Staff (military)

From the earliest days of conflict, leaders had staff assistants, if only to hand them the next rock to throw at the mammoth. As man's ability to kill grew, so did the need for assistance to leaders. Still, for centuries, a military staff was organized around an individual, rather than in a systematic way.

One of the challenges of discussing the development of modern staff concepts is separating them from operational warfare, as true staffs emerged at roughly the same time as the corps level of organization, historically the first level that could force battle to be conducted at a particular place, time, and set of condition. While the technology of current units can put the operational role at a considerably lower level, the challenge remains. Contemporary histories tend, for example, to intermix accounts of Napoleon's use of corps with his use of a staff.

A sub-article discusses the historical development of military staffs.

Staff leadership

The concept of a formal "chief of staff" is rarely present until a unit is led by a general officer (i.e., division-equivalent or above). Below that, the "S" organization reports to the commanding officer. Several militaries, including those of Russia and the U.S., had assistants that coordinated subgroups of the staff. In the U.S. Army, the executive officer typically was responsible for personnel and logistics (and civil affairs if present); the Soviet/Russian equivalent went by several names, but "chief of the rear" was representative. The operations officer, however, has his own section, but also oversees intelligence and communications-electronics,

General vs. special staff

All staff officers having duties at a headquarters and not included in the general (coordinating) staff group or in the personal staff group. The special staff includes certain technical specialists and heads of services, e.g., quartermaster officer, antiaircraft officer, transportation officer, etc

Levels of staff

Subdivisions of a staff are usually identified by a letter and number. The letter indicates the level of organization with which the staff is associated. While the boundaries of a level may vary, common NATO levels are:

• S: Battalion through brigade
• G: Division through army; assumes a single military service
• J: Joint command, containing elements from multiple services
• C: Coalition command, with elements from different countries

Traditional divisions of a general staff

G-1: Personnel and administration

This branch is responsible for tracking the number and status of personnel in the unit, replacing or augmenting manpower, individual training, awards and decorations, etc.

G-2: Intelligence (and security)

An intelligence staff both produces analyses and other reports, and frequently has intelligence collection units reporting to it. While a battalion-level S-2 intelligence section may consist only of an intelligence officer and an intelligence sergeant, the higher in the command hierarchy in which this branch appears, the more likely it is that it will have sections for the major parts of the intelligence cycle:

• Collection and processing
• Analysis
• Dissemination
• Security

In highly technical militaries, there is a trend to have more and more collection capability in lower-level units, since lower-level units are more likely to fight operational warfare and thus need to do their own short-term collection. At a minimum, the intelligence branch has operational control of reconnaisance/scouting units. Such units historically have been specialist ground troops, but there is a strong tendency to have, at a minimum, an unmanned aerial vehicle aerial reconnaissance capability to provide imagery intelligence. The branch frequently will control at least a basic signals intelligence capability, which, at least, has direction finding, security monitoring of one's own communications, operation of secure communications to higher-level intelligence, and HUMINT/counterintelligence specialists.

It will participate in an intelligence collection planning process, with higher-echelon intelligence units, to determine which unit and technology will cover which aspects of the enemy. As with Eurocorps, there may be an explicit planning cell.

Even if G-3 controls the situation map, G-2 is responsible for the information on that map that pertains to enemy forces. The intelligence branch will present frequent and periodic summaries of enemy force status, and, where appropriate, movements and intentions.

Special Security

In a combat organization, the intelligence branch is most likely to handle material within compartmented control systems, and thus it is a logical place for the Special Security Office(r), responsible for such information, and, if the headquarters needs one, a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). The SCIF will contain intelligence communictions systems, and be restricted to staff cleared for SCI; the U.S. slang term for the operations in a SCIF is "behind the green door".

Clandestine human-source intelligence, complementing the less sensitive prisoner interrogration and other human-source intelligence functions, is apt to be one of these sensitive areas. In U.S. doctrine, there will be HUMINT control function identified by an "X" suffix to the C/J/G-2 level (e.g., G-2X) and a HUMINT operations cell (HOC) at brigade and above, and Operational Management Team at battalion. Special Forces units may be augmented with two-man HUMINT/CI teams.

G-3: Operations

Responsible for unit, as opposed to individual training, and the mobilization and deployment of units for combat. Ground units frequently have a deputy for air support.

Eurocorps divides the G-3 function into five branches, which can split into more cells under crisis conditions.

G3 Plans

As opposed to a Plans and Policy staff division, which is typically the J-5 at a higher headquarters, G-3 plans is responsible for short-term operational procedures, guidance, and specific plans. These include: co-ordination of all operational short-term planning and all operational guidelines, manuals and Standard Operating *close, deep and rear operations by conventional forces.

• special operations
• information operations (IO). In Eurocorps, this is normally divided into a psychological operations and an information operations cell, while U.S. doctrine has psychological operations as a subgroup of IO

"The G3 Branch’s brains are tasked with foreseeing operations in the future and thinking over all possible ways of action within the very strict frame of order writing...The G3 Plans section manages the Decision-Making Process (DMP) and the Corps Battle Rhythm. The co-operation, co-ordination and liaison with the higher echelon, LNOs to the HQ EC, Air and Naval Component are conducted within G3 Plans.

