BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took control Thursday of the first Iraqi forces from U.S. and coalition lead, vowing to instill new values and discipline in his troops, then use them to inflict “terrible punishment” on Iraq’s enemies.

In response, Gen. George Casey, commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, pledged the United States will support the effort “every step of the way.”

The next step is creating logistical systems and administrative capabilities in a military that’s never had them, according to top U.S. commanders. Getting to what Casey termed “an historical milestone” has been a struggle, even in the final hours.

Thursday’s ceremonial turnover of command of the first Iraqi forces — the 8th Iraqi Army Division, and the Iraqi Air Force and Navy — came after a five-day delay due to Iraqi officials’ “technical questions,” according to Maj. Gen. William E. Caldwell IV, the chief coalition spokesman in Iraq.

Thursday’s ceremony had U.S. commanders musing about how far Iraqi forces have come despite early failures.

On April 3, 2004, the Iraqi battalion — then part of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corp — in his sector of Baghdad had 800 soldiers, said Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, then-commander of the 1st Cavalry Division. On April 4, “there were 100,” with soldiers deserting after fighting began in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra between U.S. troops and militiamen loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, Chiarelli said.

Now, six of 10 divisions, 26 of 36 brigades, 90 of 120 battalions have Iraqis in the lead.

The Iraqi army now numbers about 130,000 troops, and the Iraqis are expected to take over more divisions from the coalition in the coming months, although there is no exact timetable.

One of the most successful strategies was embedding U.S. troops with Iraqis, said Chiarelli, now commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq. Instead of training Iraqis at arm’s length, Military Transition Teams spend 365 days a year with them, he said, crediting Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, who oversees training, for building effective junior officer and non-commissioned officers corps.

Training units to fight is relatively easy, Chiarelli and Dempsey said. The difficult part is creating the logistical systems to support warfighters, they said.

What top U.S. commanders tend to refer to as “a journey” ultimately will hinge on nurturing Iraqi organizational and administrative skills while simultaneously fighting a war. The Iraqi army is in a position now where it needs ministry support for equipment, spare parts and other supply and re-supply systems, Chiarelli said.

The issue isn’t necessarily government failure, but the absence of systems and structures, officials said.

As the military is standing up in the middle of a war, Iraqi officials also are trying to adapt to budgeting and acquisition processes, Dempsey said.

“For 35 years, Iraq was a command-directed economy. The way they used to do things (under dictator Saddam Hussein) was to put a guy on a plane with a bag of money,” he said. Now, the funding has to be accounted for, with bidding and vendor-selection processes.

“It’s just a very complex process,” Dempsey said. “The way I look at it is, we have a plug at the top, and we have a plug at the bottom and now we have to find a way to connect the two.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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