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 ...

, refuel on the move (ROM), is a

logistical Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

action, for sustaining an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

while on

maneuver Maneuver (American English), manoeuvre (British English), manoeuver, manœuver (also spelled, directly from the French, as manœuvre) denotes one's tactical move, or series of moves, that improves or maintains one's strategic situation in a compet ...

to reach a destination.Refuel on the move
/ref> A ROM for

military vehicle A military vehicle is any vehicle for land-based military transport and activity, including combat vehicles; both specifically designed for, or significantly used by military and armed forces. Most military vehicles require off-road capabiliti ...

s is akin to

in-flight refueling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

for

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

UAVs An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

. 'Refuel on the move' would be an essential part of

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

, with one time-honored alternative in

Total war Total war is a type of warfare that includes any and all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, mobilizes all of the resources of society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare over non-combata ...

being levy of resources (

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's strategy for his invasion of Russia), in this case the fuel of the invaded nation. For the Army, 'refuel on the move' is part of the sustainment planning of the commander, who is responsible for the unit, say a

brigade combat team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its assigned support and fire units. A brigade is normally commanded by a ...

(BCT).BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM (January 2021), FM 3-96
/ref> In contrast to Napoleon, who led the disastrous invasion in 1812, brigade commanders, their staff, and personnel have a responsibility to ensure that the Sustainment warfighting function is ethically executed. A

forward arming and refueling point A forward arming and refuelling point (FARP) or forward area refuelling pointUSAF DVID(11 Dec 2022) MQ-9 FARP in a Combat Area [Image 6 of 6 is a NATO term for an area where aircraft (typically helicopters) can be refuelled and re-armed at a dist ...

(FARP) is a location for a refuel on the move. The refuelling point has to support refueling within a time limit, such as 30 seconds per vehicle, which has tactical consequences for an 87 tank BCT, if it were to be under fire. The converse side, such as the ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company can make headlines for unpreparedness and defeat. (''See Military logistics#20th century'') A convoy of vehicles on the move will have a pre-planned refueling point at which each vehicle's

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

can be replenished to the 75% level within 30 seconds. The sustainment personnel conduct a refuel on the move. Sustainment of an Army is an essential part of its forward motion, and the responsibility of its commander. Like a

armored division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically mak ...

in miniature, an ABCT is capable of independent action; but planning is required by the BCT commander. The senior logistician of the BCT is the

brigade support battalion A brigade support battalion (BSB) is a combat service support (United States), combat service support battalion of the United States Army. A BSB is an Organic (military), organic part of a brigade combat team (BCT), providing self-Sustainment (mili ...

(BSB) commander, who must anticipate the refueling points in an operation. The refueling points can be provided at logistics release points (LRPs): by caches, or by pre-positioned stock, or by fueling convoys, or by aerial delivery. In this case the LRP must leapfrog the armed force in sufficient numbers to serve the invading armed force, and planning and training is required. An Armored brigade combat team

ABCT on the move ABCT may refer to: * Anthony Bean Community Theater * Armored brigade combat team, a formation of the U.S. Army * Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies * Austrian Business Cycle Theory * Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust The ...

(OTM) is a related concept.Capt. Sean Minton (28 Sep 2021) Army's upcoming ABCT network communications pilot demoed at industry partner event
for Network capability set '25 In the twenty-first century, 'contested logistics' is a developing part of the Joint Warfighting Concept.

Notes

{{reflist Military logistics of the United States

See also

Notes