Force Provider is a deployable bare base support system developed by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

to provide rest and relief facilities for soldiers. Each containerized package provides air conditioned/heated

billet A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alt ...

ing, dining, laundry,

latrine A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground ( pit latrine), or ...

and recreational facilities for a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

-sized force of up to 550 soldiers and the 50 personnel required to operate it.Infantry. (1998). United States: U.S. Army Infantry School. Volume 89, Number 2. May–August 1999. p. 2 Based around the use of TEMPER tents, it includes the capability to store and distribute 80,000 gallons of water, 40,000 gallons of fuel, and generate 1.1

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after Jame ...

s of continuous power.Lindsay, Tim; McLaughlin, James J; Bruneau, Norm. "Force Provider Deploys to Bosnia." Army Logistician, May–June 1997, p. 18-23Ramsey, Andrew; Hope, Michael; "Force Provider Deploys to Central America." Army Logistician, November–December 2001, p. 16-19> It takes on average three to four days to prepare a Force Provider camp site, typically 10

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s of land, then five to six days to set it up and make the camp operational. Six packages can be combined to support a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

-size force of 3,300 soldiers. Although its primary mission is to support front-line soldiers, Force Provider can be utilized for other missions such as humanitarian aid and disaster relief.Army RD & A Bulletin. (1993). United States: HQ, U.S. Army Materiel Command. p. 44-45Quartermaster Professional Bulletin. (1996). United States: U.S. Army Quartermaster School and Center. p. 7-13

History

Development of Force Provider was begun after the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

, where Army soldiers were provided outdated tents and makeshift facilities with minimal comforts, especially in comparison to the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

's modern Harvest Falcon system. The intention was to rotate soldiers out of front-line positions to spend up to a week at a Force Provider complex. Amenities would include private hot showers; field laundry service;

field kitchen A field kitchen is a mobile kitchen, mobile canteens or food truck used primarily by militaries to provide warm food to the troops near the frontline or in temporary encampments. Description The first field kitchens were carried in four-wh ...

with cook-prepared hot meals; and (depending on circumstances) morale and recreation services such as a movie theater, post office, barber, or outdoor sports. The system underwent accelerated testing and development from 1991 to 1994, with an expected delivery of the first two modules by December 1996. Six

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

Force Provider

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...

were planned, each company consisting of six platoons which were each responsible for setting up and operating one Force Provider module. However, in order to support

Task Force Eagle The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background NATO ...

's deployment to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

, interim support packages were created out of existing Army stock and manned by civilian contractors. Despite some setbacks, the deployment of these packages was considered largely successful in providing warm, sanitary living and recreational facilities for more than 5,000 personnel. By 2000, five Quartermaster companies had been designated as Force Provider units: the 488th Quartermaster Company (Force Provider) in active service, and the 216th, 542d, 691st, and 802d companies in the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

. At full strength a company would have six platoons, each capable of operating one Force Provider package."News." Army Logistician, January–February 2000, p. 16-19>

Components

As of 2010, each Force Provider package was stored in 71

TRICON Tricon may refer to: * Tricon Global Restaurants, a spin-off company of PepsiCo that, after a merger, became known as Yum! Brands * Tricon Residential, formerly Tricon Capital, a Canadian real estate company * Tricon, an alternate name for the 24t ...

containers and consisted of the following items as standard. Add-ons included cold-weather modification system, prime-power modification system, electric kitchen, and shower

water reuse Water reclamation (also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water recycling) is the process of converting municipal wastewater (sewage) or industrial wastewater into water that can be reused for a variety of purposes. Types of reuse include: ...

system.U.S. Army Weapons Systems 2010-2011. (2010). United States: Skyhorse Publishing. p. 102 *Eight latrine systems *Eight shower systems *Four kitchen systems *Four refrigerated containers *Batch laundry system *26 60-kilowatt tactical quiet generators *26 modular personnel tents *Four 400,000

BTU The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a unit of heat; it is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is also part of the United States customary units. The modern SI un ...

water heaters *Four fuel distribution systems *Two wastewater evacuation tank/trailers *26 mobile electric power distribution systems *56 environmental control units *Eight diesel engine-driven air compressors (17 cubic feet/min)

References

{{reflist Military installations of the United States