VOA标准英语2009年-Logistics Play Key Role in US War Effo

Infrastructure¹ to support U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan is already strained, posing challenges to the troop surge announced by President Obama

David Axe² | 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 Marine³ unit below.

Rugged⁴ terrain⁵, poor roads and relentless⁶ 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 Airfield⁷, outside Kabul. A former Soviet⁸ 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 oversees⁹ air operations at the base.

The passenger terminals and cargo¹⁰ 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

 

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

2 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

5 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

6 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

7 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

10 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。