Combat support
Combat support (CS) encompasses the military functions and specialized units that deliver direct operational assistance, fire support, intelligence, and enabling capabilities to combat arms forces, ensuring their effectiveness in achieving mission objectives during joint and combined operations.[1] In the U.S. Army, CS is one of three primary force structure categories—alongside combat arms and combat service support (CSS)—and includes branches such as aviation, chemical corps, engineers, military intelligence, military police, signal corps, and special operations forces focused on civil affairs and psychological operations.[1] These elements provide critical roles like mobility enhancement, countermobility, communications networks, area security, and battlefield intelligence to sustain operational tempo.[1] The concept of CS is integral to modern military doctrine across NATO and U.S. forces, where it integrates with combat and CSS to form cohesive land forces capable of maneuver, protection, and sustainment in diverse environments ranging from conventional warfare to stability operations.[2] In the U.S. Air Force, CS is defined as the foundational capability to field, base, protect, support, and sustain air forces across the competition continuum (as of 2020), emphasizing processes like positioning, employing, and reconstituting forces through logistics and engineering.[3] Key functions often involve synchronizing resources for responsiveness, flexibility, and survivability, such as CBRN defense, topographic engineering, and information dominance, which directly amplify combat power without engaging in direct fire.[1][3] Historically, CS has evolved to address the complexities of joint operations, incorporating advanced technologies like unmanned systems and cyber support to mitigate risks and extend operational reach, including adaptations in multi-domain operations as outlined in the 2025 Army Transformation Initiative, as seen in doctrines emphasizing integration with allied forces for multinational missions.[2][4] This support is vital for generating and sustaining combat power, enabling forces to transition seamlessly between offensive, defensive, and stability tasks while optimizing limited resources.[5]Definition and Scope
Definition
Combat support refers to the provision of fire support and operational assistance to combat elements by specialized military units and functions that do not directly engage in close combat. This includes capabilities such as artillery for indirect fire, intelligence for situational awareness, engineering for mobility and terrain modification, and signals for communications and information systems.[6] These elements enable the generation and application of combat power across operational phases, enhancing lethality, maneuverability, and survivability without assuming a primary combat role.[6] They are essential for shaping the battlefield through roles like delivering long-range fires, conducting reconnaissance and surveillance, constructing obstacles or routes, and maintaining command and control networks.[6] This support amplifies the effectiveness of maneuver forces in offensive, defensive, and stability operations.[6] The concept is defined in doctrinal publications such as U.S. Army Field Manual (FM) 3-90, Tactics, which describes combat support as critical combat functions provided by specialized branches to secure victory.[6] In contemporary U.S. Army doctrine (as of March 2025), these roles are integrated within warfighting functions—such as intelligence, fires, and protection—to synchronize effects across domains in multi-domain operations.[7]Distinction from Related Terms
Combat support (CS) is distinguished from combat service support (CSS) primarily by its focus on direct operational assistance to combat forces during engagements, such as providing fire support, intelligence, and engineering to enhance tactical effectiveness, whereas CSS emphasizes sustainment activities like logistics, maintenance, and supply to ensure long-term force readiness.[6] In U.S. Army doctrine, CS units perform critical functions that integrate closely with combat operations to secure victory, including chemical defense and communications, while CSS units handle resource provision and services such as medical care and transportation to sustain the force overall.[6] CS also differs from combat arms, which involve units and personnel that directly engage and destroy enemy forces or seize terrain through close combat, such as infantry and armor branches leading assaults.[6] CS elements, by contrast, enable these combat arms by offering indirect support like surveillance and artillery coordination without assuming the primary role in direct assaults.[6] Doctrinal evolutions show some overlaps, particularly in engineering and military police functions that can span categories, but distinctions remain clear in both U.S. and NATO frameworks.[6] NATO doctrine, for instance, employs "combat support" for operational enablers like fires and security that enhance mission execution, contrasting with "service support" for rear-area sustainment functions such as logistics and administration.[8]| Category | Primary Role | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Combat Arms | Direct engagement and destruction of enemy forces; seizure of objectives | Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery |
| Combat Support | Operational enhancement for combat arms; intelligence, fires, security | Military Intelligence, Signal Corps, Military Police |
| Combat Service Support | Sustainment and resource provision; logistics, medical, maintenance | Quartermaster, Medical, Transportation |