People Fuel Military Cooperation, Dempsey Says

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Aug. 22, 2012 – The “software” of personal relationships is more important than hardware in building military-to-military ties between nations, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today while returning from a visit to Afghanistan and Iraq.

After two days of talks with U.S. and Afghan officials in Kabul, Afghanistan, the chairman met yesterday in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Gen. Zebari Babakir, Iraq’s defense chief.

“It’s about the software. It’s about relationships,” he told reporters traveling with him aboard a C-17 en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md. “We almost always talk about the hardware – the F-16s, the radar, the tanks. We went through that [with Iraq]. It’s part of the conversation. But we managed to talk about software – the human dimension of this thing.”

The various U.S. defense and service war colleges now have 154 Iraqi officers as students. The program, funded via the State Department, provides a world-class professional military education experience for foreign officers. Dempsey said he is passionate about this program, and it has results. Dempsey and his Pakistani counterpart, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, first met when they were Command and General Staff College students, the chairman noted.

“I’m a passionate proponent of that,” he said. “I can go around the world where we are having some of our most significant challenges and find someone who has been to one of our schools. It’s a great foundation on which to build.”

But this takes time, he acknowledged, and Americans have never been particularly noted for being patient.

“I’ve invested half a decade in my relationships in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Dempsey said. “It’s time. You can’t blow into a room in any culture, but particularly Arab culture and South Asia,” and expect to understand what is going on or be even remotely effective, he added.

This will grow even more important as the U.S. strategy emphasizes the Asia-Pacific region, Dempsey said.

“Touch-and-go landings are antithetical to relationships,” he said, employing an aviation analogy to make his point that leaders cannot simply land and take off somewhere and expect awareness of a culture or an understanding of problems, conditions and challenges.

“I think you only develop a feel for a relationship and sense when it is genuine over time,” he said.

This was why the U.S. military has tried to return service members and units to areas in Afghanistan where they have served before, Dempsey said. “We deliberately started rotating people back to the same battle space so they could fall in to some extent on existing relationships,” he explained.

This must be done consciously, he said, adding that rebalancing the U.S. military focus to the Asia-Pacific region never was intended to be a light switch that’s off today and on tomorrow. “I’ve said early and often that this will take us some time – six, seven or eight years,” the chairman said. “The reason I said it would take time is exactly because I know what we’ve still got to do and the issues that confront us.”

Dempsey said the military must “start shifting our intellectual bandwidth” to get in tune with Asia-Pacific nations. The military needs to develop the people who have the necessary levels of cultural awareness and linguistic ability now for the force the nation needs in 2020, he said.

“I call it the three mores: we’ve got to pay more attention, [have] more engagement, and then we’ll send more of our better quality people,” he added.

Though some people have said the U.S. shift would provoke China, Dempsey said, he disagrees. “I’m of the exact opposite opinion,” he said. “I think the chance of miscalculation increases in our absence, not in our presence.”

Dempsey also discussed some standards of his leadership. He said he is currently reading “Beautiful Souls” by Eyal Press, a book that examines the nature of dissent.

“I often think about how I provide my advice and on what basis,” he said. “I talk about my moral compass, and how I make sure I stay true north – or, to use that phrase out of ‘The Marine Corps Hymn,’ how I keep my honor clean. So I’m always thinking about how do I balance the competing priorities and make the best recommendations.”

And, Dempsey said, he is not afraid of criticism.

“It’s how you react to it,” he said. “If someone comes in and tell me I stunk at a particular speech or I gave bad advice or I was dismissive of a particular idea, if I react badly to that, the chances of them coming back are pretty slim. On the other hand, I don’t have to agree, but I need to listen. It’s really how I react to it.”

McHugh: Language Skills Critical to Mission Success

By Claudette Roulo

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON  – Language skills and cultural understanding are critical tools for accomplishing missions in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, Secretary of the Army John McHugh said during a May 21 visit to the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center in Monterey, Calif.

The facility provides resident instruction in 23 languages and two dialects. Students include active duty and reserve component service members from all branches of the armed forces, members of foreign militaries and civilian law enforcement personnel.

McHugh toured the Persian-Farsi school and viewed demonstrations of the educational technologies used in developing and sustaining language skills.

As the Army downsizes, McHugh said, soldiers with language skills will become even more critical to the force’s mission success.

