Combined Arms Support Command reorganizes for the future.(Army Combined Arms Support Command)

How Soldiers receive or provide combat service support (CSS) is determined largely by the work done beforehand by the Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) at Fort Lee, Virginia. CASCOM is responsible for the training and education of logistics Soldiers and for the development of the concepts, doctrine, organizational structures, and materiel solutions to support the needs of the Army.

CASCOM's process for supporting logistics Soldiers will change significantly under a headquarters realignment announced recently by Major General Ann E. Dunwoody, CASCOM's Commanding General. "Our new structure will allow us to approach problems and develop solutions differently than we ever have in the past," said Dunwoody. "By consolidating the logistics branch functions for training, materiel, force design, and doctrine under two integrating elements--Training and Futures--we are better postured to provide the multifunctional solutions the Army needs."

CASCOM traditionally has taken a branch-focused approach to logistics across the largest CSS branches: Ordnance, Quartermaster, and Transportation. As a result, proponent-based directorates had subordinate elements with their own materiel, concepts and doctrine, and force design divisions. While this functionally oriented structure provided an effective means to manage at the systems level, it lacked the flexibility to synchronize effectively across the logistics spectrum.

The CASCOM realignment is the most significant change to the headquarters since 1994 because it integrates the workforce across multifunctional lines. "The new organization, provisionally stood up in April 2005 ... will not only advance our military transformation, but also improve combat effectiveness overall and posture us for success in the years to come," said Dunwoody. The realignment will provide "tremendous potential for synergy and interdependence among the CSS branches," she added.

The CASCOM headquarters transformation will greatly facilitate the recently announced Department of Defense (DOD) recommendations under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 process. Although not yet finalized, the BRAC recommendations provide for the establishment of several joint and army training centers of excellence, including a Maneuver Center, a Net Fires Center, and a CSS Center. Establishment of the CSS Center involves relocating the Army Transportation Center and School from Fort Eustis, Virginia; the Army Ordnance Center and School from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; and the Army Ordnance Munitions and Electronic Maintenance School from Redstone Arsenal, ...