The Retrograde of United States Military Equipment Out of Iraq
Abstract
The United States military has been in Iraq since its initial invasion in March of 2003 to commence Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Since that time units have deployed and redeployed in a continuous chain. With each deployment, units have brought in and, in most cases, left their equipment in theater. In addition, countless contractors have brought in and/or purchased equipment in Iraq to accomplish their mission. This mixing of deployed equipment and theater-provided equipment has been a success in arming U.S. units for combat, but the cost has been billions of dollars of equipment spread all over the country. The U.S. military will not be in Iraq forever. The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which calls for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011 has been agreed upon by both Iraq and the United States. Therefore, the question that must be answered is this: How do we get all of this equipment and materiel out of Iraq? This research paper describes how the retrograde of equipment and materiel should be executed. If nothing is changed to the current retrograde plan, this operation could take 50 years to complete. The paper will examine retrograde operations in both Vietnam and Desert Storm to reveal lessons learned that can be applied to this operation. The paper also will analyze the current policy and plan for moving 2.5 brigades' of equipment and materiel out of Iraq each month. It will then recommend a plan that relies heavily on equipment donations to foreign countries, redistributing equipment to Afghanistan, leaving equipment in country for future contingencies, and placing vast amounts of equipment in the Army Prepositioned Stocks (APS). It also will recommend a clearly defined organizational structure that lists all authorities. The proposed retrograde plan will focus on the Army, because it has the largest logistical footprint in Iraq. The majority of units, materiel, and equipment in the Iraqi theater belong to the Army.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 09, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA498068
Entities
People
- Michael A. Armstead
Organizations
- United States Army War College