ATP-4-90 Brigade Support Battalion Download
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18 June 2020 ATP 4-90 7-1 Chapter 7 Maintenance Operations The modern battlefield demands a maintenance system that is flexible, responsive, and focused on returning systems to operational status quickly and as near as possible to the point of failure or damage. This requires a forward presence of maintenance in brigade areas. During large-scale combat operations this requires the echeloning of maintenance capabilities throughout the depth of the BCT AO. This chapter provides an overview of maintenance fundamentals at the BCT level and describes the role, organization, and operations of the BSB’s field maintenance company and FSCs to support the BCT. MAINTENANCE OVERVIEW The primary purpose of maintenance is to ensure equipment operational readiness. The goal for every unit is to have all of its equipment fully operational for its intended purpose. The second purpose of maintenance is to generate combat power by repairing damaged equipment as quickly and as close to the point of failure as possible. Repairs should return the damaged equipment to fully mission capable status or to a state that allows mission accomplishment. Once units enter combat operations, maintenance is critical to maintain combat power and momentum. Replacement systems are seldom immediately available. This is especially true during the early stages of an operation and when units suffer heavy combat losses. Units maintain existing systems to ensure it is mission capable for the duration of the operation or until the system is clearly damaged beyond field-level maintenance repair capability. The Army’s maintenance structure in the BCT is highly adaptable and flexible. BCTs have the capability to repair all brigade systems with BSB organic maintenance units, crews and operators. As such, there is no need to evacuate BCT equipment that requires field-level maintenance to another organization or echelon of support. Furthermore, in the absence of a maintenance surge team, there is no repair capability outside of the BCT for the main battle tank, infantry fighting vehicles, or Stryker systems. A maintenance surge team provides maintenance capability for these primary weapon systems when maintenance requirements exceed the capability of the BSB to support. The BCT will evacuate equipment that requires sustainment-level maintenance. Maintenance and recovery planning is integrated into all aspects of the MDMP to ensure synchronization and unity of effort. Planning includes identifying requirements, reviewing available assets, preparing a maintenance estimate, comparing requirements to capabilities, and making adjustments to maintenance priorities to meet the mission requirement. Maintenance planning is included in the overall sustainment concept of support. Maintenance planners understand the overall mission and concept of operations for maneuver forces in order to prioritize and weight maintenance support to the main effort. Maintenance planners recommend to the BSB commander, BCT XO, and BCT commander how to task organize for optimal maintenance capability. They recommend the cross leveling of system maintainers to ensure adequate maintenance capability is available to support the main effort. This is a dynamic process that requires daily adaptation to existing circumstances. The BCT S-4 and SPO collaborate to determine how many key systems identified are mission ready and then work with the FSCs to prioritize the maintenance effort. The staffs war game the operation during the MDMP and prepare an estimate from projected system losses and gains during each stage of the operation. It is imperative that maintenance planners understand that in the absence of a maintenance surge team there