BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has sharply reduced supply convoys to Iraq in an
effort to avoid insurgency attacks.
So far, 1,280 U.S. truck drivers have been removed from military convoys
in Iraq. Officials said that over the last month, 250 U.S. truck drivers per
week were replaced by the air operations.
"Ninety-one percent of all U.S. casualties occur in an area called the
Sunni Triangle, so that is the area all logisticians were directed to turn
their focus to reduce driver casualties," Army Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid,
commander of U.S. Central Command's Distribution and Deployment Operations
Center, said.
U.S. military officials said many of the convoys have been replaced by
air operations that deliver cargo directly from the United States to
airfields in Iraq. They said the air cargo operations were being conducted
largely in the Sunni Triangle in central and northern Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Many cargo operations were flying into airfields that were
located in the most dangerous areas of Iraq."
Scheid said the Central Command effort has targeted the most dangerous
roads in Iraq. He said strategic airlift has been delivering cargo directly
to several Iraqi airfields capable of handling large aircraft. From there,
C-130s fly the cargo to smaller air strips.
Officials said trucks remain the most widely used method to deliver food
and cargo to troops. They estimated that at least 70 percent of the cargo
would be delivered by surface transport.
The U.S. Air Force has also been operating surface convoys and helped
train more than 1,000 transporters, special police and medical and personnel
specialists. Officials said the airmen, in cooperation with the army and
Marine Corps, have undergone a four-week course that includes weapons,
tactics, maneuver and small-unit leadership skills.
"Our exercises mirror scenarios on the ground," Master Sgt. Phil
Coolberth, who underwent training, said. "We're constantly changing the
curriculum to match the intelligence. Intelligence drives the operations,
and operations drive the training."
