In the United States Army, the term combat support refers to units that provide fire support and operational assistance to combat elements. Combat support units provide specialized support functions to combat units in the areas of chemical warfare, combat engineering, intelligence, security, and communications.
Combat support should not be confused with combat service support, which are units which primarily provide logistical support by providing supply, maintenance, transportation, health services, and other services required by the soldiers of combat units to continue their missions in combat. Expressed another way, Combat Support units are focused on providing operational support to combat units, while Combat Service Support units are focused on providing logistical support to combat units. Actual combat units are collectively referred to as combat arms units; hence, all army units fall into the category of either combat arms, combat support, or combat service support.
Within the U.S. Army, the combat support branches are the:
- Chemical Corps
- Corps of Engineers (i.e., General (not Combat) Engineering units)
- Military Intelligence Corps
- Military Police Corps
- Signal Corps
- Army Aviation (e.g., Battlefield Reconnaissance, Signals Intelligence, and Assault Helicopter units)
Read more about Combat Support: Branch Insignia
Famous quotes containing the words combat and/or support:
“The combat ended for want of combatants.”
—Pierre Corneille (1606–1684)
“I concluded that I was skilled, however poorly, at only one thing: marriage. And so I set about the business of selling myself and two children to some unsuspecting man who might think me a desirable second-hand mate, a man of good means and disposition willing to support another man’s children in some semblance of the style to which they were accustomed. My heart was not in the chase, but I was tired and there was no alternative. I could not afford freedom.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)