when you imagine a nation which has permitted the industries supplying the military to influence the process by which those needs are determined.

The goals of corporations and government are largely antithetical.

we wish we could fight the World Wars over again.

If you look at this one way, we are "pros" at logistics in that we can send more material at a faster rate to any point on the globe than any empire (err... nation) before us. Our capacity is breathtaking.

But we abuse this capacity by quite literally exporting pieces of America to military bases around the world--shopping malls, internet cafes, giant recreational facilities, etc. We think that extravagant spending and having the power to ship small cities across the globe means we are strong and will "win." And we would, if we were fighting WWI and WWII all over again--the nations that brought new troops and supplies to the front(s) the fastest generally won those wars.

But wars like them will not happen again. The metrics for measuring success have changed. We're pros at the old ways, but utter amateurs at whatever the new war dynamics are.

...pros do cultural anthropology, not logistics.

"We declared war on terror, it's not even a noun, so, good luck. After we defeat it, I'm sure we'll take on that bastard ennui." - Jon Stewart.

in the ETO in 1944 less than 20% of US soldiers were in combat units compared with some 56% in the UK forces and I believe in the region of 70% in the German army.

Arkin has a very interesting take on this war. For the first time, the U.S. military is bringing the comforts of home to the troops overseas, at tremendous expense to the taxpayer. The combat troops in the field, from what I've read, are openly disdainful of the support personnel on the various bases studded around Iraq. The combat troops go weeks without a shower, lug 40 pounds of gear in 120 deg. heat, and eat rations while they scrounge for any bottled water they can trust to drink. The support guys have air conditioned quarters, Burger King, bowling alleys, and other American treats. This situation is duplicated for the contract security services, whose high salaries also cause resentment among combat soldiers and marines.

No wonder morale is low and the cost of this war so high. How is a military which brings along Little Americas wherever it fights going to win the Long War, WW III, or whatever this is called?

in World War II the concept of mechanized warfare was new, and those supply folks were needed to get gasoline to the front, because it wasn't readily available the way it is now. Volumes have been written on the logistics situation from D-Day through the end of 1944, and how much could they get to whom and how fast. But you're right, supply was always considered as living easy, with more people in Paris than there should have been (the guy in charge was a Gen. J.C.H. Lee, whose initials were said to stand for "Jesus Christ Himself"). On the other hand, the army had repair battalions that scrounged and cataloged spare parts and repaired equipment right in the field (Ernie Pyle wrote an interesting column about it). Is anyone trying to be so efficient and economical in the new privatized army?

Robert Bryce

One of the U.S. military's greatest vulnerabilities in Iraq is its enormous appetite for fuel. The insurgents have figured this out

by Robert Bryce

.....

T he Department of Defense now has about 27,000 vehicles in Iraq—and every one of them gets lousy gas mileage. To power that fleet the Defense Logistics Agency must move huge quantities of fuel into the country in truck convoys from Kuwait, Turkey, and Jordan. All that fuel gives American soldiers a tremendous battlefield advantage (in communications, mobility, and firepower, among other things). But overseeing and carrying out this process requires the work of some 20,000 American soldiers and private contractors. Every day some 2,000 trucks leave Kuwait alone for various locales in Iraq.

In addition to the challenges posed by the volume of fuel needed, the Army's logisticians must deal with the sheer variety of fuels. Although the Pentagon has tried to reduce the number of fuels it consumes, and now relies primarily on a jet-fuel-like substance called JP-8, the Defense Energy Support Center is currently supplying fourteen kinds of fuel to U.S. troops in Iraq.