VOA标准英语2009年-Logistics Play Key Role in US War Effo（在线收听）

Infrastructure to support U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan is already strained, posing challenges to the troop surge announced by President Obama

David Axe | Bagram, Afghanistan 01 December 2009

Scene at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan

"You just don't have the lines of communication, the road structure, that brings things here sufficiently," U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Steve Kwast

U.S. President Barack Obama announced a new strategy for Afghanistan Tuesday that includes sending at least 30,000 more American troops to the war front. The increase will bring the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about 100,000. But the infrastructure to support U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan is already strained, posing challenges to a troop surge.

Somewhere over southern Afghanistan, a U.S. Air Force transport crew prepares to drop a load of supplies by parachute to a Marine unit below.

Rugged terrain, poor roads and relentless enemy attacks force U.S. planners to deliver most combat supplies by air. "You just don't have the lines of communication, the road structure, that brings things here sufficiently," said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Steve Kwast.

How to get supplies to troops is just one of several logistical problems that U.S. planners need to address if thousands of new American troops join the eight-year-long war in Afghanistan. The Pentagon budgeted $1.4 billion for new construction in Afghanistan for 2010. But much more may be needed.

The logistical challenges intersect at Bagram Airfield, outside Kabul. A former Soviet base, Bagram is the main supply, personnel and medical hub for the war effort. "The facility here is the central hub for the development of governance and security in Afghanistan. What I mean by that is, everything that comes into Afghanistan comes in through air, if it has any short-term requirement," said Kwast, who oversees air operations at the base.

The passenger terminals and cargo yards are filled to capacity, "Each day we move approximately 4,000 passengers a day, inbound and outbound, plus 400 tons of cargo per day," said Lt. Col. Dan Krall, a logistician working under Kwast.

Medical infrastructure represents another problem. With mounting casualties