The mission of the ROAD division Support Command is "to provide division level supply, field maintenance, medical service and miscellaneous services for all elements of the division assigned or attached." The mission of the support command headquarters is "to provide command and control of division support command and organic and attached units". The objective of this study is to analyze the adequacy of the support command headquarters to accomplish its mission. A questionnaire was sent to each of the active Army division support commands, except those in the two airborne divisions. Fourteen divisions were queried and eleven responded. The results of the questionnaire form a major part of this study. The study is divided into two parts. Part I considers the development of the ROAD division logistical organization, presents an account of the development of centralization and functionalization of logistical support in the U.S. Army since 1943, and concludes with a fundamental discussion of the employment of the support command. Part II is an analysis of the control exercised by the support command headquarters. In the analysis, five aspects of control are examined: communications for command and control; control of supply (less ammunition), medical, and maintenance operations; control of the forward support elements operating in the brigade trains areas, control of ammunition supply, and transportation planning and movement control. The methodology employed in this study was to analyze each aspect of control, present the data obtained from the field, and then, based on the analysis and field experience, to evaluate the adequacy of the headquarters to exercise control. The criteria used to analyze the headquarters' capability to exercise control were the adequacy of communication and personnel resources, and the suitability of the methods that may be employed by the headquarters to control supply (except ammunition), medical, and maintenance operations. The examination of communications for command and control considers both internal and external communications required by the support command headquarters. By and large, the communication resources are adequate to provide the headquarters with the necessary communication capability to exercise command and control. Two limitations exist in the area of internal communications. Additional field wire and an additional FM radio are needed to completely satisfy the requirements for internal communications. Control of supply (less ammunition), medical, and maintenance operations is analyzed by considering the methods which the support command commander may use to exercise control. Doctrinally, there are two methods: the traditional method and the operations center method. The traditional method employs the unit staff in the conventional manner; the operations center method employs elements of the unit staff along with representatives from the support command battalions to establish a logistical operations center. The conclusions reached are that the operations center method is the better method of exercising control of support command operations, and that this method should be adopted as a standing operating procedure. The investigation of the control of forward support elements also considers the methods which can be used to exercise control of this aspect of support command operations. Two methods are evaluated: the parent battalion method and the conclusion reached is that current doctrine is valid--the forward support elements should be controlled by their parent battalions. With regard to ammunition supply, it is concluded that the division ammunition section provides the support command headquarters with the capability to control effectively ammunition supply for the division and attached units. The division transportation section is considered to be adequate to perform its functions, but the evaluation indicates that it should be assigned to the division headquarters rather than the support command headquarters. The overall conclusion resulting from this research into the adequacy of the support command headquarters to exercise command and control is that the capability of the headquarters is generally adequate, but that command and control would be improved substantially if the following modifications in communication equipment, operating procedures, and organization were implemented: (1) An additional radio and additional wire are authorized for internal communications (2) The logistical operations center method is adopted as a standing operating procedure within the support command headquarters. (3) The composition of the logistical operations center is modified to include the entire S3 and S4 staff sections, and the support command battalions are authorized TOE spaces for their representatives who operate in the logistical operations center. (4) The division transportation section is assigned to the division headquarters rather than to the support command headquarters.

ADA 371133 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)