate a quarantine or blockade.

Strike and Raid. Strikes and raids damage or destroy HVTs and demonstrate US capacity and resolve to protect regional interests and/or achieve specific objectives. They usually involve the use of violently destructive military power against predetermined objectives through employment of air, land, sea, and/or special operations. Strikes most often involve direct application of weapon systems against objectives; raids normally involve temporarily seizing and/or destroying objectives, followed by rapid and preplanned withdrawal of raid forces.

Strikes and raids are normally conducted with regional allied or coalition forces whenever possible. They usually involve joint forces tailored for a specific mission, but may involve only single-service forces or special operations forces (SOF). Light armor capabilities provide the strike/raid force with firepower that can be rapidly introduced into (opposed entry) and removed from the objective area.

Rescue and Recovery. These operations include the rescue or recovery of US and/or friendly foreign nationals and the location, identification, and recovery of sensitive equipment or items critical to US national security. Rescue/recovery operations are normally conducted in a clandestine or covert manner. They require accurate intelligence, a great deal of detailed planning, highly trained rescue/recovery forces, and appropriate operational support such as insertion and extraction vehicles, communications equipment, and FS. Rescue/recovery operations are normally highly classified during planning and execution.

Rescue/recovery operations are normally conducted by highly trained and specialized forces operating from land- and/or sea-based safe havens as close as feasible to the objective area. They may include limited participation by allied or coalition assets. Under certain conditions, they include light armor units when additional firepower, security, or shock effect (through use of a feint or diversion) is needed. Some specialized training may be required for such operations.

Operations to Restore Order and Intervention Operations. These are intended to halt violence and reinstate more normal civil activities. Where applicable, they are employed to encourage the resumption of political and diplomatic dialogue. They often evolve into peacekeeping operations; forces tasked to conduct such operations may be opposed by considerable numbers of belligerents in a situation that could suddenly deteriorate into combat. PSYOP and civil affairs forces normally play important roles in these operations.

Operations to restore order and intervention operations normally involve mostly ground forces, but they may also require air, maritime, or special operations support. Force protection, evacuation, and the potential for offensive and defensive combat operations make light armor involvement likely. Forward-deployed US forces and/or regional allied or coalition forces often initiate these operations to serve as the nucleus for follow-on forces from CONUS or other overseas locations.

LIGHT ARMOR EMPLOYMENT IN CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS

Light armor units do not conduct CONOPS alone. Rather, they fight as a combined arms team with other forces. Possibilities for task organization could be a light armor platoon operating with a battalion-size force, a light armor company with a brigade, and a light armor battalion with a division. Light armor executes armor-related missions and tasks in support of the overall contingency mission. For example, when a TF conducts an NEO in a nonpermissive environment, light armor may have to conduct an attack with infantry to seize key terrain or occupy blocking positions that secure the noncombatant area. Other forces could then notify, gather, document, and move the evacuees. Light armor might subsequently provide convoy security to the point of debarkation.

Command guidance and the characteristics of CONOPS affect the way light armor is used in such operations. In employing light armor, the CONOPS commander can--

• Quickly task organize or tailor an attachment to light infantry or another headquarters for rapid deployment and/or combat.

• Plan for simultaneous deployment and employment of a force. Fighting may well begin before the whole force or support elements can be in position.

• Deploy a force directly into combat by opposed entry into an AO.

• Provide an operational headquarters capable of conducting rapid response, quick deployment, and fast, decisive, offensive operations. A light armor headquarters element must be able to move into the objective area early to assist in C2 of follow-on units in a build-up. This element can also assist coordination and control of support for light armor units already in the AO.

Table 3-1 shows a list of potential tasks and missions that light armor units may execute during CONOPS. This list is not all-inclusive, though it shows which CONOPS will most likely involve light armor units. It is extremely difficult to match all possible missions/tasks with each type of contingency. Each crisis and operation will bring with it a unique mission, environment, and threat. Commanders must analyze the factors of METT-T for each situation to determine the most appropriate solution. Chapters 4, 5 , and 6 of this manual discuss missions and tasks light armor units may have to perform as part of these operations.

