By Missy Ryan MUTHANNA AIR FIELD, Iraq, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The mechanics First Lieutenant Ahmed Abbas commands are capable enough, but the Iraqi army officer complains they can't work miracles without spare parts for broken-down Humvees. His men, wearing blue jumpsuits as they huddle around the open bonnet of a Humvee, are forced to scavenge parts from destroyed vehicles or scour auto markets near this dusty Baghdad airbase for brake disks or steering boxes. "We make requests, but they don't have the parts," he said. But on another base across Baghdad, $51 million in repair parts sit unused, the U.S. military said. The inability to get parts to vehicles that need them illustrates Iraq's struggle to keep its military running -- supplying troops with food and bullets, moving tanks to battle zones, fuelling and refitting trucks and ambulances. U.S. officials in Iraq are quick to credit the Iraqi military's increasing skill on the battlefield for helping bring about the sharp drop in violence over the past year. Yet such improvements have exposed the Iraqi army's Achilles' heel, a weak logistics system, they say. "If you know that you're going to get bullets, you know that you're going get medical care, you're going to fight a little harder, right?" said Colonel Edward Dorman, the senior logistician for U.S. military operations in Iraq. Getting Iraq's nuts-and-bolts ability up to speed, he said, "instils a little more confidence. It allows us to walk away." U.S. officials say Iraq's performance in this area will show how well its forces will be able to sustain security gains, especially with American troop levels falling. EQUIPMENT BUILD-UP Iraq's security forces have grown to 591,000 personnel, including 180,000 in the army. The police comprise the bulk of the security forces. As the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has rebuilt its military from scratch, Iraq has acquired a large amount of weapons and vehicles to boost its firepower -- stretching its ability to repair, maintain and even keep track of equipment. Dorman said Iraq was "almost totally reliant" a year ago on U.S. forces to transport equipment, resupply soldiers with ammunition, retrieve damaged vehicles and more. But he also noted major strides to improve logistics, which were reflected in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's offensives against Shi'ite militants in the past several months. "It ain't the easiest thing in the world for any army that's regaining its footing and reinventing itself. It's really hard," said Lieutenant-Colonel Fred Wintrich, who heads a team of 23 U.S. soldiers who live alongside Iraq's 54th Army Brigade, 6th Division at the Muthanna air field in Baghdad. Wintrich's is one of five such logistics teams across Baghdad providing advice on repairing vehicles, administering emergency medical care and paying staff. He said the Iraqi army is "infinitely" more disciplined and capable than in years past, when ill-equipped units struggled to impose order and some soldiers melted away in battle. "Now, soldiers use helmets. The helmets are buckled. Their weapons are clean," Wintrich said. The same goes for logistics: "Two years ago, getting the Iraq army paid was a problem. Today, it's not." Yet work remains if the U.S. military is to meet its goal of ensuring Iraq is not hobbled by weak logistics by April 2009. Dorman reckons Iraq is 50 or 60 percent of where it needs to be eventually. Even today, only 80 percent of the Iraqi army's vehicles are in condition to be driven into battle, he said. Luckily, oil-rich Iraq can afford to buy equipment. The Pentagon said last week Iraq had requested information about buying 36 F-16 fighter jets, and officials have signalled they want to acquire other high-tech gear. What hinders the military, U.S. officials say, are the inadequate procurement and distribution systems. That mirrors the problem the central government, flush with cash due to high oil prices, has in spending money on improving desperately needed basic services like electricity. As Colonel Barry Diehl, who heads logistics for U.S. forces in Baghdad, noted: "There's equipment out there." (Additional reporting by Aws Qusay; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Staffan de Mistura, United Nations representative in Iraq, waves to reporters after meeting Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the holy city of Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, September ...
