In early 2005, the Ministry of Defense and Multi-National Force-Iraq approved a logistics concept for the Iraqi military. Inherent to the concept is the generation of a variety of organizations, from the ministerial to the unit level. The provision of logistics support at the lowest levels is expected to be the purview of, first, Headquarters and Services Companies, which provide limited health, maintenance, supply, and transportation support to Iraqi Army battalion, brigades, and divisions; and, second, Motorized Transport Regiments, which provide additional transportation, maintenance, and vehicle recovery support to each of the Iraqi Army’s infantry divisions. Midlevel logistics support is expected to come from a national depot, five Regional Support Units (RSU), and numerous Garrison Support Units (GSU). The national depot, located at Taji, provides facilities for the receipt, storage, accounting, and issue of most classes of supply for the Iraqi Armed Forces, as well as the maintenance capability to overhaul vehicles and other equipment. RSUs are to provide regionally focused supply, maintenance, and contract support for the Iraqi military, while GSUs are to provide base support for each Iraqi military installation. A Support Command provides command and control of the national depot and RSUs, while the Iraqi Joint Headquarters logistics staff section provides logistics input to plans and orders. Finally, atop the logistics structure is the Office of the Director General of Acquisitions, Logistics, and Infrastructure, which is expected to direct the overall logistical capability and the acquisition of capital equipment, develop ministerial policies and procedures, and manage the budget. The envisioned end state is a comprehensive logistics system that will provide maintenance, supply, transportation, medical, and garrison support to all elements of the Iraqi military. According to a December 2006 Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq assessment, the Iraqi military will be self-sufficient in the provision of fuel, uniforms, building supplies, and life support by December 2007 at the latest. Additionally, the same assessment states that foreign military sales will be used to attain Iraqi self-sufficiency in the following areas: ammunition management and handling and the training of ammunition managers and handlers; vehicle replacement and modernization; the purchase and stocking of repair parts and the training of repair parts managers; the development of the National Depot; and the formation of a movement coordination center and shipment of supplies. All of these foreign military sales cases are to be promulgated between March and June 2007. According to a Coalition document, the Ministry of Interior logistics system envisioned by the Coalition would enable the central government to procure and distribute commodities; would support both the MOI’s federal forces (National Police and Border Forces) and the forces based in each of Iraq’s 18 provinces (Iraqi Police Service, Facility Protection Service, and Fire/Civil Defense); and would assume accountability for items such as vehicles, weapons, and durable equipment. The Coalition has developed this draft logistics concept for the Iraqi police and border enforcement forces, but as of December 2006 it had not been approved by the Ministry of Interior. Additionally, the Ministry is working together to develop a centralized maintenance concept, but that was still in process as of December 2006. Several challenges remain in the implementation of MOD’s logistics system. First, the establishment of the national depot, regional support units, and garrison support units has lagged behind the creation of Headquarters and Service Companies and Motorized Transport Regiments. Second, the policies and procedures to facilitate implementation of the logistics concept have not been effectively disseminated. Third, the training of Iraqi logisticians has been affected by a lack of fuel, electricity, and personnel support for the training academy. Finally, the maintenance of the Iraqi military’s vehicles is complicated by the diversity of MOD’s fleet, the lack of trained mechanics, and the failure to budget for and maintain an authorized stockage level for equipment. The creation of national and regional logistics centers has lagged behind that of lower echelon unit-level organizations because preference has been given to the generation of lower echelon logistics organizations, specifically Headquarters and Service Companies and Motorized Transport Regiments. According to Coalition officials, this makes the attainment of MOD logistical self-sufficiency problematic. For example, the establishment of the National Depot has been plagued by manpower shortages, security issues, inadequate fuel stocks, and poor maintenance. Coalition officials assigned to the National Depot told us in August 2006 that the quantity of fuel delivered there since April 2006 had been below that needed to support routine warehouse, maintenance, and transportation requirements. The maintenance of forklifts, vehicles, and generators necessary to support day-to-day operations has suffered as well because of a