A Combat Support Company is a company

Company

A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...

-echelon unit which provides combat service support to a battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

. Combat Service Support (CSS) tasks are to man, arm, fuel

Fuel

Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...

, fix, and move the force. These tasks are generally categorized into logistics

Logistics

Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...

 support, personnel service support, and health

Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

 services support.

CSS tasks

• Logistics support - this task includes supply, transportation, maintenance
  Maintenance, Repair and Operations
  Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...
  
  , and field services. Personnel service support includes functions that provide soldiers to the command as well as contribute to their welfare and morale.

• Personnel service support - functions of personnel service support include personnel and administration services, including strength and personnel accounting, casualty
  Casualty (person)
  A casualty is a person who is the victim of an accident, injury, or trauma. The word casualties is most often used by the news media to describe deaths and injuries resulting from wars or disasters...
  
   reporting, replacement operations, awards, and personnel management
  Management
  Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
  
  . Chaplain
  Chaplain
  Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
  
   operations and enemy prisoner of war
  Prisoner of war
  A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
  
   (EPW) operations fall under this CSS task.

• Health services support includes medical treatment and evacuation
  Emergency evacuation
  Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
  
   of casualties, preventive medicine
  Preventive medicine
  Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
  
  , and medical supply operations.

Sources of Combat Support

While the composition of a Combat Support Company can vary wildly depending on the unit being served, most infantry battalions will include, at a minimum, an S1

S1

S1, S01, S.I, S-1, S.1, Š-1 or S 1 may refer to :beginning with S1 :* S1 , a S-Bahn line* S-1 block cipher, a block cipher* S1 Core, a microprocessor-core* S1 , a S-Bahn line...

 (personnel) section, an S4

S4

- Beginning with S4 :* S4 standard, a standard of P4 gauge with reduced tolerance, a highly accurate 4mm/1 ft railways modeling format* S4, a sustainability trends in fashion newsletter created by model Summer Rayne Oakes* S4, a normal modal logic...

 (operations) section, a medical platoon, a support platoon, and a maintenance platoon or section. In many units these services are provided by the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC). The following is derived from FM 7-20 (Infantry Battalion Operations), Chapter 8.

• S1 Section - consists of the S1 and the PAC. As the personnel staff officer, the S1 exercises the coordinating staff responsibility for personnel service support matters. He is aided by the PAC supervisor and by the personnel staff NCO
  Non-commissioned officer
  A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
  
   (PSNCO). The S1, PSNCO, and two administrative specialists collocate with the S4 at the combat trains CP; the PAC is located in the field trains. The S1 takes part in the full range of staff officer functions. These include taking part in the OPORD process; developing personnel estimates, loss rate estimates, and portions of the CSS annex; and recommending replacement priorities. He coordinates his areas fully with other staff officers.

• S4 Section - this section assumes responsibility for supply, transportation, maintenance, and field service functions. It coordinates the requisition and distribution of supplies to companies. The S4 section also turns in captured supplies and equipment as directed. Personnel in the S4 section are located in the field and combat trains CPs. They are cross trained with soldiers of the S1 section in critical tasks to permit continuous operations. Aided by the battalion supply sergeant, the S4 supervises the S4 section.
  The S4 concentrates on water and seven classes of supply in combat: Classes I through V, VII, and IX. The support platoon leader working with the S4 and HHC commander coordinates the requisition, receipt, preparation, and delivery of water and Classes I, III, and V. The S4 section coordinates the requisition, receipt, and delivery of Classes II, IV, and VII (as well as Class IX in the light infantry). If the battalion has a maintenance platoon/section, the battalion maintenance technician (BMT) requests, receives, and delivers Class IX items.

• Medical Platoon - provides unit-level medical support for the battalion. It collects, triages, and treats patients, then either evacuates them or returns them to duty. The medical platoon establishes and applies preventive medicine programs aimed at preventing disease and illness.

• Support Platoon - has a headquarters, a transportation section (with a decontamination
  Decontamination
  Decontamination is the process of cleansing the human body to remove contamination by hazardous materials including chemicals, radioactive substances, and infectious material...
  
   specialist in H-edition infantry and airborne
  Airborne forces
  Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
  
  /air assault
  Air assault
  Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces...
  
  battalions) and a mess section (less the light infantry battalion).

• Maintenance Platoon - provides maintenance for unit vehicles. Unit-level maintenance is consolidated at brigade level for the light infantry battalion. Maintenance teams of two to four men maybe formed to support maneuver battalions. They will work from their battalions' field trains. They carry with them stocks of assemblies and other high-demand repair parts. Procedures are established for repair parts delivery from the brigade consolidated PLL section. The battalion team is responsible for repairing deadlined equipment that can be repaired in time to return it to the current battle. If the item is badly damaged, the team arranges for its evacuation.