I'm currently assigned to the Program Executive Office for Simulations, Training and Instrumentation in Orlando, Florida. I was recently deployed for a 60-day temporary duty assignment at Camp Doha, Kuwait. As system managers, we field the warfighter with the weapon systems used to fight. Some of these weapon systems are right off the assembly line and have not had time to get into the regular logistical channels of the Army. So we came over to manage some of those systems and work with the logisticians that work our legacy systems as well. With the advent of high tech weapon systems, many systems are maintained by civilian contractors. We are also here to keep accountability of them and make sure they are adequately protected for war.

Just before I got here 2 contractors were ambushed just outside the gates of Camp Doha and one of them was killed. To put my position in perspective, I'll outline where I'm at in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. First of all, a REMF is a term the military uses for rear echelon MF (you can guess what the MF stands for). Anyway, REMF is a relative term. I have a saying that "everyone is someone else's REMF."

Here are the echelons as I see them. First, we have Other Government Agencies (OGA's) - these are the guys who are running human contacts in and around Baghdad and other cities in Iraq. There are no front lines for these guys.

There is Delta Force and SEAL team 6. They work side by side with the OGA's and specialize in hostage rescue. They put lasers on targets that need to be lazed and gather intelligence. There are no front lines for these folks either.

Then there is the Other Special Operations Forces or (SOF) and Ranger teams, and Marine Recon teams. They operate far forward of the front lines and mostly gather intelligence and whatever the leadership needs done forward of the front. They mostly stay low as to not give away their locations, but occasionally they go force on force.

There are also Air Force Para rescue guys that drop deep behind enemy lines to rescue downed pilots.

Then there are the conventional Combat arms forces. For this fight, they belong to the Coalition Forces Land Component Command or CFLCC, which is a part of CENTCOM. The Combat Arms forces include Infantry, Armor, Artillery, and Army Aviation attack helicopters.

Behind them, are the Combat Support and Combat Service Support or CS/CSS forces that do things like set up communication networks, gather intelligence, and supply the front line troops with all classes of supply. It's called a combined force because there are allied forces attached to the fight. It's "joint" if it's a combination of services that are fighting together and "combined" if we include other countries. The American forces include the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (1MEF) and the 5th US army CORPS, which right now is made up of the 3rd Infantry Division out of Ft Benning and Ft Stewart, Georgia, as well as the 101st air mobile division and the 82nd Airborne division. The 4th Infantry Division was supposed to come down from the North through Turkey but that didn't happen so they are on their way to Kuwait.

Behind the CS/CSS folks, you have the leadership fighting the big picture of the war and running the logistics all the way from the states forward (this is where I would put myself).

After that, you have military members who are doing their jobs back in their homestations, and then DOD employees supporting various programs in the states.

Then you have normal US citizens doing their part. They are part of the fight because the support from home is very important. It has a direct impact by emphasizing to the enemy our resolve, and an indirect role to the soldiers who gain morale knowing that the US public supports them. The power of the US public during war is sometimes underestimated. I left the states on February 23rd and have had the privilege of seeing this unfold first hand, and I have met a lot of the brave men and woman who are fighting this war. I send a situation report back to my higher headquarters in Orlando, and at the end, I attach a personal journal and informal notes. These are them. Feel free to email me with any questions you have, and I would be happy to answer them. I love getting messages back from the states so don't hesitate. I have a picture of everything that is going on with the war here and some of it's classified for obvious reasons, but most of it is out front, and I can help fill some of the holes you are getting from the news.

MAJ Tim Hale
Timothy.hale@us.army.mil