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The White House has settled on sending additional troops to Afghanistan, and now the Pentagon must grapple with another thorny problem: how to support them once they get there.
For Ashton Carter, the top Pentagon official in charge of weapons purchases, that has meant focusing on the concrete -- literally. Basic materials for building bases are in short supply or nonexistent in Afghanistan, so U.S. officials must search for staples like concrete next door in Pakistan.
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Associated Press
Ashton Carter, center, the top Defense Department official in charge of weapons purchases, with a new mine-resistant all-terrain vehicle at the Pentagon in November.
.Another priority: Getting thousands of blast-resistant trucks from Oshkosh Corp.'s factory in Oshkosh, Wis., to U.S. forces in the Afghan hinterlands.
"At this phase, Afghanistan is a logistics war as much as any other kind of war," said Mr. Carter, whose formal title is under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, in a recent interview.
Unlike Iraq, Afghanistan has no modern infrastructure. Critical supplies such as fuel must be imported. The country is landlocked and has just three major overland routes. Enormous distances separate bases and outposts. High mountains and valleys, as well as extreme weather, make air travel difficult.
