Sand, Rough Roads and Insurgents' Bullets Place a Tremendous Strain ....

[JoFerret]

May 9, 2004
Sand, Rough Roads and Insurgents' Bullets Place a Tremendous Strain on Army Equipment
By ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON, May 8 — The Army is wearing out its equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan as much as 10 times as fast as in peacetime, straining the service's ability to repair battlefield weaponry, and accelerating the point at which entire fleets of costly trucks and aircraft need to be replaced, the Army's chief logistician warned this week.

....

"We're meeting the requirements but we don't have a lot of slack," General Kern said ....

....
"I don't see this as a peak right now; I see it more as a plateau,"....

General Kern also broke ranks with Mr. Rumsfeld and senior Army officers by asserting that the Army needs to make permanent a temporary increase of 30,000 soldiers in the size of the Army if operations remain as busy as they have been. "As I see it today, the 30,000 additions which are currently added to our end strength, if we sustain the current levels, will be required," he said.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/international/middleeast/09GENE.html?pagewanted=print&position=

[bahrbearian]

1. We'll just send in more soldiers ,just no equipment.

[dArKeR]

2. As the sun rises it will be 103F in Iraq. Send Limbaugh, Novak, Russert,

Fineman, Perle, Wolfowitz, Abrams, Armitage, Power, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gingrich, Hastert, Delay, Lott, Frist... to fight for their Oil Profits in these conditions together!

http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/IZXX0013.html weather

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-577676-map_of_iraq-i map

[DS1]

6. 621 miles visibility, sheesh, so much for the element of surprise

I don't I've ever seen a visibility rating that high in the U.S.

[Barrett808]

3. Iraq’s Nightmare Scenario

Guest Column: Iraq’s Nightmare Scenario
By Carlton Meyer

A careful reader of the limited news coming out of Iraq will discover the U.S. military situation is perilous and a few more bad moves could send the U.S. Army and Marines retreating back to Kuwait in the same manner they fled southward 54 years ago in Korea.

That was when a million Chinese foot soldiers suddenly appeared and attacked as overextended U.S. forces approached the Chinese border. American firepower, airpower, and technology was unable to compensate for the confusion and lack of supplies for American ground troops.

The main problem in Iraq today is the massive logistics effort required to sustain U.S. forces at over a hundred dispersed camps. Over 95 percent of supplies arrive by ship, and the closest major seaport is in Kuwait. This means everything must be hauled hundreds of miles over war torn roads among hostile natives. This is far more difficult than Vietnam, which had a long coastline where supplies could be dropped off.

A recent article by Tom Ricks of the Washington Post noted that most convoys are attacked, and that soldiers must stop to check each bridge for explosives because there is not enough manpower to guard them. Other reporters tell of recently destroyed bridges forcing convoys to travel on secondary roads that double their travel time. In addition, many civilian truck drivers have refused to drive and many foreign logistics contractors have left Iraq.

Many reports tell of ammunition rationing. The U.S. military was not expecting a prolonged conflict, and drawing and transporting dangerous ammo from limited worldwide stockpiles is a challenge. Senior Army officials told the House Armed Services Committee last month that nearly all the wartime stockpiles in Southwest Asia and on the island of Diego Garcia have been issued, as well as equipment stashed in Europe – a total of 10,000 tanks, personnel carriers, trucks, and other vehicles. Only the Army’s equipment for one brigade in Korea and the Marines’ brigade stock in Guam remain untouched.

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http://www.sftt.org/

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Interesting that...

no one's added up the cost of replacing all this stuff after we do get out of there.

From day one, even dumb old draftees like me knew that logistics is the key to any operation. The generals go to school to study everyone from Caesar to Rommel and how supply lines work. It wasn't all that long ago that we were in a war economy with meat, metal, and gas rationing and still ran out of stuff. In Vietnam we ramped up supplying the war, and still let Korean and European bases starve for equipment.

Rummy's theories are fascinating on paper, but don't have any slack in them for an extended operation. And wars are not fought or won with fascinating theories. The generals knew, but he knew better. He was warned that we couldn't properly handle an extended occupation at those troop and supply levels, but would he listen?

Nope. Air power and strike forces would win the war and the Iraqis would miraculously rise from the rubble and take care of everything themselves. No need for those nasty boots on the ground.

[dArKeR]

5. If the Iraqis get their hands on some high powered weapons, I agree with

you.

[JoFerret]

8. Good info. Good analysis

Thanks

[catmandu57]

7. Being overrun is my worst nightmare

situation and I see it as a very real possibility. We are so outnumbered, I'm afraid our military may be swallowed up by the desert sand,
If we keep doing idiotic stuff, we won't only have Iraq to fight our way out of, it'll be the entire region, There won't be a safe haven to retreat to.
I suppose then though it will be the neocon wet dream come true, nuclear missles flying, Armmageddon give me a kiss.

[ColdWarZoomie]

9. Chances of Being Overrun Still Seem Low to Me

Right now, I think the chance of being overrun is low since I do not know the aftermath of the recent torture scandal. Latest poll shows majority of Iraqis want us out, but that was completed before the Falluja siege and pics hit the airwaves.

The Shi'ites did not organize well enough under Saddam to kick him out. (Of course, Saddam was much more brutal than we are.) Right now, they are still fractured between the moderate wing under Sistani and Sadr. The turning point may be when more pics and video are published. Sadr may then grow more powerful and the moderates will be unable to rely on us to help them sideline him.

The recent activity to have the moderates try to sideline Sadr I think is a sign that they know public opinion is turning against the USA fast and furiously, and Sadr needs to be neutralized before he gains too much power.

We'll know more in the next 3-4 weeks whether or not the masses are being pushed to a general uprising for sure.