PART A - PREPARATION FOR MOVEMENT
Tactical Operations. As the petroleum section chief, you can expect to be either in the advance party
or main body during a movement operation. Since it is the advance party that does the actual on-the-ground
site selection, the majority of this block of instruction will be based on your role as a member of the advance
party.
As a section chief, the first notice you would receive of an impending move would be a warning order
from your platoon leader. The warning order will probably be an oral order with general information on the
time and date of the move, information on the destination, and the probable route.
After you get the warning order, the platoon leader will probably leave the area and begin a route and
site reconnaissance of the area assigned to him by the battalion S3. While that is occurring, you should be
preparing to move. Information needs to be passed out to your section and equipment needs to be checked.
PMCS needs to be performed on your equipment, and if you have the time, all of your equipment needs to
be laid out and checked for serviceability before it is loaded into the vehicles.
When the platoon leader returns, he should have a sketch map of the route and the site. The
map/diagram should show the route to the site and the general location where each section will set up. If at
all possible, the site should be as close to supported units as the tactical situation permits. The site should
also be large enough to provide for two balanced storage sites because you do not want to put all of your
product in one location. By splitting your storage assets, you reduce the possibility of losing all of your
product to one accident or attack. The site should also have easy access to road nets with at least one road
running through the supply point, but never near populated areas. These conditions should be discussed
with the platoon leader prior to you leaving with the advance party because you will be the one making the
final site selection from the area allocated to you by the platoon leader.
Advance Party. The platoon leader will make the personnel selection for the advance party. The
advance party should consist of at least one member from each section of the company. The XO or senior
lieutenant is usually the advance party leader. Your local SOP should detail what equipment should go with
the advance party, but at the very least, you will want to bring some engineer tape and marking devices to
mark off the areas where you want the equipment to go.
Designated Area. Once you have identified exactly where you want each operation to go, designate the
areas with engineer tape and signs. When the main body arrives, you or your representative should
personally escort each truck to its designated area.
PART B - PLANNING AND ENGINEER SUPPORT
Planning. Before you begin to move the Class III and FSSP supply point, you must develop a plan. You
will need to make sure you have all your personnel and equipment on hand when you begin to move the
supply point. Find out how much time you have in which to prepare your crew and equipment for the move.
There are some tasks that should be taken care of before you move. These include surveying the area to
which you will be moving, coordinated with an engineer unit, and developing a flow plan.
Take an Area Survey. Go over the area where the supply point will be located. Decide where to place
the entire supply point. Choose an arrangement for the FSSP that fits the situation and the terrain. Also,
decide where you want the truck parking, bulk storage (50,000-gallon collapsible tanks), and bulk reduction
storage areas and other bulk reduction equipment.
Coordinate Engineer Support. When you go to look over an area for the first time, take a member
of an engineer unit with you. After you choose a site for each part of the supply point, you can give this
information to the engineers. With this information, the engineer unit can prepare individual tank sites,
remove underbrush from bulk reduction areas, clear truck parking areas, and build an improved road through
the site (if one is needed). If you do not have engineer support, your unit needs to prepare the site before
you start setting up the equipment at the new site.
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QM 5095
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