Reply #11: U.S. Military increasingly using air lifts (Convoys Too Dangerous) [View All]

[wellst0nev0ter]

CAMP ANACONDA, Iraq - The U.S. military is increasingly using air lifts instead of ground convoys to resupply troops to avoid the deadly roadside bombs that remain a major killer of American soldiers after more than three years of war.

The 3rd Corps Support Command, which supplies units throughout the country, has made air shipment its No. 1 priority since arriving last October at Camp Anaconda, 50 miles north of Baghdad.

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In October, the command moved about 6,500 pallets — the platform that items are loaded onto — by air each month. The monthly figure now stands at about 16,000.

The increase of air shipments means about 33,000 vehicles and 71,000 troops who would have been driving convoys around Iraq's dangerous highways have been taken off the roads.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060803/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_air_convoys