Australian Defence Force's Iraq War Logistical Problems Revealed in Newly Declassified Report by Andrew Greene - ABC News (Australia)
A secret Army study has detailed the widespread logistical problems faced by Australian forces in Iraq 15 years ago.
The report, obtained by the ABC and marked "for Australian eyes only", revealed how frontline troops were often without crucial supplies for battle and military commanders struggled to get the personnel required.
According to the 156-page document there were also deep concerns about a vaccination program for soldiers that was described as "poorly thought out".
The research, to be declassified today, was compiled by Albert Palazzo of the Australian Army's Land Warfare Studies Centre.
Dr Palazzo's report, completed in 2008, concludes the Navy's elite Clearance Diving Team 3 endured the worst logistical support, and its members were treated like "second-class citizens".
University of New South Wales Professor Clinton Fernandes, who first secured the secret study, said it detailed how ADF personnel were quietly dispatched to US CENTCOM headquarters in Florida in 2002 to begin planning the Iraq war, a year before John Howard announced Australia's involvement.
"What the document shows is that the Howard Government had decided early in 2002 that it was going to join the United States in any operation in Iraq whatever it might be, but it couldn't admit this to the public or even to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) at large," he said.
"So only a few people within a very tight planning compartment were told about it…