Approximately 450,000 soldiers—land, naval, and air—took part in the operation against Iraq. The core consisted of American forces (about 300,000 soldiers) and British forces (about 45,000 soldiers) along with their equipment, while the remainder was comprised of countries from the anti-Iraq coalition.
The coalition included: Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the United States, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan. Some of them sent their troops to the Persian Gulf, while others expressed their verbal support. The presence of such a large number of soldiers and the direct participation of so many countries in Operation Iraqi Freedom required the commanding authorities to prepare an appropriate logistical framework, an important element of which was having relevant information on the status of forces and resources available and planned for use. The entire undertaking became a practical test of planning skills, coordination, and the efficiency of the logistics system.
The scope of logistical undertakings carried out by the allied countries included, among others:
– supplying troops with ammunition, fuel, food, and the accumulation and storage of these supplies
– military equipment maintenance, which included the design, development, acquisition, storage, distribution, operation, use, and evacuation of military equipment
– personnel maintenance, which included: transport, movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel
– maintenance of military infrastructure, concerning the acquisition, construction, maintenance, use, and management of military facilities
– provision of medical services, including hospitalization and medical aid
– care for prisoners of war.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2003/5.