Practical Sustainment Concepts for the Non-Linear Battlespace

paper will raise questions and discussion by the doctrinal experts to ensure that our
deployed troops receive the best sustainment support possible.
About the Author …
At the time this article was written, Major Devon Matsalla was the Operations Officer of the
Canadian National Support Element for Joint Task Force Afghanistan Roto 4. His previous military
experience includes 12 years as an Artillery officer before transferring into the EME branch in 2004.
He is now employed as the Canadian Field Artillery Equipment Manager based out of Gatineau,
Quebec.
Endnotes
1. In Afghanistan, contracted transport is called “Jingle” Trucks (JT), due to the cultural tendency of drivers to decorate
their trucks. JT have the convenient ability to blend into the civilian traffic and therefore rarely require additional force
protection.
2. Contracted civilian airlift in Afghanistan is often called “Jingle Air”, with reference to its contracted road counterpart.
3. A 5 and 20 drill is a standard procedure carried out on every halt, in which visual inspections for threats or hazards are
conducted within a five and then 20-metre radius of the vehicles. See B-GL-005-000/FP-001, Convoy Operations Tactics,
Techniques and Procedures for more detail.
4. Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
5. Scissiparity is a biological term describing the process by with a single-celled organism must obtain a certain critical
mass before it can separate into two separate organisms.
62 Canadian Army Journal Vol. 11.2 Summer 2008