Publisher's Synopsis
The Army continues enhancing its capability to plan and provide effective operational contract support for deployed Army and Joint forces. Operational tempo and reduced force structure has created a greater reliance upon commercial support to augment uniformed support. To ensure effective management and accountability of commercial support to deployed operations, the Army consolidated its expeditionary contracting structure into modular operational contracting units - contingency contracting teams (CCTs), senior contingency contracting teams (SCCTs) and contingency contracting battalions (CCBns) - under the command of contracting support brigades (CSBs). All CSBs are assigned to the new Expeditionary Contracting Command: a subordinate command of the US Army Materiel Command. This Field Manual (FM) provides basic doctrinal discussion on the organization and operations of the contracting support brigade (CSB). This FM's target audience includes operational commanders, staff members and the logistics staff of Army field units from the Army Service Component Command (ASCC), their assigned theater sustainment commands down to brigade level units, and their associated support battalions. This publication will also serve as a guide for CSB worldwide deployment and employment. It has been written to take into account doctrinal terms and constructs as found in the newly published FM 3-0 Operations and JP 4-10 Operational Contract Support. This new field manual (FM 4-92), describes how the CSB, and its subordinate contract support elements, "fit" into the operational commanders' mission construct and execution. The CSBs' specialized capability to provide operational contract support planning, integration, and contractor management provides the operational commander additional sustainment support capabilities; enables sustained operational momentum; and facilitates the effective transition from combat to security and stability operations. This manual fills an immediate need to provide commanders and their staffs with the doctrinal tools necessary to properly leverage these new contracting organizations. Reading this FM will familiarize operational commanders and their staffs with the CSB mission, organization, roles, and the key tasks CSBs perform to efficiently obtain and effectively utilize available commercial support in a theater of operations.