“The relevancy of this program -- this entire mission -- I think has never been greater,” he added. “As our number and our footprint gets smaller, I think we would expect those who remain behind to be more culturally aware, to be more adept at language.”

Transcom Continues Mission Despite Challenges, Commander Says

By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29, 2012 – U.S. Transportation Command continues to meet all of its obligations to military combatant commanders and warfighters despite increasingly tighter budgets and an access dispute with Pakistan, the organization’s commander told a congressional panel here yesterday.

Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III told the Senate Armed Services Committee he “could not be prouder” of Transcom’s 150,000 military personnel and civilians.

“No one in the world can match our deployment and distribution capabilities,” he said.

Fraser outlined upcoming budget priorities and recapped the command’s “particular challenges” and “extreme operational tempo” of last year, which included moving people and equipment rapidly for humanitarian relief in Japan, assistance in NATO operations in Libya, and the withdrawal of forces from Iraq, noting that 99 percent of troops were home from Iraq by the December holidays.

“We have a very flexible, very resilient process to reply to these pop-ups,” the general said.

Transcom is “a lean, dynamic organization that plays a critical role around the world,” Fraser said, noting his command maintains global logistics dominance through the work of its subordinate commands for air mobility, military sealift, surface deployment, distribution, and the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, which was created last year.

Pakistan’s closure last year of a ground route for U.S. and NATO forces into Afghanistan has not affected Transcom’s ability to deliver warfighters what they need, Fraser said. The command has used its many regional partners for alternatives to get into Afghanistan, namely through the Northern Distribution Network, he explained.

Transcom already is planning for the drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan -- 20,000 are scheduled to leave by October -- and Fraser said he is receiving positive feedback from Central Asian countries, including Russia, to make the Northern Distribution Network a two-way route. Still, he said, the Pakistan route is needed because of the size of the drawdown.

“It’s a daunting task,” Fraser said. Transcom workers, he added, are identifying excess equipment and ways to be efficient in the drawdown.

“If it has capacity, we’re making sure we put something on that aircraft and bring it back out to get ahead of this the best we can,” he said.

The general said he does not expect reductions in aircraft tanker and airlift programs, including the C5-A, C-27J, and C-130, to prevent Transcom from meeting its missions. The cuts were based on strategy agreed upon by all the combatant commanders, he said. Also, he said, other changes have made Transcom more capable: improvements have brought depot maintenance time from 19 percent to about 10 percent, and new KC-46 and KC-135 acquisitions will provide “a bridge to the future.”

By continuing to build relationships with commercial partners and other nations, Fraser said, Transcom will meet all future challenges.

“Together, we will ensure our nation’s ability to project national military power -- any time, anywhere,” he said. “We will remain focused on supporting forces around the world.”

Panetta, Dempsey: Chiarelli Inspired All

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2012 – The Defense Department and the Army said goodbye today to a general known for his leadership and his innovation, but who may be best remembered for his focus on advancing brain injury treatment and mental health care.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among hundreds who gathered today at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s Summerall Field to celebrate the career of Army Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, as he retired following 40 years of service.

As the son of a World War II Silver Star recipient, Chiarelli “exemplified the values of his father: of patriotism, of courage, of resilience, of dedication,” the secretary said.

Panetta said he traveled to Baghdad as part of the Iraq Study Group in September 2006, where the group heard a briefing from Chiarelli, then commander of Multinational Corps Iraq. Iraq at the time was “in considerable turmoil,” the secretary said.

“But Pete’s presentation demonstrated an extraordinary knowledge of the 21st-century battlefield,” he continued. “He was honest, he was direct, he called it as it was, and he pulled no punches.”

The secretary said one member of the group who was particularly impressed with Chiarelli was then-Texas A&M University President Robert M. Gates, who as secretary of defense later chose the general to serve as his senior military assistant.

“For 17 months, Pete served as Bob Gates’ right-hand man, advising him on a full range of pressing national security matters, and always -- always -- giving him insight into how the decisions he was making would impact on the men and women on the battlefield.”

The hallmark of Chiarelli’s career is “the depth of his concern for the welfare of every soldier,” the secretary said. “It’s that quality that made him the perfect choice to be the vice chief of staff of the Army.”

For his more than three years in that job, Chiarelli has not rested, Panetta said, but has devoted himself to improving the lives of soldiers and family members at a time of extraordinary strain.

