Methodology for Base Camp Site Selection and Facility Layout

摘要

In the decade since the end of the Cold War, the number of Support and Sustain Operations (SASO) or Operations Other Than War (OOTW) conducted by the United States has greatly increased. The current trends show no signs of changing, so service members can expect to spend a significant portion of their careers performing peace enforcement, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief missions throughout the world. To maintain a deployed force conducting such potentially lengthy operations, semi-permanent basecamps are required to provide the needed unit and soldier support facilities. Despite their obviously important role, there is little to no doctrine, (especially for the United States Army) to determine where a basecamp should be sited geographically or how it should be laid out. This research outlines an integrated methodology to help military commanders and planners decide first, where to place basecamps and second, how to layout those basecamps.