Do Stryker Brigade Combat Teams Need Forward Support ...

Heavy and infantry brigade combat teams are organized with forward support
companies. The authors believe the Stryker brigade should be no different.
The Army needs to build the sustainment capability
of the Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT).
The SBCT, which currently has equipment,
personnel, and capability shortfalls, needs to be better
equipped for future conflicts that will occur in
immature theaters of varying levels of intensity. The
Army is proposing to add Soldiers to the SBCT table
of organization and equipment (TOE) to increase the
capability of the brigade support battalion (BSB). As
it currently stands, the BSB consists of a headquarters
and headquarters company (HHC), a distribution company,
a maintenance company, and a medical company.
In this article, we propose how to slot BSB Soldiers
most effectively and recommend TOE changes that
would more adequately support the SBCT, namely
by creating forward support companies (FSCs). (See
chart on page 28.)
While the SBCT has been overwhelmingly successful
throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the
brigade’s inherent capability gaps must be addressed
if it is going to operate in more austere environments
during future conflicts. The SBCT needs to be redesigned
to bridge the gap between its modular organization
and that of its counterparts, the heavy brigade
combat team (HBCT) and the infantry brigade combat
team (IBCT).
The Bottom Line
Using existing personnel and equipment in its
inventory, the Army can increase the SBCT’s BSB
sustainment capability with the addition of 238
personnel and associated equipment. This increase
would expand the BSB’s sustainment capability from
4 companies to 10 and would add logistics capability
to the SBCT by placing an FSC in each battalion.
Even with this proposed change, SBCT units would
retain a simple support structure.
To put the proposed increase in perspective, we
can look at the modification TOE (MTOE) of our
SBCT, the 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment (2d SCR).
According to its MTOE, dated 16 June 2007, the 2d
SCR’s authorized strength is 4,039. The 2d SCR’s
regimental support squadron (RSS), which is the
equivalent of a BSB, is currently authorized 722
personnel. The Army can maximize the 2d SCR’s
combat power while minimizing the overall footprint
ARMY LOGISTICIAN PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN OF UNITED STATES ARMY LOGISTICS
by realigning assets, such as field feeding teams and
combat repair teams, under FSCs. The result of this
realignment would be a total of 960 logistics Soldiers
supporting the brigade in the RSS and FSCs.
History of the SBCT
The SBCT was originally developed to be a lethal,
rapidly deployable, technologically advanced fighting
force. The interim BCT, as the SBCT was known in its
infancy, was envisioned by then Army Chief of Staff
General Eric Shinseki as a medium force that would
essentially bridge the gap between the light and heavy
divisions. This force would be quick to deploy, yet
it would maintain adequate firepower to engage any
enemy threat. Originally, the interim BCT was going
to consist of 5 maneuver battalions, a support battalion,
and 6 separate companies totaling approximately
3,900 personnel. Under the original organization, the
support battalion consisted of only 318 Soldiers.
To increase the number of maneuver units in the
brigade by one infantry battalion, all sustainment
power was consolidated in the support battalion (borrowing
from the Force XXI concept of aligning the
support and maintenance platoons in the support battalion).
This reduced the sustainment capability to a
level lower than what was found in traditional heavy
or light brigades. The absence of support platoons
in the maneuver battalions placed the entire mission
of supporting all SBCT sustainment operations on an
undersized support battalion.
In October 2001, the interim BCT was tested in a
series of exercises in Yakima, Washington. These exercises
determined that the size of the support battalion
was inadequate to provide sufficient sustainment to
the brigade. To fill the shortfall, 300 personnel were
added to the MTOE, bringing the total number of
support personnel to 618. The increase included the
formation of a separate combat service support company
(CSSC) in an attempt to augment the brigade’s
sustainment capability. The CSSC personnel were
quickly absorbed into the BSB during training and
garrison requirements, and the company was dropped
from the SBCT TOE in fiscal year 2004. The interim
BCT officially became the SBCT in its current form
on 24 September 2002, and it has performed admirably
during five rotations in support of OIF.
Two Soldiers from the Regimental Support Squadron, 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment, work on the
hydraulic system of a load-handling system, which is a key transportation platform for moving critical
classes of supply throughout the operating environment.
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