“Under his leadership, the Army has taken tremendous steps to give soldiers increased dwell time [at home stations] between deployments, and he’s been an outspoken advocate for wounded warriors -- in particular, those suffering from the unseen wounds of war,” the secretary said.

More than any other officer, Panetta added, Chiarelli sought to eliminate the stigma of post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues.

“And he’s devoted every ounce of his energy to the problem of suicide in the Army,” the secretary said. … “Thanks to his tireless efforts, the department is fully working to confront these issues.”

Panetta said Chiarelli and his wife, Beth, have made “an extraordinary difference.”

“You’ve touched so many lives,” he told the couple. “You’ve inspired all of us … to redouble our efforts to protect the men and women who fight to protect us.”

Panetta assured Chiarelli that while the nation’s military members will miss him, “the light that you have lit will continue to shine, and to light our way in the future.”

Dempsey used his remarks in part to offer guidance to media members covering the event: “I want you to report that we have never had a finer man in uniform, and never a finer couple, than Pete and Beth Chiarelli,” he said.

Dempsey said his fellow general is an outstanding son, husband, and father, as well as “an unbelievable friend.” But as a soldier, the chairman added, Chiarelli “is a giant of a man in every way, inside and out.”

Dempsey said that after watching Chiarelli “stalking the halls of the Pentagon,” he finally got the image he was seeking to describe his fellow general, likening the general to Paul Bunyan, the larger-than-life lumberjack of North American folklore.

“[It’s] almost like he’s got a big hatchet or ax on his back, hacking his way through the bureaucracy to make life better for soldiers and their families,” the chairman said.

Dempsey said before the end of the Cold War, Chiarelli was known as one of the finest trainers in the Army, and was the first commander assigned to Iraq to realize -- and train his staff to deal with -- the key question of how to run a city.

In Baghdad, Chiarelli led the Army to transform its “fundamentally flawed” command-and-control structures, and then to make those systems reach to ground troops, so a squad leader could build context from the bottom up, Dempsey said.

When he came back from war, Dempsey added, Chiarelli confronted the Army’s “enduring challenge” with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress injury.

“He drove our Army -- drove it -- to recognize the problem, to reduce the stigma, to confront it. And that was Pete Chiarelli,” Dempsey said.

Beth Chiarelli likewise worked to improve the Army, the chairman noted, by focusing among many other issues on the challenges military children face while changing schools frequently during a parent’s career.

“Here’s the bottom line,” Dempsey said. “The enduring example of both Pete and Beth Chiarelli is that you have to live with a passion for something. The goal is not just to make a living, but to make a difference. And boy oh boy, did you two make a difference.”

On Chiarelli’s last day at work, Dempsey noted, hundreds of members of the Army staff formed a cordon from his Pentagon office to the parking lot to “clap him out” of the job.

“What struck me was this wasn’t organized by his executive officer, it wasn’t organized by any other general officer, it was organized by the noncommissioned officers,” the chairman said. “And if that doesn’t tell you about Pete Chiarelli, you don’t know anything about Pete Chiarelli.”

During the ceremony, Chiarelli received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the department’s highest noncombat military award. His wife, Beth, received the Secretary of the Army Exceptional Civilian Service Award, the highest Army honor a civilian can receive.

Chiarelli thanked his wife and their four grown children for their love and support during his career. Marrying Beth was the “best decision I ever made,” he said, adding that they are both “immensely proud” of their sons and daughter.

Chiarelli said he bought his father a journal after the senior Chiarelli retired, and asked him to record some of his experiences from World War II, during which the older Chiarelli received a battlefield commission.

“I still have that journal,” the general said. “Every page is blank. He never wrote a single word. Like many from his generation, he never talked about his experience or exploits in combat.”

One of his father’s fellow soldiers, however, sent him a 24-page narrative outlining some of the two men’s shared exploits across North Africa, Italy, southern France, Austria and Germany.

That document proved to him something he’s also learned for himself over four decades in uniform, Chiarelli said: “There is undeniably a thread that links every soldier to those who came before, and those still to come.”

Years after commanding 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq and later Multinational Corps Iraq, Chiarelli said, not a day goes by that he doesn’t think of the 650 soldiers under his command who were killed.

“I would trade all the medals and ribbons on my chest, and every bit of rank, to get just one back,” he said.

Two years ago, Chiarelli added, he presented a Purple Heart to a young staff sergeant who had been wounded in successive roadside bomb explosions in Afghanistan.

