Transition challenges from Iraq to Afghanistan biggest since World War II

ASC Public Affairs

The Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) personnel assigned to Southwest Asia confront daunting and even contradictory challenges in the performance of their duties. They are challenged to simultaneously compete, transition and expand Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to meet unit support requirements, as well as to plan for the "responsible drawdown" of forces in Iraq. These simultaneous challenges are unprecedented - a process not undertaken since World War II.

Kuwait

Kuwait, a desert kingdom located in the Persian Gulf, is a small but relatively modern country with a modern transportation system. Kuwait poses a stable war effort and environment. Still, LOGCAP supports operations at three unique, safe locations under three LOGCAP III task orders.

Transferring work from one to two different LOGCAP contractors is underway and under the direction of a small U.S. Government support team focused largely on the transfer of government property.

Afghanistan

Simultaneous operations in Afghanistan present a very different - perhaps the largest and most complex - challenge for U.S. forces in Southwest Asia and for LOGCAP. These requirements are very substantial, even diametrically opposed to the environment elsewhere in SWA.

Afghanistan is a remote, land-locked country with both harsh terrain and temperature extremes. President Barack Obama recently announced an increase of U.S. forces into an active combat zone. The troop movement into theater is dependent on a primitive road network and is largely dependent on helicopters and military transport aircraft.

Existing LOGCAP performance contractors are often obliged to contract massive transportation requirements out to third party contractors, at the same time that equipment is being re-allocated into country from Iraq, an action unprecedented in war.

Operations today are supported by six LOGCAP III and two LOGCAP IV task orders, with the competition of legacy LOGCAP III task orders being absorbed under the LOGCAP IV contract actively under way. The theater will ultimately require support of multiple U.S. tactical and support units with most support provided by LOGCAP performance contractors.

Iraq

Operations in Iraq may pose a different, complicated and complex set of challenges in theater. Iraq is a relatively large country with a semi-modern transportation system. The environment remains dangerous with support services provided under two large LOGCAP III task orders.

The impending responsible drawdown of U.S. forces complicates the action of transitioning from LOGCAP III to IV. Support is provided at numerous unique and often unsafe locations ranging in size from platoon to division-sized FOBs.

Most of these operations, and much of FOBs' related equipment, will ultimately either be transferred to the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, or be sent to U.S. Depots for refurbishment, or be sent to a Reset program, or provided to the government of Iraq. The accountability of property poses unique issues and significant challenges in the LOCAP III to IV transition.

The focus of U.S. personnel is on FOB closures and on decreasing the U.S. war effort in Iraq. LOGCAP is in support with a very significant presence of LOGCAP contractor personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

(This article was prepared in cooperation with the LOGCAP Executive Directorate.)