Military logisticians will be keeping busy in the coming months as the U.S. packs up in Iraq and prepares to do the same thing in Afghanistan.

 

In Iraq, the U.S. hopes to move about four million pieces of equipment across the border and into Kuwait within the next three months. From there the computers, weaponry and supplies will either be shipped back home, to Afghanistan or another country in the region. Some of the smaller items on now-shuttered American bases, such as kitchen appliances and gym equipment, will be turned over to the Iraqis.

 

The fact that some of Iraq’s leftovers will be going to Afghanistan might seem odd, given that NATO planners there are already planning the eventual drawdown scheduled for that conflict by the end of 2014. Afghanistan is the temporary home to $30 billion worth of military gear that has to be shipped out over the next two years, either to Europe, the U.S. or certain Asian allies.

 

The movement of equipment is hampered by the fact that Afghanistan is landlocked and the U.S. has shaky relations with some of its neighbors. In November Pakistan closed NATO’s main transit routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan after NATO air attacks killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

 

NATO began withdrawing its nearly 140,000 troops from Afghanistan last year, including 10,000 U.S. service members. By the end of 2012, another 23,000 Americans are scheduled to ship out, along with thousands of other NATO troops, bringing the total left in-country down to 90,000.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Iraq War Has Ended, But Logistical Battle Still Under Way (by Michael Catalini, National Journal)