The sidewinder slithers among the rocks in the cool predawn hours. His quiet, sideways motion brings him closer to his intended victim a few feet away. The kangaroo rat continues foraging for food, unaware that death lurks nearby. He realizes too late that he is in danger. The sidewinder strikes with deadly accuracy, completng the nightly game of hunter and prey.
Staff Sergeant Thomas looks up from this life and death struggle and motions for his team to move. As a member of a local Parumphian Peoples Guerrilla cell, he is about to play this same game, but on a much grander scale.
Captain Todd wakes to the sounds of explosions in the distance and quickly jumps out of his cot, pulling on his boots as he exits his tent. He can see the flashes of small arms fire from his company's northern perimeter as he races for his company command post (CP). As Captain Todd enters the CP, he hears several more explosions and the excited voices of his soldiers in the distance. The game of cat and mouse has begun.
This is a game that is played over and over again at the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California. The success of the company's reaction to this situation depends, in large part, on the organization and effectiveness of the company's command and control system.
Company commanders in the Army today often include command and control on their mission-essential task list. However, command and control should be viewed from a doctrinal perspective as a battlefield operating system. Too often, company commanders do not know what the standards for command and control are, how to evaluate their company's standing, or, most importantly, how to train their company personnel in command and control. One of the most integral aspects of the company's command and control system is the company CP.
The company CP's purpose is to help the commander make timely and accurate decisions that will ensure synchronized company operations. The CP serves as the focal point for the majority of the company's planning, coordinating, and monitoring of key events. The CP must operate 24 hours a day. While most logistics companies establish a CP, the trend at the NTC shows that the majority of these CP's are not adequately manned, equipped, or organized to function in their intended roles. These shortfalls are not caused by shortages on the company's modification table of organization and equipment or in personnel, but by a failure to think through the purpose and responsibilities of the company CP.
A company commander must consider three essential elements if he wants his CP to run successfully: personnel duties and responsibilities, information management, and organization. The commander and his staff must have ready access to the right information to make the best decisions possible in the shortest possible time. This will happen only if the CP is efficiently staffed and organized, and the system for monitoring, processing, and recording information is well designed and effectively operated.
The company commander typically will staff his CP with an executive officer, a noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC), a radio telephone operator (RTO), a supply sergeant, a nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) NCO, an assistant supply specialist, a company clerk, and any other soldiers he chooses to designate. These individuals are expected to receive, analyze, coordinate, and disseminate all information the commander needs to accomplish the company's mission during 24-hour operations in a high-tempo environment. The commander must make sure that each of these soldiers understands his duties and responsibilities, and that the CP is organized to manage information efficiently and effectively.
Three of the most important positions in the company CP are the executive officer, the NCOIC, and the RTO. The chart above lists typical duties and responsibilities of these three key CP personnel. This chart is intended only as a guide that may help commanders assign responsibilities within their own companies.
The NTC has found that the soldiers in the company CP often do not understand their roles and therefore are unable to function effectively. Each member must understand his role in the operation of the CP if the company is going to exercise effective command and control. The first leg of the CP triad is a crucial element. If each member of the CP does not understand his role thoroughly, the commander cannot hope to develop an effective command and control system.
The NTC has found that many logistics companies reporting for training do not have an effective means of managing information within the CP. The purpose of tracking information is to allow the commander to walk in and be able to get a complete picture of his company and the current operation without asking a lot of questions. This is not a simple task, and the unit can become overwhelmed quickly unless it develops a simple and effective system to display information, handle messages, and track the current operation.
Message handling. NTC experience shows that, for most crisis situations, including raids on the brigade support area, the information required to predict or prevent the crisis is available to the unit. However, the CP personnel often do not have the training to identify the critical information or an effective means of dealing with it.
The unit must have a plan for handling the many messages and reports that flow through the CP. The first step in this process is to determine how each type of information will be processed. Information coming into the CP may require personnel to update a status chart, plot the information on a map, or raise or lower the status of a report. It is important to remember that all information is not processed in the same way.
The second step is to determine who will process each type of information. Each person in the CP must understand his responsibility in analyzing and taking action on a particular piece of information. All of the information that flows through the CP requires some action, even if it is nothing more than a determination of whether or not it contains any useful data. For example, it is the job of the RTO to record on a DA Form 1594, Daily Staff Journal or Duty Officer's Log, all information coming into and leaving the CP. The journal is the most effective way to track and retrieve information quickly. The unit that develops and rehearses detailed procedures for routine handling of each piece of information will be more effective at handling larger amounts of information during an operation.
Information display. The use of status charts is an effective way to display information so the commander can get a quick snapshot of his unit. The key is to identify only those charts that are required and not attempt to use too many charts. It is possible for the CP to be less efficient with too many charts than with too few charts. The charts used in the company CP should mirror the charts used by the battalion S3 and support operations officer.
Each combat service support company has its own unique mission. Therefore, the commander must decide what charts he needs to support his operation. Charts alone will not necessarily guarantee success. The commander must identify the information that is critical to the operation. He then must train his CP personnel to discard routine information and track only critical information on the charts.
