(NSI News Source Info) February 6, 2009: In compliance with the Status of Forces Agreement, U.S. and Allied forces must leave Iraq by December 31, 2011, meaning that Iraq has only a small window of time to reconstitute self-sustaining military forces.
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense has indicated the government’s intention to rebuild the military’s fleet of armored vehicles to levels that existed prior to the April 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein (two thousand tanks as compared with 149 tanks today). With the eyes of the world watching, the reestablishment of the Iraq military is clearly an issue of vital importance to the international community. 
In January 2009 U.S. defense companies and Pentagon officials announced that the Iraqi Army is planning to buy up to 2,000 retrofitted Soviet-era T-72M tanks. Redesignated as T-91s, the tanks would form the heavy core of a reconstituted force meant to be able to defend its country after most U.S. forces leave in 2011. The tanks would be bought from Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia, and then stripped to their frames and rebuilt under a contract managed by Defense Solutions of Exton, Pa with advanced gun systems, modern armor, and fire control systems to levels almost similar to the M1A1 Abrams. This proposal has sinced been discredited by Pentagon sources.
“We build armies,” says Colonel (Ret) Timothy D. Ringgold, CEO of Defense Solutions Holding, Inc., an international project management, executive consulting, and business development firm headquartered in Exton, PA, with branch offices on four continents. “If security forces use it, wear it, train with it, or operate it, we can supply it—along with the services to support it.”
With a registered office in Baghdad, Defense Solutions is one of a few American companies working directly with the Iraqi government. The company’s program is based on rebuilding tanks from former Eastern Bloc countries, taking them down to their hulls—which accounts for approximately 80% of the tank’s mass— and remanufacturing and upgrading their battlefield capabilities to include digital, thermal, and laser technologies.
New Abrams tanks will cost between $10 and 15 million per vehicle. By comparison, the rebuilt and modernized tanks provided by Defense Solutions will cost slightly more than $3 million per unit. More importantly, because they are about 50% lighter, the Defense Solutions’ T-91 tanks will be able to operate in Iraq without causing significant damage to the country’s roads, bridges, and dams.
Defense Solutions’ principal offerings are rebuilt and upgraded armored combat vehicles, spare parts, ammunition, and other equipment. The firm prides itself on a business model that includes end-to-end integrated logistics, training, and maintenance. The company is also involved in maritime and port security, having recently won the contract to provide port security consulting services for the Port of Baltimore.
“Our effort to provide Iraq with a self-sustaining military force has been a long and rigorous process,” says COL Ringgold. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help rebuild a fledgling democracy and America’s newest ally in the Middle East.”
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