BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 12, 2004 — Ten medical officers from the Iraqi army will commence training at the Iraqi Armed Forces Medical Logistics Course at Marka Military Air Base, Jordan, Aug. 23, as the first class in Iraqi's newly formed medical specialty school, according to Multinational Force Iraq officials.

The course, designed with Multinational Force and Jordanian assistance, is the first of its kind in Iraq's long military history.

Military medical logistics, commonly referred to as "MEDLOG," is a military's system for getting medical equipment and supplies efficiently and safely to forces in deployment areas. Previously, the Iraqi army did not have this capability.

"We will choose ten officers to send from the Corps to the logistics course," the Iraqi armed forces surgeon general said (his name withheld for security reasons), "and when they return back they will distribute (information) back throughout the country.

"It's very valuable because we are deficient in this area," the

surgeon said. "In our old army, we used to put the pharmacist in charge of these duties, but there was no clearly defined specialty for this," he added.

The 15-week course, taught entirely by Jordanian medical logistics teams and military pharmacists, will begin at the ground level, covering issues like site and building selection, refrigeration of materiel, and environmental issues, but will move on to more complex topics like blood storage and distribution, medical equipment maintenance and area medical support. Curriculum will include a combination of classroom instruction with side-by-side work experience with the Jordanian trainers.

Jordan was selected as the most viable location for instruction because of its medical logistics resources and the common language advantages for instruction. Marka Military Air Base is located just outside the capital city of Amman.

"I was at an American medical logistics battalion in Balad some time ago and I couldn't believe what I saw," the general said. "This is a very, very important course for the future of our medical corps."