Copyright 2001 eMediaMillWorks, Inc.
(f/k/a Federal
Document Clearing House, Inc.)
Federal Document Clearing House
Congressional Testimony
April 26, 2001, Thursday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 20960 words
COMMITTEE:
SENATE armed forces
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY STRATEGIC AIRLIFT / SEALIFT IMPERATIVES
TESTIMONY-BY: GENERAL CHARLES T. ROBERTSON, JR. ,
COMMANDER - IN - CHIEF
AFFILIATION: USAF
BODY: 26 April 2001 Statement of General Charles T.
Robertson, Jr. USAF Commander-in-Chief United States Transportation Command
Before the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee On Strategic Airlift and
Sealift Imperatives for the 21st Century TODAY S UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION
COMMAND (USTRANSCOM) Today, America and the international community depend on
the US military to perform a wide range of warfighting, peacekeeping, and
humanitarian missions. No matter what the mission, whether at home or abroad,
this country s Defense Transportation System (DTS) enables it to quickly extend
a hand of friendship or the fist of war to any location on the globe. The DTS,
with its people, trucks, trains, aircraft, ships, information systems, and
infrastructure, provides the United States (US) the most responsive strategic
mobility capability the world has ever seen. It is USTRANSCOM s responsibility
to manage this strategic global mobility system. USTRANSCOM takes a holistic
approach to managing the DTS, i.e., strategic transportation planning and modal
operations are interdependently managed. When the unified commands, services, or
other government agencies require strategic transportation they need to make
only one call: to USTRANSCOM. Because of USTRANSCOM s responsiveness and global
reach, the command is in a constant state of activity. At every moment of every
day, around the globe, USTRANSCOM s superb force of soldiers, sailors, airmen,
marines, coast guardsmen, and civilians is accomplishing a wide array of joint
mobility missions. For example, during an average week USTRANSCOM operates 1,669
strategic air mobility missions transiting 52 countries, operates 22 military
ocean ports in 13 countries, and has 20 chartered military ships underway.
Thirty-six additional government-owned and chartered vessels, loaded with
military cargo, are strategically prepositioned around the world, significantly
increasing the responsiveness of urgently needed US military equipment and
supplies during time of crisis. USTRANSCOM does all of this as a total-force
team of active duty, guard and reserve personnel, civilians, and commercial
partners, bringing the total synergy of US military and commercial
transportation resources to bear in times of crisis, wherever in the world they
may be required. The capability of America s DTS is unparalleled in history.
Never before has such a ready and capable mobility system existed in peacetime.
But readiness and peacetime are often ambiguous terms when used to describe
today s world environment. USTRANSCOM frequently finds itself operating at a
near wartime tempo during peacetime. We are frequently called upon to surge to a
combat operations tempo without benefit of our full wartime manning or
activation of our agreements with industry for their surge capacities. 3 That
said, even though USTRANSCOM is generally ready and capable, there are a number
of challenges in USTRANSCOM s critical personnel, infrastructure, and equipment
underpinnings that concern me now and, of even greater concern, challenges that
could impair command capabilities in the future if we do not set about to
correct them soon. As you look at USTRANSCOM today, many of the visible features
of the DTS are showcased daily around the world: the ships, aircraft, trains,
and people who make day-to-day global mobility for the Department of Defense
(and others) a reality. That said, many people are not aware of the wide variety
of aggressive actions USTRANSCOM is taking behind the scenes to improve our
transportation reliability and our global responsiveness to America s
challenges. This statement serves as a State of the Command report and examines
where we are, where we are going, how we are getting there, and the challenges
we face. Ultimately, this statement is intended to portray the USTRANSCOM you
see and know...as well as, the USTRANSCOM you may not see everyday. THE MISSION
USTRANSCOM s mission is to provide air, land, and sea transportation for the
Department of Defense (DOD), both in time of peace and time of war. To
accomplish this mission, for day-to- day execution, we rely on USTRANSCOM s
Component Commands: the Air Force s Air Mobility Command (AMC); the Navy s
Military Sealift Command (MSC); and the Army's Military Traffic Management
Command (MTMC). Relying on a blend of active and reserve forces, civilian
employees, and commercial industry, the USTRANSCOM component commands provide
mobility forces and assets in a force structure continuum designed to be able to
make a seamless transition from peace to war. USTRANSCOM is a leader in DOD s
reengineering efforts. As the first Secretary of Defense-designated Reinvention
Commander-in- Chief (CINC), with authority to emulate leading edge business
practices, USTRANSCOM is actively engaged in finding commercial best business
opportunities and implementing those efficiencies for DOD. The command has
pioneered DOD s efforts to leverage the strengths of US commercial industry to
significantly improve the daily service of the DTS to all customers,
contributing significantly to our ability to guarantee wartime readiness. The
command has also formed a supply-chain management partnership with the Defense
Logistics Agency (DLA), creating a new Strategic Distribution Management
Initiative (SDMI) that promises to streamline DOD s entire distribution system.