G3 Training and Exercises

This branch prepares both command post and troop exercises, as well as budgeting for training and supervising the execution of exercises.

G3 Operations

G-3 operations maintains the "big picture" for the commander and staff, and communicates status and actions within the Eurocorps headquarters, to subordinate units, and to external headquarters and organizations that need such information. It operates the Main and Alternate command post, and also manages alerting and mobilization. In Eurocorps, it is responsible for force protection through the Military Police Staff Officer/Force Protection Officer, while [[force The primary functions of G3 Operations are the maintenance and promulgation of a common operating picture, both within the headquarters and externally, and the conduct of the current battle. It contains:

• Alert & Mobilization cell
• Home Base Ops Centre cell
• OPSCEN cell

(Military Police & Force Protection cell.

G3 Fire Support Co-Ordination Centre

Two major areas fall under this branch, working closely with the G-3 Air. First, it is responsible for the overall coordination of land, air, and naval fires in support of maneuver. It also plans both lethal and non-lethal fires in support of operations, and does the targeting for those fires. The section is organised in the following sub-cells:

• Command
• Operations
• Plans
• Targeting.

G3 Air

This staff section interfaces among the organic aviation and air defense units, as well as airspace management to deconflict aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles from higher headquarters or the supporting Air Force components.

G-4: Logistics

While the units under the control of G-2 may be small enough for direct reporting, the massive organizations needed for logistics may necessitate separating the logistics section of the staff from the logistics support command, which has its own staff, organized for its needs. In Eurocorps, the logistics division of the main staff has the branches:

• G4 Operations: responsible for presentation of logistic situation to the Commanding General, and running the appropriate information sysetms. It also issues logistic orders and guidelines for subordinate units and tasks EC Log Corps troops.
• G4 Plans manages the whole planning, command and logistic policy. To check the relevance of the concepts and procedures created by the section, it regularly organizes or takes part in seminars to share information and ideas with other High Readiness Force HQs. In peacetime it is responsible for developing logistics-related concepts and SOPs.

• G4 Movement and Transport Section plans the detailed deployment plan for HQ Eurocorps and the Multinational Command Support Brigade from the garrison to the area of operations. It complements the operational and tactical movements under G-3,

• G4 Reception, Staging and Onwards Movements section develops the RSOM plans. It is responsible for co-ordinating the RSOM process of Eurocorps from the port of debarkation to the area of operations with the Troop Contributing Nations, the Host Nation and the superior headquarters including NATO HQs. In peacetime, it is responsible for developing the RSOM concept and related Standard Operating Procedures.

• G4 Medical is responsible for the planning and co-ordination of medical support throughout the Corps' area of operations. In Europcorps, the Chief of this section is the Medical Adviser (MEDAD) to the Commanding General. In the U.S., the unit Command Surgeon (i.e., senior medical officer) is also a member of the Commanding General's special staff. As with logistics staff versus logistic commands, medical services will usually have field and evacuation hospitals, public health specialists, etc. that are in the operational logistics organization rather than the main staff, although some specialists may be "dual-hatted".

Divisions without standardized numbers

Budget (Eurocorps G-8)

Placed here is the preparation of the multinational communally funded Eurocorps (EC) budget, as well as audit of financial and contracting. It provides the Headquarters with the necessary financial, audit and contracting support. The Eurocorps organization must comply with NATO, EU, and national component rules. .

Civil and Military Operations (CMO)/Civil Affairs

Purely from a historical standpoint, Civil Affairs (sometimes Civil-Military Operation) seems to have difficulty fitting into a staff. For a time, the U.S. put into branch 5, but "5" tended, at higher headquarters level, to be "Plans and Policy", complementing the short-term planning in branch 3. To further confuse it, civil-military operations is part of information operations, which is apt to be in branch 3 as well.

In Eurocorps, civil-military operations are in G-9. Especially in peace operations, a civil-military operations officer will usually be in the first staff group to arrive in the area of operations. As long as the situation is not a "hot war" respons, G-9 needs to get in early, and establish and maintain relationship with the non-military actors in the AO:

• civilian authorities of the host nation
• the international and non-governmental organizations
• all other stakeholders acting in the area of operation including the most important one: the population
• the most delicate: opposition or insurgent forces.

Again part of information operations is public affairs, which also can be called "white propaganda", or official and acknowledged announcements. CMO strives to get a widely accepted understanding of the role of the military force. It may go beyond information into mediation and other forms of confict resolution.

CMO can call on the force to assist in actions to assist the civilian population, subject to overriding tactical needs and budget/contracting guidance:

• Logistics: assets for refugees or displaced persons
• Engineer expertise on mines (de-mining, mine awareness) or request the execution of projects like repairing buildings, restoring electricity, water supply and so on.
• Medical: deal with public health problems
• Legal: help with interpretations of agreements, and, where appropriate, draft new ones where there are new stakeholders
• Military police: restoring civil order

In order to fulfil their diverse tasks during operations, G9 is organized in three sections in peacetime (operation, plans/assessment and liaison).

Even in peacetime, it is of utmost importance for the eight officers and four non-commissioned officers to establish contacts with other CIMIC units at NATO or national level and with members of international and non-governmental organizations.