Posted on 03/21/2011 4:46:04 AM PDT by DJ Elliott
Logistics is not sexy - it is tedious and boring to most people. Logistics is also the essential component to any military operations. “Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.” Without the beans, boots, and bullets – combat operations are impossible.
The Iraqi Army [IA] is organized on a modified US Army structure while the Ministry of Interior [MoI] paramilitary forces - the Federal Police [FP] and Department of Border Enforcement [DBE] are organized more on Italian Carabinarie structure. Both structures normally have support, transport, and maintenance components at each level:
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The IA has built about 40 percent of its needed logistics and maintenance force and the MoI has built about 10-20 percent. This level of logistics capability is in accordance with the Iraqi Security Forces’ plan. Phase 1 of ISF development was Tactical Independence which was achieved in 2010. Phase 2 is Operational Independence and is planned to complete in 2015. Phase 3 is Strategic Independence and is planned to complete by 2020. The 2012 date for the withdrawal of US Forces was an arbitrary political date chosen by politicians that mistake the number of combat battalions for strength and do not understand how many essential support components have not been built yet.
IA Support and Maintenance is adequate for peacetime or Low Intensity Conflict. MoI support only functions by piggybacking on the IA and needs serious expansion. In any Medium or High Intensity Conflict, supply of all the ISF ground forces would fail in short order. A 50 percent down rate of vehicles may be acceptable in peacetime but, is a disaster in war.
(Excerpt) Read more at home.comcast.net ...
FYI
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