SUPPORT CONSIDERATIONS

CONOPS forces must establish C2 as well as CSS virtually from the start of the operation. Employment of light armor forces is not as simple as putting combat forces first, followed by CS and CSS; it requires corresponding echelonment of CSS. Rapid transition to decisive combat or other operations dictates that CSS accompany or closely follow each echelon. CSS organization and supply quantities must be carefully analyzed, taking into account such factors as potentially scarce transportation assets and the austere infrastructure of light infantry CSS assets.

Other CSS considerations apply when light armor is required to operate with other services. Support requirements and supply quantities depend on the mission, but the capabilities of the parent unit's CSS assets could easily be overtaxed. Proactive planning is necessary to ensure the light armor force, whatever its size, has accompanying CSS support. Echelonment is the key; redundancy is essential.

Light armor units may require augmentation for resupply and maintenance support during some CONOPS. When an operation is conducted in stages, detailed planning is necessary to ensure the force is sustained in each stage. It is critical to synchronize the deployment of CSS units, supplies, and CSS C2 with the increase in combat capabilities.

Augmentation may take two forms. In the first, combat, CS, and/or CSS elements may be added to the light armor unit to enable it to perform effectively in an environment in which its basic organization requires augmentation. The second form entails staff augmentation, provided when expertise not organic to the battalion staff is needed or when units of a type not normally found in the division are added. Some examples of this form might be augmentation of a unit with interpreters, an ANGLICO, or a civil-military affairs officer.

Table 3-1. Examples of light armor missions and tasks in contingency operations.

Augmentation places special demands on the battalion staff and the C2 system. The staff must be prepared to integrate augmentation units and staff elements into the battalion structure and to employ these elements effectively. The C2 system must accommodate additions and deletions from this force structure without disruption or degradation of operations.

Light armor may also require augmentation from division or corps units to conduct extended operations. It is imperative that the corps remain responsive to the battalion's operational needs and provide the required augmentation.

When elements of the light armor battalion are task organized throughout the division, the battalion normally does not possess the required logistical redundancy to sustain them. These elements usually must deploy with their unique sustaining support packages, which are either organic or are provided by division and/or corps assets. Special consideration should be given to maintenance, repair, and supply. See Chapter 8 for a discussion of support operations.

Section II. Force Projection Operations

CONOPS are conducted in stages. The eight stages provide the general planning and execution structure and can be adjusted to fit the needs of a particular contingency. They are--

• Mobilization.

• Predeployment activity.

• Deployment.

• Entry operations.

• Operations.

• Postconflict operations.

• Redeployment and reconstitution.

• Demobilization.

Execution of these stages may not be distinct. Operations may begin well before the force has completed previous stages. This section briefly discusses the stages from a light armor perspective following an examination of preparation and planning procedures. Refer to FM 100-17 for information on mobilization and demobilization.

PREPARATION AND PLANNING

CONOPS for a light armor unit begin when it is notified to deploy. Time is very limited and requires the unit to be prepared to react immediately. Several operational and administrative activities can be accomplished prior to notification. Light armor units will be better prepared to execute CONOPS if the following activities are conducted:

• Readiness SOPs and alert notification procedures are usually dictated by division SOP. The light armor unit's alert and deployment procedures must be developed, practiced, and refined to reduce dead time and increase efficiency in execution.

• Training with light infantry should be on a regular basis, not only for tactical training but for alerts and deployments as well. Light armor platoons and companies are task organized with light infantry battalions and brigades during contingency force readiness postures. When not in a immediate deployment status, light armor platoons and companies conduct training, maintenance, and support cycles to maintain readiness.

• A light armor unit should undergo an operational readiness inspection of all systems prior to assuming mission readiness responsibilities. Precombat inspection checks should be conducted during these readiness inspections as well as when alert notification is received.

• Ammunition load plans and support requirements can be anticipated and prepackaged. Ammunition placed in the installation ammunition supply point in the configuration needed for loading on vehicles (ballast) and for resupply (bulk) will make deployment easier.

• Light armor units will usually deploy in platoon assault packages. Airlift load plans required by the Air Force can be prepared to reduce processing time for the unit at the departure airfield.

• All Air Force aircraft require wood shoring for tracked vehicles loaded in an airlanding configuration. The unit must maintain a sufficient supply of shoring to ensure that time is not lost during predeployment activities. Planning for shoring includes transportation assets to get the material to the departure airfield, as well as the manpower required to load and offload. See Appendix A for more information on shoring materials.

