Major Chris Liermann, Quartermaster Corps, deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom from November 2003 through June 2004. In response to a US Army Training and Doctrine Command requirement, he came from the Combined Arms Support Command at Fort Lee, Virginia, as an augmentee, and served in both the combined logistics and combined operations cells during his tenure. His principal missions during this tour dealt with planning then implementing support for Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) activation. The ISF grew into the security void created by the dissolution of the Iraqi Army and the resulting violence - first looting, then the emergence of an insurgency. Coalition support to help recruit, equip, train and deploy indigenous security forces began from scratch with uniforms, weapons, ammunition and vehicles, in addition to installation support. Liermann performed duties like contracting across the Middle East to buy AK47s that were well outside the boundaries of his experience and training. He had to identify the nuances of procurement then navigate the shoals of US government acquisition regulations, congressional mandates, as well as the intricacies of actually purchasing all classes of supply. Liermann dealt with a variety of organizations including the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team, the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team and coalition allies in addition to the ISF. This mix of indigenous, coalition and US requirements competed for everything from rifles and ammunition to uniforms and vehicles for training and operations. Maintenance and sustainment issues arose not just out of use but also from cultural differences and opportunities for corruption. Liermann's mission varied in geographical and bureaucratic scope as he had to support activities across Iraq, dealing with agencies from the Coalition Provisional Authority to vendors, contractors and allies. In this, he had to draw on his full range of staff skills and unrelentingly practice communications skills throughout his tour. "Everything we were doing," he said, "was hitting the 50- to 100-meter target" and, as such, were decidedly short-term solutions to much longer-term problems - an especially amusing example of which, Liermann quipped, were the ambulances provided to the Iraqis that "looked like the Mystery Machine on Scooby Doo."

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited