In the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, the term combat support refers to units that provide fire support and operational assistance to combat elements. Combat support units provide specialized support functions to combat units in the following areas
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Chemical Warfare
Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...
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Combat Engineering
A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare task ...
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Military Intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
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Security
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
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Communications
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
Combat support should not be confused with
combat service support
The term combat service support (or CSS) is utilized by numerous military organizations throughout the world to describe entities that provide direct and indirect sustainment services to the groups that engage (or are potentially to be engaged) ...
, which are units which primarily provide logistical support by providing supply, maintenance, transportation, health services, and other services required by the soldiers of combat units to continue their missions in combat. Expressed another way, Combat Support units are focused on providing operational support to combat units, while Combat Service Support units are focused on providing logistical support to combat units. Actual combat units are collectively referred to as
combat arms
Combat arms (or fighting arms in non-American parlance) are troops within national armed forces who participate in direct tactical ground combat. In general, they are units that carry or employ weapons, such as infantry, cavalry, and artillery ...
units; hence, all army units fall into the category of either combat arms, combat support, or combat service support.
United States Army
Currently, U.S. Army organizational doctrine uses the classification
"Maneuver, Fires and Effects" (MFE) and
"Operations Support" (OS) to group the former combat support arms branches into Maneuver Support; Special Operations Forces; Network and Space Operations; and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance functional areas.
Within the U.S. Army, the traditional combat support branches are/were:
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Chemical Corps
The Chemical Corps is the branch of the United States Army tasked with defending against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. The Chemical Warfare Service was established on 28 June 1918, combining activities that until ...
(Chemical Warfare Service 1918 / Chemical Corps 1945)
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Military Intelligence Corps
The Military Intelligence Corps is the intelligence branch of the United States Army. The primary mission of military intelligence in the United States Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic ...
(1962)
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United States Army Military Police Corps
The United States Army Military Police Corps (USAMPC) is the uniformed law enforcement branch of the United States Army. Investigations are conducted by Military Police Investigators under the Provost Marshal General's Office or Special Agents ...
(1941)
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Signal Corps (1860)
Before the Army ceased using the combat arms / combat support arms / combat service support arms classification system in 2008, the following branches were classified as combat support arms from the year designated. (Note: Army Aviation and Engineers are in fact Combat Arms branches that include Combat Support and Combat Service Support roles.)
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Army Aviation (1983) See
the Combat Arms – Army Aviation entry for a detailed explanation of the history, organization, and mission of Army Aviation in relation to combat arms / combat support arms classifications.
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Civil Affairs Corps (2006)
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Psychological Operations Corps (Military Information Support Operations) (2006)
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Corps of Engineers (1775) See
the Combat Arms – Corps of Engineers entry for a detailed explanation of the history, organization, and mission of Engineers in relation to combat arms / combat support arms classifications.
United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
doctrine designates all
Ground Combat Element (GCE) forces, other than
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
, including
field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement.
Until the early 20t ...
,
assault amphibian,
combat engineer
A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare ta ...
,
light armored reconnaissance
The United States Marine Corps Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions, or LAR Battalions, are fast and mobilized armored terrestrial reconnaissance units that conduct reconnaissance-in-force (RIF) ahead of the battalion landing teams or divisio ...
,
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
, and
tanks
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine ...
(prior to the USMC divestiture of all tanks by the end of 2021) as combat support. The primary mission of all USMC combat support units is to directly support the infantry.
The Marine Corps does not have a separate "Chemical Corps" but rather mans each GCE battalion with NBC specialist personnel (officer and enlisted) in the battalion operations section. The Marine Corps also maintains a battalion-sized
Chemical Biological Incident Response Force
The Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) is a unit in the United States Marine Corps responsible for countering the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive (CBRNE) incident. They were activ ...
(CBIRF) as an element of the
II Marine Expeditionary Force
The II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force consisting of ground, air and logistics forces capable of projecting offensive combat power ashore while sustaining itself in combat without external assistance for a ...
(II MEF), responsible for fulfilling the mission of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosive (CBRNE) consequence management.
USMC military intelligence (
intelligence battalions), military police (
law enforcement battalions), and signal (
communications battalions), as well as
radio battalions (signals intelligence and electronic warfare),
air naval gunfire liaison,
force reconnaissance
Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) is one of the United States Marine Corps' special operations capable forces (SOC) which supplies military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Force Reconnaissance compa ...
, psychological operations,
civil affairs, and public affairs units are designated as
Command Element (CE) (
C4ISTAREW) units and are classed separately from GCE combat support units.
All
Marine Aviation
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
...
aircraft squadrons and
aviation support units (aviation
headquarters
Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
,
tactical air command
Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...
,
air control,
air support
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...
,
communications
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
,
aviation logistics, and
aviation ground support squadrons, as well as
low altitude air defense battalions) are organic to the
Aviation Combat Element (ACE). In the Marine Corps, the
Army Aviation combat support missions of battlefield reconnaissance, signals intelligence, and assault helicopter support are performed by the ACE through the Marine Aviation functions of aerial reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and assault support. (The remaining three functions of Marine Aviation are: offensive air support, antiair warfare, and control of aircraft and missiles.)
Combat Service Support
The term combat service support (or CSS) is utilized by numerous military organizations throughout the world to describe entities that provide direct and indirect sustainment services to the groups that engage (or are potentially to be engaged) ...
(CSS), known in the Marine Corps as the
Logistics Combat Element (LCE), is responsible for providing direct logistical support to GCE units and general logistical support throughout the
MAGTF
Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF, pronounced MAG-TAF) is a term used by the United States Marine Corps to describe the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air-ground, combined ar ...
.
Combat Logistics Battalions (CLBs) provide motor transport, supply distribution, and landing support (i.e., materiel handling) directly to dedicated GCE units, while
Combat Logistics Companies (CLCs) provide direct logistical support to dedicated ACE units. (The ACE also contains two specialized types of CSS units,
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadrons (MALS) and
Marine Wing Support Squadrons (MWSS). The MALS provides direct intermediate aircraft maintenance, aviation supply, and aviation ordnance support to dedicated aircraft squadrons, while the MWSS provides airfield services to a dedicated
Marine Aircraft Group (MAG)).
Supply
Supply may refer to:
*The amount of a resource that is available
**Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers
**Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission
*Supply, as in confidenc ...
,
maintenance
Maintenance may refer to:
Biological science
* Maintenance of an organism
* Maintenance respiration
Non-technical maintenance
* Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English
* Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doctrine ...
,
transportation support,
engineer support,
medical
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
, and
dental battalions provide general logistical support throughout the MAGTF.
See also
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Branches of the U.S. Army
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Combat arms
Combat arms (or fighting arms in non-American parlance) are troops within national armed forces who participate in direct tactical ground combat. In general, they are units that carry or employ weapons, such as infantry, cavalry, and artillery ...
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Combat Service Support
The term combat service support (or CSS) is utilized by numerous military organizations throughout the world to describe entities that provide direct and indirect sustainment services to the groups that engage (or are potentially to be engaged) ...
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Combat Service Support (United States)
Combat service support is a topic that is, broadly speaking, a subset of military logistics. However, combat service support is often more limited in depth, as the related groups primarily address factors supporting readiness for combat operation ...
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U.S. Army Combat Arms Regimental System
The Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the
United States Army, including Infantry, Special Forces, Field Artillery, and Armor, from 1957 to 1981. ...
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U.S. Army Regimental System
The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with continu ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Combat Support
United States Army doctrine
Military tactics