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Sustainment and Resupply

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Equipment and Logistics
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Sustainment and Resupply

Sustainment is keeping people at their posts supplied with water, food, warmth and relief, and for a squad of 12 holding a position for 3 days it means about 144 kg of water at an assumed 4 L per person per day against only about 20 kg of food, so water, not food, decides the plan. Store water at the position, vary the timing and route of resupply so they do not reveal it, and relieve people on a schedule before they are exhausted.

Part of Community Militia Training

Sustainment and resupply are the arrangements that keep militia members supplied, fed, watered and relieved during an extended watch or incident.

Count What A Position Consumes

The parent assigns logistics to a team responsible for water, food and ammunition supply to defensive positions in extended incidents. The needs are countable. Water and food figures below are example inputs; the corpus gives 2 L of water a day as the survival minimum, more for heat and exertion, and 1,500 to 2,500 calories a day for an active adult.

Worked Example: A Squad For Three Days

Example inputs: 12 people, 3 days, water at 4 L per person per day (an assumed figure for exertion; the corpus minimum is 2 L), food at 2,500 kcal per person per day (assumed).

  • Water. At 2 L: 12 x 2 x 3 = 72 L, 72 kg. At 4 L: 12 x 4 x 3 = 144 L, 144 kg. Per day at 4 L: 12 x 4 = 48 L, 48 kg.
  • Food. Total energy: 12 x 2,500 x 3 = 90,000 kcal. At mixed foods averaging 4.5 kcal per gram (a figure the go-bag article uses): 90,000 / 4.5 = 20,000 g, 20 kg. At pemmican’s roughly 3,000 kcal per pound, which is about 6.6 kcal per gram: 90,000 / 6.6 = about 13.6 kg.
  • Comparison. Per day, water is 48 kg and food about 6.7 kg (30,000 / 4.5 = 6,667 g); water is about 7 times heavier.
  • Porters. At 15 kg per trip (the top of the 10 to 15 kg limit that Go-Bag Contents sets for an adult’s bag, used here as the example), delivering 48 kg of water a day takes 48 / 15 = 3.2, so 4 trips a day, or 4 porters once.

Food can be carried by the squad for three days; water cannot sensibly be. The conclusion is to put water storage at the position, filled in quiet times, and to site positions near a source where possible (Water Purification covers making it safe to drink).

What Else A Position Needs

  • Warmth and shelter for people who sit still for hours; the cold and wet cost alertness.
  • Relief on schedule: the roster arithmetic in Watch Rotation Systems.
  • Sanitation: a latrine and a waste plan so the position does not become a health problem.
  • Light and signal consumables: lamp oil, candles, fire fuel.
  • Medical consumables: dressings and the like (First Aid and Casualty Care).
  • Anything you cannot make locally is the binding constraint, and ammunition, if you keep any, is the clearest case. It is counted, kept in custody and issued only on the leader’s authority within the rules of engagement.

Method: A Resupply Plan

Step 1: Compute daily needs per position as above, with a reserve of at least one day.

Step 2: Store at the position, and stage reserves at the rally points and caches (Staged Equipment, Cache Network Planning).

Step 3: Plan resupply runs with a route, a time and an overdue rule, as for a patrol.

Step 4: Vary the times and routes. A daily delivery at the same hour along the same track shows a watcher where the position is and when it is thinly staffed (Patrol Patterns applies the same arithmetic).

Step 5: Keep a ledger of what went out and what remains (Shared Equipment Management).

Step 6: Relieve people on the roster and bring the relieved back to rest, food and sleep.

Common Mistakes

  • Planning food and ignoring water. Water is the heavy item.
  • A single supply route. One interception or hole closes the position.
  • No reserve. The incident lasts one day longer than planned.
  • Never relieving the squad. A tired squad is a less alert squad.

Safety

Heavy carries, unsafe water and heat

A carrier with 15 kg on rough ground can fall; use pairs and good paths. Untreated water causes illness: purify it (Water Purification). Heat and exertion without water cause collapse (Heat Stroke); give water before people ask.

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