By Petty Officer 1st Class Jim Bane
Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq

BAGHDAD — Program managers from the United States and Iraq, along with representatives from the General Dynamics Contract Logistics Support (CLS) group, met to discuss the fielding of M1A1SA Abrams tanks for the Iraqi Army, March 4. 

The tanks are scheduled to arrive over an 18-month period in groups of 35, according to Mark Bangsboll of Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq’s (MNSTC-I) Joint Headquarters Army Advisory Training Team Planning Office. 

Charles Campbell, JHAATT M1A1SA program coordinator, said, “This meeting is meant to initiate dialog on the support and sustainment required for the M1A1SA program, as well as setting-up delivery, fielding, and training. The first regiment will begin full-scale training in December of 2010.  From there, we would instruct and train on how to support and sustain these tanks. “

Eugene Meredith, General Dynamics CLS, said, “The new M1A1SA technology makes it perform better in a desert environment. The technology, related to the gunnery and air filtration systems, helps the new tank perform much better than the previous Iraqi fleet of mostly Russian T-72’s and French models.”

The presentation by CLS provided a detailed program including training for tank crews, a spare parts logistics program, including warehousing and inventory control, and a security agreement for sensitive weapons and communications systems featured in the M1A1SA Abrams.

According to Brig. Gen. Charles Luckey, deputy commanding general, MNSTC-I, Security Assistance Office, "Properly fielded and maintained, the M1A1 represents a quantum leap in the modernization of the Iraqi Army. The survivability, lethality and agility of this tank in a desert environment have been proven repeatedly."

MNSTC-I’s efforts in supporting the Ministry of Defense and the Iraqi Army represents a vital step towards ensuring Iraq’s self-sufficiency for the future.