• Unit readiness SOPs and procedures should include plans for determining who will provide the manpower to outload the deploying unit. Because of the nature of rapid deployment, deploying unit personnel will not normally be involved in vehicle outload preparation. During notification, unit personnel will be heavily involved in receiv ing/giving OPORDs, conducting rehearsals, and receiving individual issue of equipment and ammunition. Crew members may not link up with their vehicles until they arrive at the departure airfield (during airlanding) or on the drop zone (DZ) after an airborne operation. Elements of the light armor battalion normally will not deploy simultaneously. Plans may simply task one or more of the other companies in the battalion to assist in manpower and transportation requirements during predeployment. If the entire battalion eventually deploys, the last elements will need assistance from outside the unit.

• Telephonic and nontelephonic alert and notification rosters must be updated and rehearsed frequently.

• Above all, deployment activities and procedures must be practiced and rehearsed to improve unit readiness.

Administrative preparation will also reduce the number of complications during short-notice deployment. Light armor units should consider the following list of basic preparations when preparing to assume a contingency mission readiness posture:

• Overseas movement packets should be inspected and updated as often as required by division and army regulations.

• Immunization and dental records must be kept current.

• A- and B-bag packing lists should be predetermined. Bags should be packed upon assumption of mission readiness; a plan should be in place that allows for the unit to collect and ship the bags to the deployed unit if required.

• Hand receipts for sensitive items and other equipment can be filled out, without signatures, to save time during the deployment sequence.

• Privately owned vehicle (POV) plans must be determined and coordinated, including storage parking and key control.

• Plans for billets vacated by deployed units, to include storage of personal belongings, must be completed to reduce complications.

• Wills, powers of attorney, single-parent arrangements, and single-soldier debt payment plans must all be developed and finalized prior to assuming mission responsibility.

• Family support group rosters and notification plans are extremely important. These plans must be made prior to deployment notification.

• Rear-detachment structure and procedures must be identified in advance; this will reduce deployment turbulence and ease coordination of all types of administrative activities.

PREDEPLOYMENT ACTIVITY

This is the critical stage of CONOPS. The objective for the contingency commander is to select and task organize a force and to quickly develop or refine operational concepts that will set the conditions for subsequent stages of the campaign. The need to plan and prepare for strategic deployments in the compressed time frame of a crisis will be a particularly demanding aspect of this stage. During this stage, decisions will be made that affect the size of light armor participation in the operation. The contingency force commander will determine the size of the force, the time required to initiate and deploy the force and the airlift requirements for deployment.

Light armor units must be prepared for short-notice contingencies. Alert and notification procedures in the unit will be conducted within a specific number of hours as dictated by the mission and the division's readiness SOP. For example, the airborne division may require an airborne light armor battalion to be able to deploy its initial element 18 hours after notification. The requirement varies among divisions. The unit can anticipate tasks to be accomplished in the alert and deployment sequence.

CONOPS begin when the unit is notified to deploy. The announcement initiates predeployment activities. Sometimes, during the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) crisis assessment, the parent HQ (corps/division) will receive a WO. The division or corps may then initiate planning and advise its subordinate HQ of the impending contingency. This planning sequence is called the X-hour sequence. The staff begins to anticipate requirements and sequence activities that will facilitate its transition into the deployment and initial combat actions phase.

Based on information provided by the corps, the division task organizes a force to meet specific tactical requirements. Temporary C2 facilities and organizations to support the operation are established early.

X-hour Preparation Sequence. CONOPS are by nature executed with limited time available. The X-hour sequence gives units a jump on execution planning and preparation before receipt of the actual alert order; it has no set time windows to meet. All actions depend on the situation and the information received from division HQ.

During X-hour activities, the battalion staff will begin monitoring the situation. The S2 may begin an analysis of the potential objective area or AO, if known. When no X-hour sequence is initiated, reaction time will be minimal.

When the decision is made to initiate military action, the NCA, through the JCS, issues an executive order to the commander-in-chief initiating the N-hour sequence. Forces are alerted and marshaled to begin preliminary measures to facilitate deployment. Normally, the initial assault forces will have 18 hours to begun deployment. This initial TF will range from battalion to brigade in size, including light armor from section to company level. Normally, the force package will be determined in COA development; however, it may be tailored during predeployment planning because of such factors as a lack of airlift and sealift capability or a change of mission.

