Logistics work in Iraq yet to peak

The Defense Department's logistics workload in Iraq will not peak for another few months, according to Gen. Paul Kern, commander of Army Materiel Command.

Kern said the various satellite and radio frequency identification tags and systems that coalition forces are using in the Middle East have done well to increase the in-transit visibility of military equipment and supplies.

However, there is still much work to be done, especially in connecting to troops at forward-deployed locations, or at the "tip of the spear," he said.

"It will be two or three months before the logistics workload peaks and then it will have to be sustained for two or three years," Kern told FCW following his speech today at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association International conference in Washington, D.C.

The Army alone has about 17,000 pieces of "rolling equipment" moving in and out of Kuwait, he said.