Logistics in the Iraq War: “A Herculean feat”

“Good generals study tactics. Great generals study logistics”

Sealift: The lion’s share of the cargo

The lieutenant had a plan, and then there was Turkey

 

The mind-numbing fact is that 90 percent of the military cargo to support Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) was delivered by Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships. 

 

MSC is the leading provider of ocean transportation for the Navy and the rest of the Department of Defense (DoD). This command operates the ships that sustain warfighting forces and delivers specialized maritime services to support national security objectives in peace and war. The Navy is responsible for MSC, which manages all US military sealift capability, including the Army’s prepositioned ships. 

 

I understand that one Army Prepositioned Set (APS), known as APS-3, was sea-based. It was based in Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. In his paper, "Sea Basing: A Way to Project Land Combat Power," Major Stuart A. Hatfield, USA, wrote this:

 

"The Army has a total of five reinforced Brigade Combat Team (BCT) equipment sets prepositioned around the world, but only the Army Prepositioned Set 3 (APS-3) is sea based. Based in Diego Garcia, it consists of thirteen ships: eight Large Medium Speed Roll-on Roll-off ships (LMSR) (such as shown in the photo), four container ships, and an auxiliary crane ship. The four LMSRs with the BCT set contain the equipment for two armored vehicles, two mechanized infantry, one engineer, one field artillery, and one combat service support battalion. The BCT set is further reinforced with multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), military police, air defense, reconnaissance, and military intelligence support beyond that typically associated with the BCT.

 

"The remainder of the ships within APS-3 contain the theater and corps logistics base, including a theater opening force module (TOFM), port operations unit, a transportations unit with line haul capability, a combat surgical hospital, and water purification equipment. APS-3 maintains fifteen days of sustainment for the BCT and thirty days of sustainment for the expected follow-on corps until the sea lines of communication are operational. Significantly, the ammunition ships contain three full combat loads for the entire corps."

 

In 2003, APS-3 was downloaded in its entirety to support OIF. Three APS brigades and supporting equipment, consisting of 218 unit sets, were issued to the Army's 3rd ID. 

 

By March 2003, the Military Sealift Command (MSC) was employing 167 ships, literally one ship every 72 miles from the US to Kuwait. RAdm. D.L. Brewer III, the MSC commander, called this the "Steel Bridge of Democracy (carrying) the torch of freedom to the Iraqi people." Ready Reserve, commercial, Navy Fleet Auxiliary Force, and Special Mission ships were used. Merchant ships were taken out of mothballs; the Coast Guard had to approve these ships as seaworthy, a significant task. 

 

The Coast Guard's Atlantic area commander, VAdm. James D. Hull, USCG, commented:

 

"We had to take care of ships that had been sitting in Charleston. Ships that had been sitting there for years without smoke coming out of them, and all of a sudden now all the ships are starting to move from pier to pier. Things were happening."

 

Look at the list of ports employed: Charleston, South Carolina; Beaumont, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Norfolk, Virginia, also supported some traffic. Here, you see loading military cargo aboard the USNS Pililaau at Beaumont. On the receiving end, naval and contract people offload the arriving ships 24/7. They found that often there were not enough transportation resources available to move the stuff off the piers, and security requirements were stringent. 

 

The main port used was the Kuwaiti port at Ash Shuaibah, shown here with MSC ships docked in March 2004. It could handle only six ships at a time. Nonetheless, people at the port offloaded more than 150 MSC ships there by April 2003. In this photo, note the second ship from the bottom, with the ramp out the rear down to the dock. Vehicles would exit from the hull, down that steep ramp, and have to make a quick U-Turn or flop into the water! So, you see how crammed the port was on this day.

 

‍ Global Security has reported:

 

"Under the Guardian Mariner program, more than 1,300 Army reservists were activated to provide force protection and security aboard MSC ships sailing to and from Southwest Asia. The Puerto Rico National Guard Unit 92nd Separate Infantry Brigade soldiers were organized into 110 twelve-person teams. They began reporting aboard MSC ships 19 March 2003. Around 70 fleet force protection teams and 75 Guardian Mariner teams were used aboard MSC ships during OIF. "

 

This photo shows a Guardian Mariner team from the 92nd aboard an MSC ship.

 

Providing enough fuel