Combat Support Field Manual A collection of essays by Boilerman

Index Introduction pg. 2 Command pg. 4 Combat Service Support Maintenance and Rearming pg. 8 Medical pg. 13 Supply Operations pg. 15 Regimental Supply Companies pg. 17 Field Accommodations pg. 21 Sustenance pg. 27 NBC Warfare pg. 32 Combat Support Air Defense Artillery pg. 37 Combat Engineers pg. 40 Communications pg. 42 Intelligence pg. 45 Military Police pg. 50 Support Structures Support Organization pg. 53 Sample Organization Mech RGT with Separate Command pg. 70 Mech RGT with Integrated Command pg. 73 Armor RGT pg. 75 Infantry RGT pg. 77 Equipment Field Repair Shelter pg. 79 Base Camp Equipment pg. 80 Supplies pg. 84 Field Fortifications pg. 86 S2 Containers pg. 87 Container Equipment pg. 89 An Introduction to Support for the Combat Troops By Boilerman

The inspiration and driving force behind this collection of essays was my desire to know in precise terms how many troops were in a BattleMech regiment. The Classic BattleTech field manuals go into some detail on the standard of BattleTech: BattleMech, Armored, Infantry, Artillery and Aerospace but we hear almost nothing of supporting arms. This collection is my attempt to introduce some details that we can use to flesh out our units.

The information in these essays comes from a few canon CBT sources such as Maximum Tech and a variety US Army field manuals as well as quite a few people, former military and not, that provided excellent feedback, information and advice. Thank you everyone! You know who you are. I would also like to thank Discord for converting all of these essays into PDF format and Medron Pryde for hosting it on his website.

As you may already know the military has a language all its own. I have tried to limit the technical jargon in these essays, this is a game, not the army but I feel I must use some of their terminology. One thing I feel that needs clarification at the beginning is the difference between the combat arms, combat support arms and combat service support arms of a military.

In the real world the combat arms of the US Army are Air Defense Artillery, Armor & Antiarmor, Aviation, Engineers, Field Artillery, Infantry, and Reconnaissance. All directly or indirectly engage the enemy in combat. Combat support arms provide services or information that assists the combat arms in combat. The major combat support arms of the US Army are the providing NBC support, Military Intelligence, the Military Police and the Signal Corps. The combat service support (CSS) arms provide services and support to sustain the combat and combat support arms. Major combat service support functions include providing maintenance, health services, supply and transportation. In simple terms the combat arms fight the battles, the combat support arms coordinate the fights and the combat service support arms feed the fighters and take care of the casualties.

In BattleTech we can add one major combat arm, the BattleMech Corps, to the list of combat arms and aerospace transport, the DropShips and JumpShips, to the combat service support arms.

I feel I must also clarify the meaning of several other military terms as well: assigned, attached, organic, direct support and general support. Although I tried to limit their use these words have crept into some of the essays and their exact meanings can be confusing.

When a unit is assigned to a command it is relatively permanent. The command exercises control and/or administration responsibility over the assigned unit. When a unit is attached the relationship between the unit and the larger command is temporary. In the US Army many CS and CSS units are attached to combat units during operations. When not on an operation the CS and CSS units are grouped together in their own commands. This makes training and administration much easier for everyone. Orga