Essential Function 5
Force Sustainment


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Afghan War News > SFA > 8 EFs > EF 5 Force Sust

 

Note: EF 5 Force Sust is now known as Advising Functional Area Operational Sustainment and Logistics as of early 2018.



Essential Function 5 - Force Sust

 

EF 5 Force Sustainment Resolute Support Mission Afghanistan


Essential Function 5 - Force Sustainment

"EF 5 aims to sustain the Afghan Force through effective facilities management, maintenance, and medical and logistics systems. Current sustainment processes lack uniformity across echelons and between MoI/ANP and MoD/ANA. Areas for improvement include capturing demands, managing assets, and management reporting and decision-making. Success for EF 5 is achieved when ASI/ANSF have institutionalized a management culture based on proper stewardship and husbandry of capability." 1.

Overview of Essential Function 5

"Essential Function 5's mission is to advise, train, and assist Afghan Minitries of Interior and Defense and the individual Train Advise and Assist Commands (TAACs) to build logistical and maintenance capacity and capability in the fields of logistics and maintenance; medical; and information, communication and technology. EF4 is an organization within the Deputy Chief of Staff for Support and the Resolute Support Mission . . . " 2.

Desired Essential Function 5 End-State

"Afghan Security Institutions / Afghan National Security Force capable of providing at all echelons effective logistics, medical, and information communication and technology support, which sustains required ANSF operational capability within available resources." 2.

Sub-Sections of EF 5. There are three sub-sections of EF 5. 2.

EF 5.1 advises and assists the ANSF in logistics and maintenance of vehicles, equipment and weapons at the Corps and national levels. It also advises senior officers and civilians within the security ministries. One example of EF 5.1 is the assistance provided to the Afghans which enables them to properly utilize computerized inventory management systems. The use of these systems help the Afghans manage inventory and fill reorder requirements for supplies, material, ammunition, and parts. A computerized inventory management system assists the Afghans in running an efficient and cost effective "demand based" supply system. Life cycle management is another aspect of logistics and maintenance in which the EF 5 advisors are assisting the Afghans. For instance the development of and adherence to a national maintenance strategy ensures the longest possible life of equipment provided to the Afghans through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system.

ANA Vehicle Maintenance Essential Function 5 Resolute Support
The U.S. has supplied the ANSF with many vehicles. (Photo RS Facebook)

EF 5.2 is responsible for training, advising, and assisting the ANSF on point of injury care, ground MEDEVAC, medical logistics, equipment maintenance, medical support planning, and medical staffing. In addition, the advisors are responsible for ministry level advising aimed at developing a comprehensive national healthcare system.

Ground Ambulance Medical Evacuation Afghan National Army
ANA Ground Ambulance

EF 5.3 is responsible to train, advise, and assist the ASIs in the field of communications, information, and infrastructure. The EF 5.3 advisors are striving to ensure a stable, solid and secure communications infrastructure that is sustainable into the future.

ANA Satellite Communications
ANA Satellite Communications (Photo DVIDS)


Websites with Info Relating to EF 5 - Force Sustainment

Assessments of the ANSF and the Afghan War
www.afghanwarnews.info/assessment-reports.htm

Sustainment - Functional SFA in Afghanistan
www.afghanwarnews.info/sfa/sustainment-functional-SFA.htm

Afghan National Army Logistics
www.afghanwarnews.info/army/logistics.htm

SFA Medical Advisor in Afghanistan
www.afghanwarnews.info/sfa/medical.htm

SFA Engineer Advisor in Afghanistan
www.afghanwarnews.info/sfa/engineeradvisor.htm

Ministry Advisors in Afghanistan
www.afghanwarnews.info/sfa/ministry-advisors.htm

Vehicles Transferred to 215th ANA Crops in Helmand province, Afghanistan

Vehicles ready for transfer to the 215th ANA Corps in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The Afghan army has had a poor record in maintaining vehicles. Many become damaged due to battle losses or poor maintainence. Resolute Support advisors in Essential Function 5 are responsible for advising and assisting the Afghan police and army with vehicle procurement, distribution, and maintenance. (Photo Resolute Support HQs Dec 2015).


Papers and Publications about Sustainment

DoDIG, Assessment of U.S. and Coalition Efforts to Develop the Logistics and Maintenance Sustainment Capability of the Afghan National Police, Inspector General U.S. Department of Defense, January 30, 2015.
www.dodig.mil/pubs/documents/DODIG-2015-067.pdf

Bain, Major Matthew D., USMC, "Logistic Lessons for Operational Art in Counterinsurgency", US Navy War College, 2001.


Videos about EF 5

February 23, 2015. EF5 Mr. Pat Dulin, a two-minute long video by Pat Dulin, director of EF 5 in Resolute Support HQs. Dulin explains Essential Function 5 for us. This guy is a character - worth watching just for the entertainment.
https://vimeo.com/120277389


News Reports about EF 5: Force Sustainment

February 23, 2018. "The Key to Success in Afghanistan is Logistics", by Daniel Goure, Real Clear Defense. Goure points to the problems associated with the creation of an effective Afghan logistics and sustainment capability for the more than 26,000 ANDSF vehicles and the importance fot the National Maintenance Strategy (NMS) contract.

May 1, 2017. "Moving forward with logisitics advising in Afghanistan", by Capt. Ross A. Powers, Army.mil. Capt Powers served as the senior logistics mentor as a member of the Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan during Resolute Support Mission IV.

February 10, 2017. "Afghan medical leadership expresses pride in progress", Resolute Support new release. EF 5, part of the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A) office of sustainment, assisted in the conduct of an Afghan military medical conference in Kabul.

February 23, 2015. "RSM Essential Function 5: Sustaining the Force". Resolute Support Headquarters New Release. News release available here.

 


 


Endnotes

1. Text in this paragraph is taken from the RS Security Force Assistance Guide 3.0, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), July 1, 2014, page 13.
www.afghanwarnews.info/sfa/ISAF-SFA-Guide.htm

2. This excerpt taken from a Resolute Support News release entitled "RSM Essential Function 5: Sustaining the Force", RS News, February 23, 2015.
www.rs.nato.int/article/rs-news/rsm-essential-function-5-sustaining-the-force.html

 

Afghan War News > SFA > 8 EFs > EF 5 Force Sust

 

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