Strike Swiftly

Developing Sustainable Maintenance Strategy in Combined Arms Battalion

By LTC Mike Kim, MAJ Nate Bennett, CW3 Jason Amsdell and 1LT Collette Benavidez

Article published on: October 1, 2024 in the Armor Fall 2024 Edition

Read Time: < 13 mins

The mission of the combined arms battalion (CAB) is to close with and destroy enemy forces using fire, maneuver, and shock effect or to repel their assault by fire and counterattack (Army Techniques Publication 3-90.5, Combined Arms Battalion). Although this is the singular mission of the CAB, the demands and requirements put on the organization are great, and personnel challenges [both military occupational specialty (MOS) and experience shortages] exacerbate the ability to effectively meet mission. While the Region ally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model (ReARMM) provides a framework with clear delineation between train, modernization, and mission windows, in practice, there is overlap where mission sets bleed into each other creating great demand on battalion formations.

Given this environment, it is paramount that leaders provide a clear and detailed vision that prioritizes and manages both training and maintenance lines of effort, while clearly articulating areas where risk can be assumed.

There are many ways to approach this problem set. The purpose of this paper is to convey a way to define the CAB fight, develop a framework to guide the maintenance enterprise, and provide recommendations to equip battalions in executing their mission set.

Defining CAB fight

It is commonly said that maintenance builds lethality. In a constrained environment, it is more apropos to state that lethality requirements drive maintenance. It is the responsibility of the Battalion Commander to clearly define what lethality means to the formation. The following utilizes an approach used by the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT), 1st Infantry Division. The overachieving goal of the 2-70 Armor is the following: Thunder Battalion coordinates and synchronizes warfighting functions to mass two companies at the decisive point.

It is a singular statement that guides all battalion efforts. The commander is responsible to define this guidance based on a clear and defined con struct. The CAB construct can be broken down as depicted in Figure 1 below.

For each of these elements, the lethality capability requirements can be summarized as depicted in Table 1.

Figure 1. Identification of CAB elements and command nodes. (U.S. Army)

Having listed all the required lethality capabilities, it is important to clearly describe the equipment/platform needed to meet each capability. This category, which is called the Fight category, is the baseline of equipment / platforms needed to deliver the requirement. Although based on the modified tables and organization equipment, the number requirements are based on a realistic evaluation of the fleet. Leaders who expect every piece of equipment and platform to be fully mission capable are detached from reality or are being lied to. Using the Scout PLT as an example, the baseline list of equipment / platforms needed to deliver the capability is depicted in Table 2. The full list is depicted in Table 3. The overall vision is encompassed in the following compilation of the figures depicted in Figure 2. This single framework (Figure 2. The Thun-der Fight) focuses the battalion on both training and maintenance lines of effort.

Where formations fit

Each formation at echelon has a clear idea of how it fits into the overall fight and the equipment/ platforms required to deliver their capabilities. The next logical step is to take the fight equipment/ platform requirements and com-pare them to the current mission capable status of those items.

Table 1. List of capability requirements. (U.S. Army)

The O/H column is based off the modified table of organization and equipment list, the Fight column is the requirement defined by the battalion commander, and the company column is the current slant of the item. If the company fully mission capable (FMC) equals or is greater than the Fight column, the status box remains blank. If the company FMC is less than the Fight column, the status box turns red. The final column Manned encompasses personnel readiness. It is a seemingly innocuous column but one that conveys significant information. If the platform is manned (denoted by Y), it means that the crew is deployable, qualified and meets all rank requirements (particularly if an NCO vehicle commander is required). If a platform is not manned due to personnel short-ages, the team can assume risk and not devote maintenance energy to that platform or request support from higher.

Table 2. Scout capability and equipment/platform requirements. (U.S. Army)

Once done throughout each element and command node, the gaps in readiness (maintenance + personnel) be-come readily clear. This provides the battalion a clear snapshot of where their maintenance and personnel readiness gaps exist based on lethality requirements. Leadership can then develop a maintenance strategy over time, applying the maintenance enterprise against a prioritized list. The battalion maintenance officer then coordinates with the S-3 Operations Shop and puts the maintenance strategy (unscheduled maintenance, services and leadership professional development) on the training calendar. This is a way to synchronize training and maintenance lines of effort based on required lethality capabilities. It is a holistic strategy to streamline efforts, provide clear guidance and prioritization, and identify areas where the battalion can assume risk. The overall assessment maintenance and personnel readiness status is captured in Table 5.

Provide clear snapshot

Based on this assessment, the battalion can clearly identify priorities and friction points, and the commander can provide Training Week (TW)+8 guidance. Furthermore, this dashboard (comprised of Figure 2 and Table 5) provides a tangible output (status up date) for CAB meetings. The battalion training meeting must entail the development of capabilities required by the CAB to accomplish its mission while maintenance and personnel readiness (non-deployable scrubs, etc.) meetings must feed Table 5. Commanders are responsible, with input from their first sergeants and executive officers (XOs), to update the battalion commander on the dashboard. While this is a way to organize and assess capabilities and personnel, there are several doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF) efforts that can better equip the CAB in building readiness.

Table 3. Consolidated list of capability and equipment/platform requirements. (U.S. Army)

Even with clear guidance and a detailed maintenance strategy, CABs will continually face challenges in execution. Below are several DOTMLPF recommendations that would support and streamline maintenance operations.

