BAGHDAD - The first Iraq Senior Executive Logistics Seminar conducted at the National Defense College Dec. 12 was a subsequent step in Iraq’s initiative to create a professional military education curriculum for Iraq’s military logisticians.

Attendees included representatives from both the Iraqi Armed Forces Joint Headquarters and Iraq’s Secretary General’s office, along with key leaders from United States Forces-Iraq.

The need to evaluate challenges in areas of readiness, requirements and resourcing was a prominent discussion as attendees worked on clearly identifying the roll of each beneficiary. Discussion topics included identifying shortages and deficiencies at unit levels, and identifying the increasing impact that budget cuts have in the future sustainment of equipment and personnel.

Seminar attendees concluded that a solution to Iraq’s logistics’ issues is to collaborate with the Ministry of Defense’s Joint Readiness Council, focusing on sustainability requirements; and for service heads to properly report those requirements, so that a proper budget will be funded and allotted to the various services.

“If these actions are approved by the Minister [of Defense] and executed properly, they will make a substantial improvement in Iraq’s capabilities,” said John B. Johns, director of Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Ministry of Defense.

The seminar served as a positive step for Iraq’s senior military logisticians and civilian leaders in the use of qualitative and descriptive research in Iraq’s military resources managing system.

In the coming months Iraqi military officials will conduct more seminars as leaders work to develop a professional military education curriculum ensuring Iraq’s military has the self-sufficiency necessary to provide for the defense of a sovereign nation.

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