A comparative analysis of the Army Special Forces support structure to the Infantry Division (Light) support structure

The problem examined in this thesis is whether the current structure for the command and control of combat service support for Army special operations forces (ARSOF) is adequate for all ARSOF support units. This thesis is focused on the internal sustainment of ARSOF during contingency operations. The objective of this thesis is to conduct a comparative analysis of three alternative ARSOF support command and control structures to the support structure for the infantry division (light) to determine if the current ARSOF support command and control structure can be improved. The three ARSOF alternatives are: (1) the current ARSOF support organization, (2) the proposal by the U.S. Army Special Warfare Center and School and the U.S. Army Infantry Center to create a special operations support unit and a ranger support battalion, and (3) the author's proposal to create a special operations support command (SOSCOM). The analysis is based on the following measures of effectiveness (MOEs) for an efficient planning support structure: (1) tooth-to- tail ratio, (2) the number of support planning nodeschannels, (3) the proximity of support planning nodes to each other, and (4) the number of organic and nonorganic support units.

Department dc:contributor.department

Department of Administrative Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

1990

Author dc:creator

• Stauffer, Robin James

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Moore, Thomas P.

Statement dc:rights

• This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/27678

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/27678