OPSEC Considerations. The need for OPSEC is paramount throughout the notification and deployment activities. All units must take steps to reduce unnecessary dissemination of mission information. In some instances, when secrecy is needed, units may be required to conduct deception operations or move to a remote staging area to keep from compromising the mission.

DEPLOYMENT

The means of deployment depend on the capabilities of the light armor unit and the commander balancing the factors of METT-T against available airlift and sealift assets. Each crisis will have unique demands. Commanders must task organize and deploy light armor with other forces to fix mission requirements.

In this example, a brigade headquarters serves as the base for each assault force and is complemented with appropriate combat (including a light armor company), CS, and CSS units. One of the brigades is designated the lead unit and contains the assault elements for deployment. The brigade is maintained at a high state of readiness to meet the division's initial deployment requirement. The other brigades maintain various stages of readiness and deploy after the lead brigade. See Figure 3-1 for an example of the brigade assault force in the lodgement area.

Figure 3-1. Brigade assault force in the lodgement area.

The majority of the assault elements of the brigade are typical tactical organizations with the exception of the division TAC CP. The TAC CP is manned with full staff representation and sufficient communications to conduct division C2 and to interface with echelons above division before the arrival of the main CP.

Those light armor elements (CS and CSS) not task organized to the assault force may be organized to deploy after the lead brigade. They are task organized to facilitate an advance party and additional operational elements, followed by the main body. The advance element prepares for the arrival of the remainder of the battalion while the operational element provides the necessary support to sustain operations of the light armor element. This structure of task organized elements also provides the light armor the flexibility to rapidly tailor and deploy support packages if the entire battalion does not deploy. With this type of organization, the battalion maintains a flexible base to respond to most situations within hours of notification.

In some deployments an intermediate staging base (ISB) is required. If the assault element requires C130 aircraft for an airborne drop or field strip landing and the deployment distant is too great, the armor vehicles may be transported to an intermediate base on C141 or C5 aircraft and transferred to the C130 for the assault (see Figure 3-2). The light armor vehicles may be rigged for airdrop in CONUS or at the ISB. If rigged in CONUS, then lift assets must be available at the ISB. If the armor vehicles are configured for airlanding, the vehicles simply offload from one and load onto the other aircraft.

Prior to the execution of the entry stage, detailed planning is required for feeding, fueling, arming, maintaining, and loading the assault force at the staging areas and any enroute bases. During this stage, the division support command (DISCOM) control party consists of individuals required for the receipt and issue of rations, fuel, and ammunition, and for the coordination and control of other essential CSS (maintenance and transportation) activities in support of the assault force. The armor assault force enters the AO with basic loads of Classes I, III (packaged and bulk), V, and IX (high demand items). Based on the enemy situation in the AO, the assault force may include Class V in bulk. Personnel from the DISCOM may establish an initial Class V point on the airhead or beachhead. Mortuary affairs during this phase is a unit responsibility.

Figure 3-2. Intermediate staging base.

ENTRY OPERATIONS

This is the key execution stage, encompassing the occupation of the initial lodgements in the objective area. The strength and composition of the first elements of the force to arrive in the AO will depend on the factors of METT-T. Depending on the crisis, this stage may require opposed entry into a hostile, chaotic, or seemingly benign environment. Airborne light armor forces are best designed to achieve strategic surprise in this stage. Light armor units without this capability may receive augmentation and should therefore plan for opposed entry operations. Follow-on forces must be prepared not only to close into the objective area, but also to reinforce the assault. If an armor threat is present, a larger light armor force must accompany the initial assault or immediate follow-on forces. Light armor units may have to conduct simultaneous deployment and employment of the force. This will place greater stress on the C2 of the light infantry/armor TF (see Figure 3-3).

Operations in contingency areas normally commence with the movement of the division's assault force into the contingency area by air or sea. The assault force lands on or close to objectives. USAF and Navy aircraft normally provide required FS during and after the airlanding operations. Operations are assigned to the assault force based on the factors of METT-T. The assault force secures its initial objectives to establish and maintain a secure lodgement and to protect it from direct fires and observed indirect fires; this will facilitate the landing of follow-on forces during the next phase of the operation. Cavalry and, in some instances, light armor elements provide reconnaissance and security and operate beyond the lodgement to gain enemy information and provide early warning.

