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Commentary
Fostering Iraqi Army
Logistics Success
The news today is full of stories about Iraq.
Inevitably, those stories generate a great deal of
frustration here in the United States and within
the Army. As the Nation sails through its fifth year in
Iraq, many people wonder: Why can’t that problem
just get fixed?
The Iraqi Army has been stood up. Many people
question why the United States cannot just pull up
stakes and leave Iraq for the Iraqis now that they have
an army. I contend that part of the reason why this has
not happened is the Iraqi Army’s difficulty with mastering
the field of logistics. I say this because I saw
that problem up close as a member of a military transition
team (MiTT) in Iraq, advising the Iraqi Army’s 4th
Motor Transport Regiment (MTR).
The MTR is now one of the few field logistics units
within the Iraqi Army. An MTR has four truck companies
and one security, or military police, company.
The main trucks the unit is equipped with are U.S.
5-ton and Russian 8-ton trucks. The security company
is equipped with U.S. high-mobility multipurpose
wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs). The regiment normally
is commanded by a colonel.
Iraqi Army Growth
A lot has happened in the Iraqi Army in a very short
period. The Iraqi government has only gained control
of most of its army in the past couple of years. The
Ministry of Defense in Baghdad now runs everything
connected to Iraqi Army units.
With each passing day, the Iraqis are running more
of the show. However, more work must be done to
stand up the Iraqi Army fully because it is still heavily
dependent on the United States for logistics. It is
important, however, to view this situation in the context
of Iraq, not the United States.
The “low-hanging fruit” analogy clearly applies to
the Iraqi Army. You could think of the low-hanging
fruit as the initial work of putting the army together.
This includes tasks like purchasing and fielding
equipment, recruiting and training the initial cohort of
16
by Lieutenant co L o n e L th o M a S M. MaGee, uSar
The Iraqi Army has made great progress in its efforts to organize
and become self-sustaining over the past 2 years. Now its greatest challenge
is to develop a logistics program that will support an independent force.
This article expresses the views of the author, not the Department of Defense or any of its agencies.
soldiers, and purchasing other equipment. Those tasks
are low-hanging fruit because they are finite, short
term, and tangible.
Just like in an orchard, the next wave of work is getting
the fruit that sits higher on the tree or, for whatever
reason, is harder to reach. Now coalition forces must
help the Iraqi Army through the next phase. The tasks
in this next phase will be more difficult because they
involve nontangible tasks, such as applying knowledge
or integrating complex activities across a broad spectrum—something
the entire Iraqi culture is struggling
with. I think these tasks will require more work because
insurgent groups are fighting to stop those very things.
Logistics is part of that hard-to-reach high-hanging
fruit. To have an effective logistics program, an army
needs both the hardware and the software for the program.
Software, here, is the knowledge to make the
logistics program run effectively. Logistics must be
mastered in order to stand up the Iraqi Army and send
the U.S. troops home. The dilemma the U.S. Army
faces now in Iraq is how to help the Iraqi Army advance
to the next stage.
Iraqi Army Logistics
To address what needs to be done next, it is important
to review where the Iraqi Army is now. The initial
work has been done. The Iraqi Army is fielded, so to
say. They have 10 field divisions, with another division
to come. These new divisions have anywhere from
three to five brigades apiece. Most of these units are
equipped along the lines of light infantry. The soldiers
in these units have completed 5-week basic training
programs at various posts throughout Iraq. This
training is a “one size fits all” kind of training. They
have no specialized training. The challenge comes in
helping the Iraqis master planning, logistics, and other
complexities connected to running those units.
Right now, the Iraqi Army has a unique supply system.
At face value, it looks like a system set up for
peacetime. It certainly is not set up for rapid movement
in the field. Units draw their supplies from a garrison
JULY–AUGUST 2008