Effects of Organizational Turbulence on Companies in Sustainment Brigades

This study investigates the effect organizational turbulence caused by frequent changes in task organization has on the company sized elements resident in the sustainment brigades. The study identifies the modular structure of the sustainment brigade, the ARFORGEN process, and the sourcing process as factors contributing to the current level of organizational turbulence experienced by these companies. It also examines how this turbulence negatively affects unit training, leader development and unit development. The methodology that is used is a modification of the U.S. Army's Seven Step Problem-Solving Model. This methodology critically examines potential solutions using a rubric-based set of benchmarks. Courses of action were evaluated for cost, stability, flexibility and effectiveness. The study concludes that restricting modularity to the battalion level and adding geography as a planning consideration for the sourcing process greatly reduces the level of organizational turbulence. By adopting these changes, the conditions will be set for enhanced unit training, leader development and unit development.