DEJA VU

The Army makes the same mistakes...again...and leaders push troops up front without the logistics structure to ensure they have what they need...again.

And...again...somebody says they are going to fix it.

We'll see.

Battalions of tanks and armored vehicles, dashing forward under grueling conditions, got no repair parts for three weeks. Broken-down vehicles had to be stripped of usable parts and left behind. Some units ran dangerously low on ammunition and couldn't get resupplied; others in desperate need of M-16 and machine gun rounds got unneeded tank shells instead, according to logistics officers. Some troops had virtually no water while receiving truckloads of stuff they didn't need and couldn't carry...

In a devastating self-critique, Christianson and his staff have produced an analysis that concludes, in essence, that the Army's logisticians can't see what is needed on the battlefield, can't respond rapidly when they do find out what's needed, and can't distribute what they have when it's needed...

But the supply problems were exacerbated, officers said, by the decision of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to deploy mostly combat units in the weeks before the invasion, and to hold back Army and Marine Corps logistics and support units until weeks or months later -- gambling that the war would be over quickly enough that sustained resupply wouldn't be needed.

But then there is always the absolutely indispensable and resourceful Supply Sergeant who manages to get things done...like this guy.

If you need it and it is in Baghdad, Iraq, Sgt. Steve Litten can get it. He spent the last year scrounging supplies and comfort items for the paratroopers in the 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment.

Last summer, he got pizza for the paratroopers in Bravo Company. He also got the battalion cell phones and mattresses. One of the most coveted places to have access to in Iraq is the Coalition Provisional Authorities' compound. The dining hall is one of the best in the country, and it is where Paul Bremer, the United States administrator in Iraq, has an office.

The only soldiers allowed in the coalition offices are the soldiers who work there and Litten. He was able to get a security badge but did not say how he did it. The pass allowed him to meet Bremer and other high-level dignitaries as well as get supplies for the paratroopers.

Litten gets what he needs through charm. Once, while walking through the Coalition Provisional Authority offices, Litten saw a female brigadier general. Instead of just walking by, he stopped and talked to her. He said she was a bit cold until he congratulated her on making general.

"That is a great accomplishment," he told her. The general spoke to Litten for the next 10 minutes, despite her aide's protests. She told him to contact her if he needed anything.