Staging area

A staging area (or staging point) is a location where organisms, people, vehicles, equipment or material are assembled before use.

Definition and usage

In construction

A staging area is a designated area where vehicles, supplies, and construction equipment are positioned for access and use to a construction site.

In ecology

The resting and feeding places of migratory birds are referred to as staging areas.

In entertainment

Staging areas are an area designated for setting up parades and other elaborate presentations.

In the military

In military uses, a staging area is a place where troops or equipment in transit are assembled or processed.^[1] The US Department of Defense uses these definitions:

(DOD) 1. Amphibious or airborne-A general locality between the mounting area and the objective of an amphibious or airborne expedition, through which the expedition or parts thereof pass after mounting, for refueling, regrouping of ships, and/or exercise, inspection, and redistribution of troops.

(DOD) 2. Other movements-A general locality established for the concentration of troop units and transient personnel between movements over the lines of communications. Also called SA. See also airborne; marshalling; stage; staging.

—^[2]

Often and historically this military staging area has been termed a point d'appui, which point is often on high ground and sometimes coincident with a significant prehistoric monument, as in the case of Catto Long Barrow in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Unlike normal bases, the facilities of a staging area are temporary, mainly because for a certain time it will hold much more troops and material than would be reasonable in peacetime.

Militaries use staging areas to deploy military units, aircraft and warships plus their materiel ahead of an attack or invasion. In former times this used to be generally the border area of one's own country, but in recent wars (Gulf War, Kosovo War, Iraq War) it may also be the border area of another unrelated country granting access.

In incident management

Staging areas are established for temporary location of available emergency responder resources. A Staging Area can be any location in which personnel, supplies, and equipment can be temporarily housed or parked while awaiting operational assignment. Staging Areas may include temporary feeding, fueling, and sanitation services for emergency crews like Wildland firefighters or Ground Search and Rescue.

Staging areas are established by the Operations Section Chief to enable positioning of and accounting for resources not immediately assigned. The Operations Section Chief assigns a manager for each Staging Area, who checks in all incoming resources, dispatches resources at the Operations Section Chief’s request, and requests Logistics Section Support, as necessary, for resources located in the Staging Area.

Personnel check in with the Resources Unit at the Staging Area, while supplies and equipment are checked in with the Supply Unit. If neither of these functions is activated, resources report to the Staging Area Manager for direction.

In space exploration

Main article: Staging (rocketry)

In space exploration, the area where final assembly is done on space vehicles before they are moved out to their launch pad.

In data warehouse

Main article: Staging (data)

In Data warehouse terms, a data staging area is an intermediate storage area between the sources of information and the data warehouse (DW) or Data mart (DM). It is usually of temporary nature, and its contents can be erased after the DW/DM has been loaded successfully.

See also

• Military logistics

References

1. ^ Staging area (from the American Heritage Dictionary. Accessed 2008-09-14.)
2. ^ DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms - Accessed 13th November 2009