While we are proud of the significant gains made in peacetime efficiency, we
remain focused on our primary imperative: wartime readiness. Simply put, the
USTRANSCOM wartime mission has three objectives: 1. Get the warfighter to the
fight. 2. Sustain the warfighter during the fight. 3. Bring the warfighter home
after the fight is done. Accordingly, my number one mission at USTRANSCOM is
strategic mobility support to the regional CINCs during crises. That said, as
our Nation s policy and decision makers ponder changes to our National Security
Strategy, they should always keep in mind that USTRANSCOM is only postured-from
a force structure perspective-as a one Major Theater War (MTW) force with a two
MTW mission and that the command is still evolving to meet even that
requirement. Today, it is our assessment that we can meet the requirements of
the first MTW with moderate risk, but that there are higher levels of risk
associated with the second nearly simultaneous MTW. In fact, if the National
Military Strategy were to evolve from the current two nearly simultaneous MTWs
to something considered less stressful-one MTW and one or more 5 Smaller Scale
Contingencies for example, assuming no improvement to our current or projected
posture, we would continue to operate at an elevated risk. The June 2000
Government Accounting Office (GAO) report titled, Military Readiness: Air
Transport Capability Falls Short of Requirements (Code 702017) (Final Report
NSIAD-00-135), highlighted the depth of the problem. This report stated, DOD
does not have sufficient airlift and air refueling capability to meet the two
major theater war requirements because many aircraft needed to carry out wartime
activities are not mission ready. The GAO estimated that DOD is 29 percent short
of being able to meet the established military airlift requirement and nearly 19
percent short of being able to meet the established air refueling requirement.
USTRANSCOM s approach to posturing (and improving) itself to be able to meet DOD
s transportation mission today and tomorrow requires flexibility and initiative,
and is guided by the following four basic themes: -Theme one: Maintaining
readiness to perform our global mobility mission. -Theme two: Continuing
modernization and upgrade of aging equipment and
infrastructure. -Theme three: Improving key processes in the DTS. -Theme four:
Investing in the care and quality of USTRANSCOM s most valuable resource - its
people. THEME ONE: READINESS Regardless of the above, no matter what US forces
are called upon to do around the world, the American fighting machine cannot
meet its two critical warfighting capabilities labeled dominant maneuver and
focused logistics without USTRANSCOM forces in the vanguard. Recent exercises
and operations demonstrate the day- to-day peacetime readiness and capability of
the DTS. That said, the growing impact on our day-to-day peacetime airlift
operation resulting from the continuing challenges associated with the low
reliability rate of our aging C-5 fleet, coupled with continuing reductions in
overall strategic airlift flexibility as a result of the one-plane- for-two swap
of C-17s for retiring C-141s, adds fuel to a growing list of additional concerns
(not the least of which our assessment that our second of two MTWs capability is
high risk), and is a challenge begging a solution. Recent Operations
USTRANSCOM's daily Global CINC-support mission, coupled with DOD s Joint
exercise program, gives USTRANSCOM the opportunity to plan and execute regularly
with the regional CINCs and their Service component commands and staffs.
Additionally, it gives the command an opportunity to exercise surge shipping,
prepositioned afloat stocks, military air and sea ports, air mobility crews and
staffs, reserve component forces, and the staff at USTRANSCOM. Last year,
USTRANSCOM participated in 117 Joint exercises worldwide. These exercises not
only allow us to revalidate current capabilities, they also allow us to test new
capabilities, as well as to improve the processes we use to move bulk DOD cargo
within the worldwide transportation network. USTRANSCOM is a high tempo command.
In fact, the command s operational pace during peacetime--especially that of our
Air component-has increased dramatically since Operations DESERT SHIELD and
DESERT STORM. As an example, let me describe USTRANSCOM s contributions to our
most noteworthy mission since I last testified before this committee...that
being our support of combat operations in the former Yugoslavia. Beginning in
February 1999, AMC tanker and airlift aircraft began our support to the Air War
over Serbia and subsequent operations by leading the deployment of combat and
combat support aircraft to Europe in support of an increasing military
capability available to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the
theater. In March of that same year, Operation ALLIED FORCE began in earnest,
with an air campaign that lasted 78 days... a campaign which ultimately required
USTRANSCOM and its Component Commands to split their capabilities three ways to
simultaneously support 7 the three distinct mobility missions which emerged
through the multiple phases of ALLIED FORCE. For example, at the commencement of
ALLIED FORCE, USTRANSCOM s first mission was in support of the United States
European Command (USEUCOM) and NATO strategic deployment of combat and combat
support aircraft to European bases. In this phase, AMC air refueling aircraft
established an air bridge across the Atlantic to deploy combat, combat support,
and airlift aircraft...with our airlift aircraft deploying accompanying support
personnel and equipment. Additionally, AMC deployed an MTW-sized air refueling
force...augmented by forces generated through a Presidential Reserve Call-up of
Guard and Reserve Forces...to bases in Europe to support theater air operations.
