CHAPTER 6 Personal Support - GlobalSecurity.org

1 CHAPTER 6 Personal SupportThe objective of personnel Support is to ensure operationalsuccess. Soldiers are the focal point of warfare, the foundation of theArmy s will to win. Success in combat is directly affected by thesuccess of PSS elements within CONUS and the theater ofoperations. Manning ensures that military personnel of the righttype, in the right numbers, are on the battlefield. Together, themanning and personnel services portion of sustaining the force arereferred to as personnel Support . Its activities encompass the fullrange of military operations,from nation and humanitarianassistance to peace enforcement and conflict. They begin with theinitial planning of an operation through mobilization, deployment,war or MOOTW, and redeployment. Whether committed to aforward-presence or MOOTW mission, personnel Support must betailored to satisfy the commander s tactical and operationalrequirements,either Army alone or in concert with a joint ormultinational THE FORCE The manning challenges are to assure theuninterrupted flow of military personnel to thebattlefield and to provide the necessary servicesto sustain the forceencompasses personnel readiness management(PRM), replacement management, casualtyoperations management (COM), and personnelaccounting and strength reporting (PASR).

2 These critical functions meet the Armypersonnel requirements from mobilization anddeployment through redeployment anddemobilization. They maintain the units fighting strength and assist the commanderduring the command estimate READINESSMANAGEMENTP ersonnel readiness describes a state ofmission preparedness. The Army PRM Systemis a process for achieving and maintaining thatstate. It provides a flexible tool for selecting andassigning military personnel with the correctskills to meet the requirements before, during,and after combat. Its mission is to maximizewartime preparedness by distributing soldiersand Army civilians todocumented manpowerauthorizations. It commands based onrequirements and/or Analyzes personnel strength data todetermine current combat capabilities andproject future requirements. Accounts for military personnel, reportsother strength-related information, andupdates command data bases at all levels.

3 Starts with the comparison of anorganization s personnel strength againstits requirements or authorizations and endswith a personnel readiness assessment andallocation management is the physicalreception, accounting, processing, Support , anddelivery of military and civilian personnel,including replacements and return-to-dutysoldiers. The Replacement ManagementSystem, which responds to commandersthrough the PRM System, moves military6-1 CHAPTER 6personnel and civilians through CONUS replacement centers to the unit commander inthe theater of operations. It provides primarilyfor individual replacements in all militaryoccupational specialties and groupings ofindividuals up through company level asoperations require. Replacement managementrequires real-time access to basic informationabout all replacements, movement status fromthe point of selection, and personnel readinessmanagement information to determine thefinal destination of replacements and return-to-duty OPERATIONSMANAGEMENTCOM helps the personnel readinessmanager and commander replace incurredlosses.

4 This system records, reports, verifies,and processes information from unit level toHQDA; notifies appropriate individuals; andprovides assistance to family information from a number of sourcesmust be collected, collated, and analyzed todetermine appropriate action and ultimatecase ACCOUNTING ANDSTRENGTH REPORTINGPASR is the system for recording by-namedata on military personnel when they arriveand depart units, change duty status forexample, from duty to hospital and changegrades. Strength reporting is a numerical endproduct of the accounting process that startswith a strength-related transaction submittedat battalion and separate unit level. It endswith a data base update through all echelons ofcommand to the Total Army personnel database (TAPDB). The battlefield requirements ofjoint and multinational operations mean thatcommanders need to know the status of allpersonnel under their control.

5 The personnelsystem may be asked to account for joint, allied,or HN personnel and/or provide services in amanner similar to that for Army PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Civilian personnel management providesessential civilian personnel and the servicesnecessary for their sustainment. The director ofcivilian personnel, DCSPER, will developcivilian personnel policy. The DCSPER willalso develop and coordinate policy andguidance for the expansion of DA civilian, aswell as military, manpower to meet a wartimesituation. The director of mobilization,DCSPER, who has overall responsibility formanpower mobilization policy, will direct andsupervise formulation of the Army s personnelmobilization program. The director ofmobilization and operations, DA PERSCOM, isthe principal agent for coordinating andintegrating manpower mobilization plans andprocedures for Army transition from peacetimeto STRUCTURE In addition to conflict and mobilization,personnel units are critical during preconflict/war and redeployment activities.