lack of spare parts, a situation exacerbated by the variety of makes and models of equipment used by the National Depot. Additionally, the infrastructure at the National Depot needs to be developed. In its supplemental Fiscal Year 2007 Security Forces Fund request, DOD has asked for a total of $339.2 million to build and develop maintenance, warehouse, and base support facilities at the National Depot. According to DOD, if these funds are not procured, the National Depot’s construction will be affected and the shortfall will necessitate the continued presence and support of Coalition forces further into the future. In the words of one senior Coalition logistician, what presently exists at Taji is “a depot in name only.” The standing up of the Regional Support Units and Garrison Support Units faces similar challenges. According to a senior Coalition official with whom we spoke in January 2006, all 5 RSUs were to be operational by the end of calendar year 2006. But as of August 2006, the Ministry of Defense was still in the process of forming the RSUs and all 5 had significant shortfalls in personnel, leadership, training, and facilities. According to updated information we obtained in December 2006, MOD was still developing the RSUs and they would not be transitioned to full Iraqi control until June 2007. In August 2006 MOD had not yet determined the exact number of GSUs to be formed, and only 5 were in the process of being formed. Updated information obtained from DOD in December 2006 revealed that GSU development was still in an early stage, although the Iraqi Joint Headquarters was taking aggressive action to accelerate the development of 23 GSUs. According to DOD, full transition of GSUs to Iraqi control will not occur until late 2007. In its supplemental Fiscal Year 2007 Security Forces Funds request, DOD has asked for $73 million to build and outfit 58 dining facilities on GSUs and RSUs. Without this funding, DOD states that those facilities might go months or years without use while waiting for equipment to be delivered through the Iraqi acquisitions systems. According to DOD, if that were to occur the Coalition would not be able to diminish its support. Coalition logisticians have emphasized to us that the development of all echelons of the logistics concept is crucial in order for MOD to become capable of independently sustaining its forces. To that end, Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq and Multi-National Force-Iraq have developed Logistics Action Plans that include detailed event trackers and delineate Coalition decision points throughout the year. Overseeing implementation of the Logistics Action Plans is the purview of the Logistics Concept Implementation Committee, an entity formed in March 2006 to develop policies and procedures and steer their implementation. The Logistics Concept Implementation Committee is composed of both Iraqi and Coalition General Officers, and it meets fortnightly. As of December 7, 2006, the Logistics Concept Implementation Committee had produced 27 policies, procedures, and plans. However, according to DOD officials, MOD does not have an effective process for disseminating the policies and procedures throughout the Iraqi military. We do not know the reason for this. Providing trained officers and noncommissioned officers to fill support and combat service support positions throughout the Iraqi Army is the mission of the Iraqi Armed Service and Supply Institute (Institute). However, during our August 2006 visit to the Institute we found several problems that negatively affected its ability to fulfill its mission. One such problem, according to a senior Iraqi Army official from the Institute, is Arabic illiteracy. At least 25 percent of the students who report for each course, including students from the Kurdish provinces who are literate in their own language, are turned away because they cannot read the required manuals, written in Arabic. Quality-of-life problems also hamper training. There is not enough fuel for the generators that provide the power necessary to run air conditioners, water pumps, and other life-support functions. According to an OSD report, the Taji RSU, which supports the Iraqi Armed Service and Supply Institute, was so starved for fuel that the generators were allowed to run only for 12 hours out of 24. During one 24-hour period, most generators had no fuel at all. Furthermore, the number of trained Iraqis is not sufficient for training the number of logisticians required by the Iraqi military. As of August 2006, the Iraqi Armed Service and Supply Institute was staffed with just over half of its authorized Iraqi officer instructors. Lacking the needed faculty, the Institute has had to operate at less than full capacity, resulting in the training of fewer logistics specialists for the Iraqi Army. The reasons for this shortage remain unclear. Vehicle maintenance is another challenge that MOD faces, one exacerbated by the heterogeneous mixture of the Ministry’s vehicular fleet. This diversity evolved because the fleet was assembled variously from vehicles left over from Saddam’s army, MOD vehicle purchases, and vehicle gifts received from donor countries.