Figure 3-3. Opposed entry operations.

OPERATIONS

In this stage, light armor units are incorporated into the buildup of forces, then into combat operations (see Figure 3-4). The contingency force accomplishes the following tasks during buildup:

• Establishes a forward operating base.

• Closes the remainder of the force.

• Expands the lodgement.

• Links up with other joint forces.

• Moves out to engage the enemy in offensive and defensive operations.

The principal focus of this stage is to build up combat power as quickly as possible and rapidly expand combat operations (see Figure 3-5). The objective is to place a force on the ground that can fight while follow-on forces continue to arrive and prepare for subsequent operations. Speed is especially important since the success of decisive operations hinges on the force's ability to build combat power without losing the initiative. Inclusion of light armor forces is critical in ensuring that the contingency force has the necessary firepower to maintain mobility and take the fight to the enemy.

This stage begins with the introduction of follow-on forces into the airfield, beachhead, or port in the contingency area. Follow-on forces reinforce and support the assault force and establish lodgement. During this phase, sufficient combat power is generated and tactical operations are conducted to fully secure the lodgement area by expanding the security area out to the range of enemy indirect-fire weapons. Combat forces are employed as necessary to destroy, delay, or disrupt enemy forces threatening the lodgement. Air and naval aircraft and NGF provide FS. ADA is employed to provide air defense against penetrating enemy aircraft. A corps or JTF will normally assume command of the division as soon as its C2 and logistical base are established. Because the force buildup and combat actions phase of the CONOPS is the most critical point for the division, staff planners must ensure that the lead brigade is fully resourced for the mission.

C2 of light armor units in the lodgement area rests initially with the infantry TF (brigade or battalion) commander or a designated representative. However, as the remainder of the battalion arrives, the C2 of some of the light armor units may revert to the light armor battalion commander. The battalion XO or S3-Air is initially positioned at the departure airfield to synchronize and coordinate the flow of supplies, personnel, and equipment into the AO.

The size of the support package varies depending on several factors, including--

• Availability of host-nation facilities.

• Size of the force to be deployed.

• Available lines of communication.

• The threat.

Figure 3-4. Operations stage.

During the early stages of the force buildup and combat operations, maintenance support will consist primarily of reliance on component repair, BDAR, and cannibalization of combat damaged equipment. As this stage progresses, host-nation facilities (if approved for use) may become available, as will the remaining elements of the division supply upon complete deployment. In the early stages, division supplies are received by air delivery. Distribution to support units is normally accomplished by a combination of supply point distribution and aerial resupply.

Figure 3-5. The operations stage showing an example of a buildup and combat operations.

It is through decisive combat that the contingency force attains the objectives that achieve the purpose of the campaign. The operational methods and missions will vary with the nature of the crisis.

Decisive combat operations, depicted in Figure 3-6, is an extension of the operations stage. Combat forces and a logistics base are concurrently established and expanded to support decisive operations. As the situation in the lodgement area is stabilized, the division performs expanded combat operations to eliminate the enemy force as directed by its higher headquarters. Long-term and widely dispersed operations may require additional combat, CS, and CSS forces. See Chapters 4, 5 , and 6 for a more detailed discussion of combat operations.

Figure 3-6. Decisive combat operations during the operations stage.

POSTCONFLICT OPERATIONS

Once combat operations bring an end to the immediate conflict, light armor transitions to a period of postconflict operations. The postconflict operations stage focuses on those activities that occur after conflict ends. The emphasis is on restoring order and minimizing confusion following the operation, reestablishing the host-nation infrastructure, and preparing for redeployment. Light armor may provide security to the force in case of a resumption of hostilities, or assist in prisoner control and refugee handling.

REDEPLOYMENT AND RECONSTITUTION

The objective of this stage to redeploy the force as rapidly as possible to CONUS, to an ISB, or to another theater of operations. In conjunction with this effort, redeployment and reconstitution of the light armor unit is necessary to handle other contingencies or operations in other theaters.