“He was there with his parents, his wife and their two children,” the general said. “Over the course of our conversation, he told me how much he loved being a soldier, leading soldiers. He wanted desperately to get back to his unit.”

Chiarelli said the young man was suffering from traumatic brain injury, and it was “readily apparent to me he had difficulty gathering his thoughts and speaking.”

The general said he now believes the invisible injuries of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury are the signature wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

“While we have made significant progress in recent years, we must, must, must continue our efforts,” Chiarelli said. “We owe it to our men and women in uniform, active and reserve, as well as veterans, and their families.

“I want this to be my parting message to all of you as I leave our Army’s active ranks,” he concluded. “I certainly hope in retirement to be able to continue to champion this most important cause, and contribute in some meaningful way.”

Dempsey: DOD to Stay Engaged, Vigilant in Middle East

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT  – It’s too soon to calculate how the end of U.S. Forces Iraq will affect the region’s military dynamics, but the U.S. focus on the Middle East and its partner countries there is unwavering, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey is traveling with a USO holiday tour and taking time to meet with his counterparts and officials in several countries, including Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Right now I think there are concerns, maybe some that would rise to a level of skepticism about the future [in the region],” he told reporters who are traveling with him.

“But I think that’s why our presence here is so important,” the chairman said, “to help ease those concerns and reduce that skepticism.”

Dempsey added, “We’ve got to make sure we maintain our vigilance, our deterrence and our engagement in the Middle East.”

The focus for the Defense Department in 21 countries that make up the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility include Afghanistan, Iran and its nuclear aspirations, and regional instability associated with the Arab Spring, the revolutionary wave of protests and violence that erupted Dec. 18, 2010.

The unrest most recently includes a nationwide revolt in Syria, with protesters demanding the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad and the government responding with deadly violence, which according to the United Nations this week has so far taken nearly 5,000 lives.

“We're trying to think ahead about what it will mean to the people when the regime in Syria changes, as we think it will,” Dempsey said.

Related to that, he added, “is the enduring relationship with Turkey and their role. They’re a [U.S. European Command] nation from our perspective but they currently have a positive influence in that part of the Arab world.”

Iran is another critical defense challenge in the region, the chairman said.

“Iran continues to be provocative both in terms of its nuclear aspirations but also the activities of the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] Quds Force,” which is said to responsible for operations outside Iran, Dempsey said.

The most recent manifestation of such provocation, he added, was a plot uncovered in October that involved Iranian officials and Iranian-American used car salesman Mansour J. Arbabsiar’s botched attempt to hire assassins to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States.

For DOD, the chairman said, the challenge is “Iran’s hegemonic aspirations and how we can build a consensus within the region and globally that this is unacceptable, and then [determine] what to do about it.”

The U.S. presence in the Middle East is an especially important buffer to the challenge with Iran, Dempsey said, adding, “I do believe that what Iran needs to see in this region is a more coherent Arab world, so their aspirations are tempered.”

But of all the challenges in the region, Afghanistan is a primary focus.

“That’s No. 1 because we have kids in harm’s way,” Dempsey said. “That’s always going to be job No. 1.”

The department is working to review its strategy in Afghanistan with Centcom Commander Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force-Afghanistan and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, and others, the chairman added.

“We know the surge [of combat troops to Afghanistan] will be off-ramped in September 2012,” he said. “That’s when we’re back to the 68,000 [troops] that was kind of the standard at the start.

“The question we’re grappling with is, given the Lisbon objectives, how do we get from September 2012 to December 2014?”

In November 2010 in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO leaders agreed to halt combat operations by international troops in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended the summit of leaders who crafted a transition strategy directing coalition troops to begin this year turning over security responsibility for the nation’s provinces to Afghan security forces.

“What we aspire to over time is to approach the entire issue of engagement differently,” Dempsey said, adding that there are opportunities for the U.S. military services in smaller engagements.

“Most countries don’t want us to be flopping a brigade combat team in and among their population, so I think we have to find a way to think that through too,” the chairman said.

“It’s really about what we have learned in the last 10 years [of war], and how to establish new relationships not only in [the Middle East], but worldwide.”

Obama: Nation Should Emulate Troops’ Service, Sacrifice

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON  – The American military exhibits the best the country has to offer, President Barack Obama said in his weekly address today.