Battle tracking. The last step in the information management system is battle tracking. Battle tracking is the constant monitoring of the supported unit's current operation. This is a function that often is overlooked by the company CP. Logisticians must conduct battle tracking to be able to provide logistics support to the tactical commander. For example, when the brigade achieves a breakthrough, the supply company can anticipate an increase in fuel consumption as the brigade conducts hot refuels. Staying abreast of the current situation will allow the company to anticipate and react to future logistics requirements as well as prevent the enemy from surprising the company. Effective battle tracking will not occur unless the company has an effective way to handle and display information. While the three parts of the information management system are inseparable, battle tracking will fail unless the unit has done its homework and training on the first two steps.
As with the other parts of information management, the company must determine what information is critical and therefore must be tracked. The commander will base this decision on what is necessary to meet force protection requirements and accomplish the mission.
The next step is to develop an effective method to track the information. This may include the use of charts, graphics, overlays, or butcher paper. The key is to ensure that each person understands both the system and his individual responsibilities in tracking the information.
In addition to graphics and overlays, the CP will also need the following items to facilitate efficient and effective battle tracking-
Brigade and battalion orders. This includes a copy of the latest operation or fragmentary orders. They will provide the commander with a ready reference if questions arise.
Friendly and enemy locations. The commander must develop a system to chart the location of friendly and enemy units. He may choose to use color-coded stickers, thumb tacks, or dot stickers. The unit also should design a method to determine the combat power of its supported maneuver units. Remember that logistics assets such as ambulance exchange points, unit maintenance collection points, and battalion aid stations are to be included when plotting the location of friendly units.
Units in company perimeter. The CP should track all personnel that enter the company area. The company should inform these soldiers of the current tactical situation and ensure that they are integrated quickly into the company defense plan.
Company area damage control status. The company must establish standardized procedures for collecting the information necessary for an effective area damage control plan.
Company base defense graphics. The unit can post these graphics to its operational map. The best system may be to develop a separate, blown-up base defense graphic that the commander can consult for the detailed information he needs to fight his battle.
Standardized forms. These forms are preprinted to track various recurring events; for example, the size, activity, location, unit, time, and equipment (SALUTE) report, or a report of an NBC episode. These forms allow the CP to track events effectively and gain all the information necessary to help the commander make a decision.
There are as many ways to organize the CP as there are companies in the Army. The NTC trend has shown that most CP's are not organized in ways that are conducive to effective command and control operations. However, the way the unit organizes and equips its CP can have a significant impact on how it operates. The commander must concentrate on three areas if he wants to organize the CP efficiently: operating procedures, functionality, and briefings and other activities.
Operating procedures. The organization of the CP usually begins to lose focus and slowly disintegrate after the unit has been in the field awhile. The unit must have a standing operating procedure (SOP) that outlines what supplies are needed to run the CP, who is responsible for maintaining those supplies, and where the supplies can be found. There should be a designated place for everything in the CP, and everything should be in its place. The company cannot afford to waste valuable time hunting for items during a crisis situation.
Functionality. Functionality refers to how the CP is physically configured. This includes the location of all work stations, radios, and maps. A good size for a CP is about 15 by 20 feet, which is the size of a frame tent. Whatever size the company decides to use, the command post should be easy to assemble and disassemble, and it must provide plenty of working space. The commander must develop a standardized CP layout and conduct rehearsals to ensure that every soldier understands how the CP should function. A standardized setup allows the CP to establish command and control quickly when moving to a new site. The CP NCOIC cannot allow external activities to interfere with the the CP's operation. The CP is the company's command and control center, not a headquarters section, sleep tent, or chow hall. The executive officer and the NCOIC must enforce the CP standards. The CP needs to be "as clean as an operating room, quiet as a church."
Briefings and operations. The CP must have a designated briefing and operations area. This area must be large enough to accommodate briefings by the commander to his section leaders during times of limited visibility or inclement weather. This area also can be used by the company to conduct other activities without interfering with the current operation.
Inside the command post, Captain Todd heads straight for the map board and the base defense graphics. Sergeant Banks, the CP NCOIC, is at his side by the time he reaches the map board. Private Riley, the RTO, is taking a spot report. In a matter of minutes, Captain Todd has all the information he needs to take action against Sergeant Thomas and his band of guerrillas. As the dust settles and Captain Todd is able to relax, he is thankful that he had taken the time to train his CP staff.
If the commander focuses on the CP triad-personnel duties and responsibilities, information management, and organization-and trains his staff aggressively until CP operations become a drill, he will not have a problem when he walks into his CP at 0430 in the morning. He cannot wait until the company deploys to consider how to man and operate the CP. CP operations are a vital element of the commander's command and control system and a critical wartime mission. The commander must make time, before deployment, to train his CP personnel. Effective planning will enable the company to support any crisis situation. ALOG
Captain Robert E. Burks is a logistics trainer at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. He has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Military Academy. He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses and the Supply and Service Management Officer Course.