Reconstituting Combat Power in Large-Scale War: A Layered Approach

Military Review  |  Chad M. Pillai, Sam Rosenberg, Brandon Schwartz, Phillip J. Hoying, Justin Senecal

The US Army Europe and Africa has developed a theater-level reconstitution concept to address critical doctrinal shortfalls in regenerating combat-degraded divisions during large-scale combat operations. This framework establishes a structured model to restore personnel, equipment, and training proficiency under active threat conditions, ensuring combat formations can sustain high-intensity operations against peer adversaries.

Recent attrition rates observed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed severe limitations in existing doctrine, which historically assumed units could regenerate in rear-area sanctuaries. To resolve this, the proposed five-layer model spans tactical reorganization, operational regeneration, multinational support, industrial mobilization, and national mobilization. By leveraging allied infrastructure, such as Polish maintenance hubs, and integrating civilian logistics, the model transitions ad hoc fixes into a continuous, synchronized campaign function. This approach ultimately aims to institutionalize reconstitution planning across all echelons before the onset of future peer conflicts, thereby ensuring long-term operational endurance and strategic deterrence.

Comment

The reliance of ATP 3-94.4 on rear-area sanctuary for regeneration exposes a fundamental vulnerability in modern high-intensity conflict where long-range precision fires eliminate safe zones. This lack of echelon-specific guidance in ATP 3-94.4 leaves division and corps commanders without standardised procedures to absorb heavy losses. Integrating multinational logistics hubs in Poland into the USAREUR-AF framework represents a shift toward distributed, coalition-dependent survival. This transition reveals that the US Army cannot sustain prolonged attrition in a European theatre without outsourcing critical maintenance and training functions to NATO allies.

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