Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

NATO’s Afghan Drawdown Poses Logistics Challenges

AViation Week: Moving equipment efficiently and economically during NATO's drawdown in Afghanistan poses serious challenges to the major players deployed there.

“Everyone fixated on rushing kit into theater. Getting it back is left to chance,” says one British logistics planner.

This might sound pessimistic, but a glance at NATO figures for the size of the logistical problem is informative: The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) must withdraw 125,000 containers and up to 80,000 vehicles from Afghanistan by the end of combat operations in 2014. This includes at least 10,000-12,000 containers of equipment and 2,500-3,000 vehicles for the U.K., more than 1,000 vehicles and 4,000 containers for Germany, and close to 90,000 containers and 50,000 vehicles for the U.S. Other ISAF nations make up much of the rest.

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