Army logisticians are making important preparations for future battles by dramatically reducing the backlog of equipment orders, according to Gen. Gus Perna, who as Army Materiel Command commander is the Army’s top logistician.

“We’ve had the luxury of having a great support system for the last 15 years that adapted to the way we’re fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Perna said during a forum on sustainability hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the supply chain capability was enabled through contractors and the positioning of resources and equipment in theater along strategic routes, Perna said. In a “decisive action against a peer competitor, that will not be available to us,” he warned.

The Army supply chain was at 70 percent supply availability and 48 percent back orders in November, Perna said. Now there is 87 percent supply availability and back orders are down, he said.

More work needs to be done, he said. Leaders must have confidence in the supply chain and not overwhelm it by reordering the same parts repeatedly.

“We’re working to increase supply availability up to 100 percent, and reduce back orders down to below 15,000,” Perna said, adding, “I want to have repair parts on the battlefield where I want them when I want them.”