Al-Maliki Blames Strengthened Insurgency on U.S. Refusal to Provide More Equipment

Al-Maliki Blames Strengthened Insurgency on U.S. Refusal to Provide More Equipment, Arms to Iraqis

This might be the most irritating article I've read this year. The Ministry of the Interior is the approval authority for about 90% of the equipment the IPs get. The Ministry of Defense is the approval authority for 90% of the equipment the IA gets. Twice a month, every month, I'd send a list of what was required and the shortages within our units. I'd personally request certain items, only to get them turned down at MOD or MOI.

Al-Maliki needs to start looking at his own ineffectual government for some of the answers and quit blaming every problem in Iraq on the US. After all, JAM doesn't seem to be having any issues.

Yep, no doubt about it. Allot of the stuff we need sits at RSUs and waits as the Iraqi tactical echelons work through systems with layers of beauracacy Americans helped them set up. We became so obsessed with fraud, waste and abuse that we copied many of the things in our system that worked for us to prevent it. We just could not understand why they can't make our system work the way we make it work.

Here is my recommendation:

For the time being: Get rid of MOD, DIV & BDE level approval for all classes of supply - keep it at BN level- if the unit has a TT with it. Allow it to be picked up with a TT member present. Its there most of the time. It reminds me of a company supply room where the Supply SGT says: "If I don't issue anything out, I'll always have everything accounted for"> Right now BDEs and DIV level units do very little for the fight anyway - they can't seem to figure out what their role is.

Later, when the Iraqis have things like Internet at the tactical level, then requisitions can go to MOD at webmail speed - right now it involves 50 signatures and a trip to the RSU to be told, sorry, this form is now changed to this one, so you 'll have to come back and try agin for your 125 new protective vests and 500 winter coats. I can name that tune.

Instead make a requrement that the paperwork go up simulaneously so it can be tracked and consumption rates can be built, but don't have me wait till June to get my Winter coats that I ordered last July. These guys are not going to deploy to another country anytime soon, so why try and build a supply system that complex - its like building them a GP MTO&E for an Army that can really only do one thing at a time.

I have a myriad of LOG examples where streamiling and emptying out the closets would make a difference. People say well what about the corruption? My answer, OK - what about it. You can't have it both ways right now. Example - CL IIIB -" well we're not going to provide it anymore" - OK - the consequence is no patrols. Cl IX for HMMWVs- "we'll have to let the IA system work" - The sytem is broke and doesn't work - meanwhile just when the IA were starting to challenge the AIF in the neighborhoods for public support, just when the IA we're beginning to assure the public they would not be assassinated for not compling with AIF demands, the tires quit coming, and the DF2 gets turned off. People here don't think past their shelf life - If the ISF fails because supplies could not be provided then we'll spend twice as much in every type of capital (political and economic) rebuilding them.

If the CEO of KBR can make $432 miilion in 2004 (see the documentary "Iraq for Sell), then I think we can do worse then to support ISF with DF2 and CL IX for HMMWVs. Also - at first I thought the HMMWV for IA was going to be a bad idea - I thought - wouldn't it be better to give them Armored cars like the Land Rover "tennis shoes" I see running around. I thought the HMMWV is going to be a bitch to work on for these guys (our BN maint. is about 3-4 guys at any given time - all OJT'd, with some help from TT 88M's and CF CRTs - but you know what - it turned out to be the piece of equipment that made all the difference - only now the AIF has figured it out to and are shifting reosurces to destroy IA HMMWVs. CL IX is a huge issue - We have a 45% OR rate because of POO that can't seem to get here and we are competing with CF HMMWVs for BO'd stuff.

As far as weapons and CL V go - its at the RSU - its just the typical beauracratic layers that are preventing timely draws that fix problems. HMMWVs - that sounds like a US solution - a good one, but one we might have underestimated the requirements on.