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Sustainment of Army Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom: Major Findings and Recommendations

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Sustainment of Army Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom: Major Findings and Recommendations THE ARTS This PDF document was made available from www.rand.org as CHILD POLICY a public service of the RAND Corporation. CIVIL JUSTICE EDUCATION Jump down to document ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT 6 HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research NATIONAL SECURITY organization providing objective analysis and POPULATION AND AGING PUBLIC SAFETY effective solutions that address the challenges facing SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY the public and private sectors around the world. 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Sustainment of Army Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom Major Findings and Recommendations Eric Peltz, Marc L. Robbins, Kenneth J. Girardini, Rick Eden, John M. Halliday, Jeffrey Angers Prepared for the United States Army Approved for public release; distribution unlimited The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Army under Contract No. DASW01-01-C-0003. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sustainment of army forces in operation Iraqi freedom / Eric Peltz ... [et al.]. p. cm. “MG-342.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3783-8 (pbk.) 1. Iraq War, 2003—Equipment and supplies. 2. Iraq War, 2003—Logistics. 3. Military supplies. I. Peltz, Eric, 1968– DS79.76.S873 2005 956.7044'38—dc22 2005007010 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. Department of Defense photo by Master Sergeant Mark Bucher, U.S. Air Force. © Copyright 2005 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2005 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 201 North Craig Street, Suite 202, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1516 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface This monograph describes how well the Department of Defense logistics system met the materiel sustainment needs of Army forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom, docu- ments the major reasons for shortfalls in performance, provides recommendations for improvement, and points to questions raised with respect to the design of future forces. The findings should be of interest throughout the Army as well the broader Department of Defense supply chain and force development communities. The monograph summarizes the results of a research project called “Army Lo- gistics in OIF: Key Issues for the Army,” sponsored by the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, Headquarters, Department of the Army. The purpose of the project was to identify key issues for near-term improvement and future force logistics system de- velopment. A series of companion monographs will address many of the topics in this volume in more detail and should be useful for those seeking an in-depth exami- nation of performance, rigorous analysis of the causes of shortfalls, and ideas for im- provement. They will include analyses of: • Battlefield logistics and effects on operations. • Spare parts demand analysis and deployed authorized stockage lists (ASLs). • Army Prepositioned Stock (APS) ASLs. • APS war reserve secondary item inventory stored in the United States and for- ward positioned. • Methods and processes for determining and resourcing national-level spare part requirements. • End-to-end distribution. This research has been conducted in RAND Arroyo Center’s Military Logistics Program. RAND Arroyo Center, part of the RAND Corporation, is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the United States Army. Questions and comments regarding this research are welcome and should be di- rected to the leaders of the research team, Eric Peltz and Marc Robbins, at [email protected] and [email protected]. iii iv Sustainment of Army Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom: Major Findings and Recommendations For more information on RAND Arroyo Center, contact the Director of Op- erations (telephone 310-393-0411, extension 6419; FAX 310-451-6952; email [email protected]), or visit Arroyo’s web site at http://www.rand.org/ard/. Contents Preface ........................................................................................ iii Figures ........................................................................................ ix Tables ......................................................................................... xi Summary..................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgments ........................................................................... xix Glossary...................................................................................... xxi CHAPTER ONE Sustainment of Army Units in OIF...........................................................1 Sustainment Performance in OIF..............................................................3 A Joint Supply Chain Vision ..................................................................7 Tactical Supply Operations..................................................................8 Theater Distribution....................................................................... 10 Strategic Distribution...................................................................... 10 Theater General Support Stockage ........................................................ 12 National Supply Management............................................................. 13 Command and Control.................................................................... 13 The OIF Supply Chain ...................................................................... 14 Organization of This Report................................................................. 18 CHAPTER TWO Tactical Supply Operations ................................................................. 19 A Few Basic Army Inventory Metrics and Terms ........................................... 19 Prepositioned ASL Breadth: Did the Army Preposition the Right Parts? ................... 21 ASLs Deployed from CONUS Had Better Part Mixes...................................... 25 ASLs Were Quickly Depleted ............................................................... 28 Part Ordering During Combat Operations.................................................. 30 Recommendations ........................................................................... 32 v vi Sustainment of Army Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom: Major Findings and Recommendations CHAPTER THREE Theater Distribution ........................................................................ 37 Insufficient Cargo Truck Capacity During Major Combat Operations..................... 38 The Planned Cargo Truck Requirement and Availability................................. 38 Deployment Planning ..................................................................... 40 Unanticipated Demands for Cargo Truck Capacity ...................................... 41 Factors That Reduced the Effective Capacity of Available Trucks ........................ 42 Divisional Adaptation to Shortfalls in Cargo Truck Capacity............................... 43 Supply Levels During Combat Operations .................................................. 44 Capacity Devoted Almost Entirely to Food, Water, and Ammunition ................... 48 Ammunition Supply During Combat Operations ........................................ 48 Fuel Supplies Remained Robust ............................................................. 50 Theater Preparatory Tasks ................................................................. 50 Planning and Resourcing Refueling Operations........................................... 51 Differences Between the Fuel and Other Supply Chains.................................. 53 The Pause in the Advance at Objective RAMS .............................................. 54 Recommendations ........................................................................... 56 CHAPTER FOUR Strategic Distribution ....................................................................... 59 Air Shipment Performance..................................................................
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