Logistics problems: equipment shortages undermine Iraqi forces.

• Author: Axe, David
• Position: UPFRONT

BASRA, Iraq -- After three years of training by coalition advisors, Iraqi forces in southern Iraq are capable of planning and commanding operations. But their logistics systems remain deeply flawed, and the Iraqis rely on British and U.S. forces for supplies and spares support for all but the most basic functions.

"Logistics--that's a major concern for us," says Maj. Gen. Abdul Lateef, commander of the Iraqi Army 10th Division, headquartered in Basra.

"As a piece of real estate, southern Iraq is very important," says British Army Lt. Col. Tim Barrett, a liaison to Iraqi forces in the area. The south contains most of Iraq's oil, many of its large power plants, its only ports and offshore oil terminals and major communications nodes including highways, waterways and Basra International Airport. The region generates no less than 97 percent of Baghdad's revenue. Security here depends on approximately 8,000 coalition troops, most of them British, as well as the 11,000-strong 10th Division and elements of the Iraqi navy and air force.

In the past year, there has been a slow draw-down and consolidation of foreign forces in the south, but as long as local Iraqi forces rely on the coalition for logistics support, a complete withdrawal is unlikely.

The 10th Division is capable of planning and executing its own missions, but usually operates alongside British forces. The division, a light infantry formation, has four brigades each with two line battalions of 800 troops apiece, plus engineer and bomb disposal companies. Small divisional attachments including signals troops and military police are just now standing up with foreign assistance. There are currently no organic logistics troops.

This is consistent with the overall structure of the Iraqi Army. No more than 15 percent of Iraq's 120,000 soldiers are involved in logistics, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Gerald Ostlund told the Associated Press. By contrast, Western armies feature more logisticians than combat troops.

"What you see is what you get," Barrett says, referring to the 10th Division's infantry-heavy structure. While the battalions are adequately equipped with light arms and machine guns, there is a "desperate need" for vehicles, Lateef says. Currently, a handful of Russian-built medium trucks comprise the division's major motor assets.

A dearth of vehicles plus a broader lack of logistical support means the 10th Division is incapable of sustaining operations away from its bases for more than a...