Table 4. Tank company maintenance and personnel readiness status. (U.S. Army)

Recommendations to support CAB maintenance

Recommendation #1 (Organization/ Personnel): Radio Equipment Repairers (MOS 94E) and Computer/Detection Systems Repairers (MOS 94F) Organic to the CAB.

Due to the sheer amount and complexity of communication systems and equipment, it would benefit the CAB to have one NCO and two 10-level Soldiers organic to the CAB for internal communication and electronics (C&E) and electronic maintenance (ELM) repairs. Currently, all night vision devices and communication devices are evacuated to the brigade support battalion for repair/service.

Centralized repair naturally creates a backlog, which prioritizes units executing training for repairs. This inhibits units preparing for training to conduct proper repairs and services prior to execution. Having organic C&E and ELM capabilities will decrease overall turnaround time, create shop stock for common repairs, and provide flexibility in garrison/field environments to build equipment readiness.

Recommendation #2 (Education): Training Deficiencies for MOS 91F (M242 25mm) and MOS 91A (M1 Abrams Schematics).
Small Arms Repairers (MOS 91F) and Tank Mechanics (MOS 91A) do not receive sufficient training through Army schools to prepare them for operations. The 91F is responsible for servicing the M242 25mm Bushmaster. They do not receive adequate training during advanced individual training (AIT) to properly service and repair the weapon system. While master gunners are present to assist in repairs and services, they are only capable of executing 10/20 level tasks and repairs. The 91F is responsible for 30 level tasks, but they are not provided the education needed to complete these repairs. The Army must increase training time during AIT for 91F Soldiers, so they are equipped to execute repairs once they get to their unit. An alternate solution is to make the repair/services of the M242 a critical task for Bradley mechanics (MOS 91M).

Figure 2. Thunder Battalion coordinates and synchronizes warfighting functions to mass two companies at the decisive point. (U.S. Army)

91A Soldiers must receive tank schematic training during AIT. This is increasingly significant as the CAB fights through personnel challenges and many mechanics fulfill positions of greater responsibility than their rank. In a CAB, junior 91As frequently are faced with tank schematic faults. There is a knowledge deficiency in tank schematics for junior 91A Soldiers. These tank mechanics do not receive training on tank schematics until the Advanced Leader Course. Tank mechanics, like their Bradley mechanic counterparts, should receive training on schematics during AIT.

Table 5. Consolidated list of maintenance and personnel readiness status by element and command node. (U.S. Army)

The Maintenance Process and Friction Table 6. Use Case and Functional Requirements for Digital 5988 Software. (U.S. Army) Points. Soldiers conduct preventative maintenance checks and services (PMCS) and manually annotate faults on a Form 5988. Mechanics, with a senior mechanic and team chief, then verify the faults and either dismiss (wrong annotation), repair, or request parts to be ordered. Once this process is complete, the equipment records parts specialist (ERPS) clerk manually inputs this information into Global Combat Support System – Army (GCSS-Army). There are two points of friction in this process. The first is the transition from a manual process (Form 5988) to a digital process (manual input of the 5988 information by the ERPS clerk into GCSS-Army) and the second is the manual search of parts by National Item Identification Number (NIIN). To alleviate these frictions points, the following recommendations are presented.

Recommendation #3 (Material): Digital 5988: The amount of error that exists in the current manual process can be reduced through a digitized system. Additionally, the workload for clerks to manually input 5988 information into GCSS-Army can also be reduced. A software application with a simple user interface that can be accessed by all users is advantageous. Table 6 below annotates the use case and functional requirement for this software application.

Table 6. Use Case and Functional Requirements for Digital 5988 Software. (U.S. Army)

Recommendation #4 (Material): Artificial Intelligence Chatbot for NIIN Search
The current process to find correct NIINs for parts is inefficient and desynchronized. Currently, users have three disparate and delinked locations to look for NIINs: Electronic Management System-Next Generation; technical manuals through the Army Enterprise System Integration Program; and Interactive Authoring and Display Software. Additionally, there are numerous NIINs for similar parts or like items which induces error.

It is not uncommon for a unit to receive a part only to find that it is the wrong item. An artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot that an enterprise user can interact with to search through all three systems simultaneously would save inordinate amounts of time and reduce human error. The advent of AI software that can assist in the creation of datasets, train AI, and automate workflows, makes this a reasonable endeavor. Companies like Palm AI through their Endobyte Software as a Service allows users to customize datasets, execute AI training and implement AI Chatbots. Below is the use case and functional requirements for this software.

Conclusion

Combined arms battalions are faced with challenges as the Army modernizes and transforms during an inter-war period. In a time and resource constrained environment, it is imperative Table 7. Use Case and Functional Requirements for AI Chatbot NIIN Search Software. (U.S. Army) that the CAB commander provides a clear and detailed fighting strategy to coordinate and synchronize training and maintenance lines of efforts. By defining lethality at echelon, a CAB can prioritize maintenance requirements and develop a coherent strategy over time and space. The operational tempo for armored brigade combat teams has been significant and does not look to slow down. It is important that CAB leadership find efficiencies in the ReARMM framework to increase warfighting capabilities throughout the formation.

Table 7. Use Case and Functional Requirements for AI Chatbot NIIN Search Software. (U.S. Army)