The last U.S. service members are leaving Iraq after almost nine years of combat. They leave a country and citizenry that has a chance to chart its own course in a tough neighborhood.

More than 1.5 million Americans served in Iraq and tens of thousands have been wounded. “Military families have sacrificed greatly -- none more so than the families of those nearly 4,500 Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice,” the president said. “All of them -- our troops, veterans and their families -- will always have the thanks of a grateful nation.”

A safe and stable Iraq with a democratically elected government is an incredible achievement, and it was made possible through the hard work and sacrifices of the American military.

And that military has lessons for the American people. Surveys show the military is the most respected institution in America. “[Service members] don’t see themselves or each other as Democrats first or Republicans first,” Obama said. “They see themselves as Americans first.

“For all our differences and disagreements, they remind us that we are all a part of something bigger; that we are one nation and one people,” the president continued. “And for all our challenges, they remind us that there is nothing we can’t do when we stick together.”

There are 2.2 million Americans in uniform today. Some will remain in the military to serve, while many others will leave and become veterans. Those men and women will continue to serve in their communities.

“After years of rebuilding Iraq, it is time to enlist our veterans and all our people in the work of rebuilding America,” Obama said.

The generation that defeated fascism came home to build the largest middle class in history. They developed computers, built the interstate highway system, faced down communism and put a man on the moon. The 9/11 generation of veterans “is armed with the skills, discipline and leadership to attack the defining challenge of our time: rebuilding an economy where hard work pays off, where responsibility is rewarded, where anyone can make it if they try,” the president said.

Obama called on elected representatives to emulate the military’s spirit, determination and sacrifice. “This cannot be a country where division and discord stand in the way of our progress,” he said. “This is a moment where we must come together to ensure that every American has the chance to work for a decent living, own their own home, send their kids to college and secure a decent retirement.

“This is a moment for us to build a country that lives up to the ideals that so many of our bravest Americans have fought and even died for. That is our highest obligation as citizens. That is the welcome home that our troops deserve.”

America's war in Iraq is over.

Panetta to Reinforce Strong U.S.-Turkey Partnership

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 15, 2011 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta arrived here today to reinforce the United States’ strong relationship with a critical security partner within the region and NATO.

Panetta traveled here after ceremonies in Iraq marking the end of the U.S. Forces Iraq mission, with stops also in Afghanistan and Djibouti.

In Ankara, the secretary will meet with President Abdullah Gul and Turkish defense leaders to thank them for their country’s leadership during a period of transition and change within the region.

“Turkey represents a key ally in the Middle East,” Panetta told reporters traveling with him.

In addition to being a strong NATO ally, Turkey is “extremely important to the ability to try to keep what is happening in the Middle East headed in the right direction,” he said.

“They can have an influence on what happens in Egypt, what happens in Iraq, what happens in Iran, what happens in Syria,” the secretary said.

Panetta noted that Turkey has taken a strong position in condemning Syria’s violent crackdown on protestors and calling for President Bashar Assad to step down.

“Turkey is coming on very strong in recent weeks in full alignment with our efforts and those of our key Arab and European partners,” a senior defense official traveling with Panetta told reporters.

The secretary also said he will commend Turkey’s decision to host the forward-based radar for the NATO missile defense system.

Panetta also is expected to thank the Turks for their contributions to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Also during the visit, the secretary is expected to express the United States’ solidarity in its fight against the PKK terrorists and ways to continue that support as U.S. forces complete their drawdown in Iraq, the official said.

Echoing a theme he raised earlier this month, the secretary is likely to encourage Turkey to strengthen and, where necessary, build relations with key neighbors, including Israel, Armenia and Cyprus, the official said.

Official Calls for 'Radical Changes' in Maintenance, Sustainment

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2011 – Praising the "absolutely phenomenal" way the United States has maintained and sustained its forces on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior defense official said the military needs to do even better.

Budgetary demands and a persistent threat that shows no sign of going away require "radical changes" in how the military maintains an engaged, ready force, John B. Johns, deputy assistant secretary of defense for maintenance policy and programs, told attendees yesterday at this year’s Defense Logistics Conference here.

Johns drew a direct correlation between maintenance and sustainment operations and the combat capability and readiness they drive.

"The ability to conduct deterrence or to shape outcomes associated with our conflicts in the world is driven by what we view in the logistics community," he said. "It is not how much stuff we have, it is how we employ it and how we sustain it."