6 Normally,personnel units are among the first to deployand the last to redeploy. Units are tailored andconfigured based on METT-T analysis. Thesenior personnel officer at the operational levelmakes recommendations on unit configuration,Commanders should anticipate this and planaccordingly. Personnel units are also importantin MOOTW, and they must plan for providingsupport to military personnel involved in thoseoperations. To Support personnel readinessmanagement, commanders should ensure thatthe personnel information element deploys intothe theater early, usually concurrent withother sustainment data bases. The Army spersonnel management system organizationalstructure below HQDA is divided into threeareas: personnel management centers (PMCS),operational personnel units, and personnel 100-16 PERSONNEL MANAGEMENTCENTERSA PMC is a task-organized functional areastaff element that performs the manningfunction by managing critical personnelsystems.

7 It is composed of the functional areaelements of a personnel organization, and itsmission is distinctly separate from thepersonnel unit s command role. The PMC maybe a staff element within a battalion, brigade,division, corps,or senior logisticsheadquarters, or the mission performanceelement of a personnel command or elements direct personnel managementoperations at all PERSONNELUNITSO rganizations that execute the personnelmanagement mission on the battlefield as partof an integrated network are personneldetachments, postal companies, replacementbattalions, CONUS replacement centers,reception battalions, and Army bands. Personnel detachments collect, validate,process, and manage combat-essentialinformation; manage critical personnelsystems; and provide essential services tocommanders, soldiers, deployed civilians,and joint or allied personnel.

8 Postal companies receive, process, anddeliver mail and provide other postalservices. Replacement battalions commandreplacement companies at CONUS replacement centers or at theater companies may be part of areplacement battalion, personnel group, or apersonnel services battalion (PSB). Theyreceive, Support , and process replacements,including coordinating transportation fortheir movement from theater to corps,theater army area command (TAACOM),and division levels. CONUS replacement centers provide C2,validate soldier readiness processing, andreport and coordinate the equipping,training, and transportation of replacementpersonnel, DA civilians, contract civilians,American Red Cross (ARC), and federalagency/national organization personnel enroute from CONUS to the theater ofoperations. Reception battalions in-process new soldiersand prior-service soldiers for initial entrytraining and/or advanced individualtraining.

9 Army bands are units normally allocated tooperational-level and tactical-level (corps,division) commands. They promotereadiness by performing music thatenhances morale, unit esprit, and civil-military operations (CMO). Bands have thesecondary role of temporarily augmentingsecurity during periods of heightenedcombat intensity when using them in theirprimary role is C2 UNITSThe PSB exercises C2 over assignedpersonnel units in the division area andoperates designated personnel managementsystems. A PSB may command two to sixpersonnel detachments. Depending on TOESand METT-T, it may also exercise C2 over areplacement company, postal unit, and/orband. At corps level, personnel groups exerciseC2 over assigned personnel units and operatethe personnel management system for thecorps. At the operational level, the personnelcommand exercises C2 over assigned personnelunits and operates the personnel managementsystem for the SERVICE SUPPORTThe PSS mission enhances the combatsatisfy the operational requirement of thecapability of the soldier through sustainment,theater independently or in conjunction withthereby increasing combat power.

10 Whetherallied forces. PSS systems provide servicescommitted to peacetime operations, MOOTW,essential to sustain the highest possible level ofor war, PSS organizations are tailored toreadiness. The services they provide to6-3 CHAPTER 6soldiers, civilians, and family members areessential to sustain the human dimension ofthe the Army seeks to synchronize itswarfighting capabilities with all services, thePSS community must also strive to integrateits capabilities. To ensure unity of effort, jointpersonnel services require formal agreements,MOUs, and exchange of liaison military personnel and theirsystems include PSS, HSS, field servicessupport, quality of life, and general Support is a major function ateach level of war. At the strategic level, itencompasses national mobilization and fallswithin the purview of national political andmilitary-strategic leadership.