Class IX supply operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom: is the U.S. Army 's doctrine adequate?

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Collection	School of Advanced Military Studies Monographs
Title	Class IX supply operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom: is the U.S. Army 's doctrine adequate?
Author	Stuart, Ted R.
Abstract	Despite the overall success of U.S. Army forces during the "major combat operations " phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), there is a widely held perception that the logistics system was far less effective than it should have been during OIF. The Class IX (repair parts) supply system, in particular, seems to have been almost completely ineffective within the theater of operations. This paper examines whether the Army 's doctrine for Class IX supply operations needs to be revised in light of the Army 's OIF experience. It first examines the Army 's Class IX supply doctrine at the time of OIF, to include the changes implemented over the past decade due to the shift from a supply-based to a distribution-based logistics system. It then examines the OIF experience, and demonstrates that a late deployment of CSS units to the theater, a significant shortage of transportation and other CSS units, an inadequate tactical communications infrastructure, and insufficient Automated Identification Technology (AIT) and In-transit Visibility (ITV) systems all had major negative impacts on the Class IX supply system. It also examines OIF units 19 experiences, both positive and negative, with their Authorized Stockage List (ASL) and Prescribed Load List (PLL) repair parts stockpiles. Finally, this paper compares the OIF experience to doctrine, using as a framework the principles of distribution from Joint Publication 4-01.4, Joint Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Joint Theater Distribution, and Field Manual 100-10-1, Theater Distribution. This comparison revealed that the failure of the Class IX supply system during Operation Iraqi Freedom did not result from flaws in the Army 's doctrine, and therefore, the doctrine itself does not need revision. Rather, the breakdown of the Class IX theater distribution system resulted from two main causes outside of doctrine. The first of these was the failure to deploy CSS forces early enough and in sufficient numbers to support an operation the size of OIF. The second was the Army 's failure to field adequate numbers of the enablers required for a distribution-based logistics system to work, particularly such items as adequate long-range communications systems, AIT systems, and ITV systems. For its Class IX supply system to succeed in future operations, the Army must field the necessary enablers for distribution-based logistics, make certain other improvements to Class IX-related systems and policies, and ensure that adequate logistics forces are deployed for future contingency operations.
Keyword	Velocity management; United States Joint Forces Command; Supply operations; Supply doctrine; Class IX supply operations; Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); Army; Logistics; Future operations; Iraq
Subject	Logistics -- Management. Combat sustainability. Velocity management. Integrated logistic support. Iraq War, 2003.
Subject - name	Cordesman, Anthony H.
Corporate body	United States. Army -- Procurement. United States. Army -- Supplies and stores.
Series	Command and General Staff College (CGSC), School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) Monograph
Publisher	Fort Leavenworth, KS : U.S. Army Command and General Staff College,
Date, Original	2004-05-26
Date, Digital	2004-05-26
Resource Type	Textual
Format	PDF; Adobe Acrobat Reader required; 90 p.; 703 KB.
Call number	ADA429372
Release statement	Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)
Repository	Combined Arms Research Library
Library	Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library
Date created	2005-08-01

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Class IX supply operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom: is the U.S. Army 's doctrine adequate?

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