Yet with the high costs associated with maintenance and sustainment -- second only in the Defense Department budget to manpower costs -- Johns said it's obvious that more cuts are on the way.

"If you haven't felt the pressure yet, then get ready, because it's coming," he told the audience.

Also clear, he said, is that what has worked in the past won't be enough in the future.

"Referring to past success is good ... but not instructive about where we need to go," Johns said. "We are talking about fundamental new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, of agility and flexibility."

That includes a 50-percent reduction in average cycle times, Johns said, and a 25-percent cost reduction by 2020. Even defense activities that already have demonstrated major improvements will have to meet these new levels, he said.

"These are not trivial numbers," Johns acknowledged. "But those are the numbers that are going to get us where we need to be."

And if the department falls short of that goal, "we are exceeding the resources that we are going to have available," he said. "We will not make the warfighting requirements or generate the warfighting capability required if we are not operating at that level of performance."

Johns encouraged leaders within the maintenance and sustainment community to make the hard decisions and encourage innovation to address this challenge. "The change is here, and we can lead and shape it," he said.

But if pressured to take unacceptably large cuts, he urged them to defend the budgets needed to sustain a force that provides credible deterrence and is able to shape the outcomes of conflict or potential conflict.

What's at stake for the United States as the department deals with its fiscal challenges is huge, Johns said.

"If we don't make the right decisions with regard to addressing pressure from a budgetary perspective and pressure generated by the full-spectrum threat, we will make serious mistakes that put this at risk," he said. "And we cannot afford to do that."

Pentagon Official Lauds Military Logistics System

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 30, 2011 – The military’s logistics system has performed “extremely well” on the front end of supporting warfighters these past 10 years, a senior Defense Department official said today.

“The department’s logistics system is actually performing extremely well for what it is designed to do, which is supporting forces engaged in combat,” said Alan F. Estevez, assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness.

Estevez praised the defense logistics system during the 2011 Defense Logistics Conference which featured corporate sponsors such as IBM, Northrop Gruman, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins.

“If you look at what we have done in sustaining and redeploying our forces in Iraq, [and] in surging and sustaining our forces in Afghanistan -- all that going on simultaneously -- we’ve done a magnificent job,” he said.

Estevez noted people tend to look at logistics as the behind-the-scenes “tail” in the department.

“We really can’t look at logistics as ‘tail’ from the perspective of the Department of Defense,” he said. “That combat power that’s on the ground today in Afghanistan, putting the hurt on the Taliban, is there because of a logistics system that is capable of putting it into a landlocked country.

“And [it’s capable of] sustaining it there and doing likewise in another war,” Estevez continued. “Plus, [it is] capable of doing things like Haiti relief, tsunami relief, and earthquake relief across the globe.

“So I’d submit to you that logistics is not ‘tail,’” he added. “It’s not a back-end function inside the Department of Defense.”

Estevez cited the efficiency of the defense logistic system in Iraq. “In the next month we’ll be out of Iraq,” he said. “Your logistics system has just done a phenomenal job in posturing the force.”

A year or so ago, Estevez noted, the U.S. had about 500 bases in Iraq. Today, there are six bases operating in Iraq, aside from sites that will be used for the Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, and the State Department.

Estevez compared the amount of U.S. equipment and forces in Iraq prior to the drawdown with the country’s current figures.

“Over the last year, since September of 2010, as we embarked on Operation New Dawn, there were about 2.15 million pieces of equipment in Iraq,” he said. “Today, there’s about 346,000 pieces in Iraq.”

“Not all of that will be coming out,” he added. “Some of that will remain in Iraq. It is no longer usable for U.S. forces, and on the other hand, it is usable for Iraqi forces.”

Today, there are about 13,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, with nearly 800 departing each day, compared to 46,000 troops as recently as midsummer of this year, Estevez said.

The assistant secretary noted as U.S. forces have drawn down, they’ve helped build up Iraqi capabilities, with about $400 million worth of gear, so they are capable of sustaining themselves.

“On the backside of that, we’ve saved $700 million by not having to haul that stuff out of Iraq and back home where we, the U.S. military, have no use for it,” he said.

However, unit duty gear comes back with the units, Estevez said.

Meanwhile, the Defense and State departments are working closely in a “whole-of-government” approach to sustain Iraqi capabilities, he said.