MSC and MTMC simultaneously began deploying ammunition from the US, through
European ports, onward to NATO airbases. As the air campaign intensified, two
new missions evolved requiring substantial USTRANSCOM support. The first
occurred when refugees streamed across Kosovo s borders into Albania and
Macedonia. AMC supported NATO s relief efforts with military and commercial
contract airlift missions to provide emergency assistance to refugees. The
second additional mission was deployment of Task Force Hawk from the continental
United States (CONUS) and Central European Bases into Albania. All USTRANSCOM
components supported this effort with AMC providing airlift and air refueling
support, MTMC operating seaports in Italy and Albania, and MSC providing
sealift. It was during this phase that the C-17 became the workhorse airlifter
of the campaign by operating as both an intertheater and intratheater airlifter,
flying 430 missions into Albania. The aircraft performed superbly and offered
the combatant commander a new capability with its large capacity and ability to
land and operate at very short, austere airfields. Finally, as the air campaign
ended, USTRANSCOM supported Operation JOINT GUARDIAN, the deployment of NATO
peacekeeping forces into Kosovo by air, land, and sea. Support to ALLIED FORCE
was a total force effort by USTRANSCOM. AMC tanker aircraft, placed under the
operational control of USEUCOM, performed nearly 7,000 air refueling missions,
greatly extending the range and on-station time of US and allied combat and
combat support aircraft. An additional 654 strategic air refueling missions were
performed in support of the various deployments. AMC also flew 1,108 strategic
airlift missions and contracted for an additional 66 commercial airlift missions
in support of ALLIED FORCE. Simultaneously, MTMC operated at two US seaports and
eight European seaports in support of the deployment and onward 8 movement of
unit equipment, supplies, and ammunition. As NATO air strikes began against
Serbia, MTMC began transshipment operations at seaports closest to the strike
area. The cargo was transported in vessels managed and directed by MTMC in
support of Task Force Eagle and Task Force Shining Hope, the military and
humanitarian programs to aid Kosovar refugees. The first big evidence of this
support came in the form of the SS Osprey, which arrived May 2 in Durres,
Albania. The Osprey s arrival signaled a critical surface transportation
benchmark in the fielding and supply of American forces in Albania. The Osprey,
a MSC charter, carried 60 vehicles, or 11,000- square feet of Air Force cargo.
It was loaded by MTMC s 839 th Transportation Battalion, Livorno, Italy and
unloaded in Durres by MTMC s 840 th Transportation Battalion, Izmir, Turkey.
Unloading of the Osprey took place without incident. Within a week, MTMC
initiated regular ferry operations from Brindisi, Italy, to Durres. For example,
some 35,000-square feet of equipment and supplies were moved into Albania
between May 7 th and 11 th . After arriving at Brindisi by rail from Germany,
the freight was loaded aboard an Adriatic Sea ferry- chartered by MSC-and
shuttled northeast by east, from Brindisi to Durres, in four ferry runs. A
critical shift in surface transportation support took place with the cessation
of hostilities, as MTMC shifted gears and began to focus on the movement of the
Army task force assigned to perform peacekeeping duties in Kosovo. In the
initial entry, MTMC delivered three shiploads of combat equipment from the 1st
Infantry Division via Thessaloniki, Greece, on the northern Aegean Sea. The ship
cargoes included hundreds of combat vehicles and scores of shipping containers
with equipment to support the 7,000 soldiers of Operation Joint Guardian.
Strategic sealift also played a key role in supporting the combat forces
involved in Kosovo operations. MSC supported ALLIED FORCE with 34 strategic
sealift ships to include three prepositioning ships. Additionally, MSC tankers
carried most of the fuel products used in support of the operation, totaling
more than 300 million gallons. MSC supported 29 strategic lift movements,
including movement of US Army combat forces from Bremerhaven, Germany to
Thessaloniki, Greece. Sealift carried over 1.2 million sq. ft. of vehicles and
equipment; 245,280 sq. ft. of ammunition; plus equipment and supplies to assist
the more than 400,000 ethnic Albanian Kosovo refugees. Following ALLIED FORCE,
USTRANSCOM supported a fairly steady series of special headline missions and
humanitarian deployments around the world. For example, AMC airlifted two 9
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) teams to Kosovo in July and August of 1999
to assist in investigations of war crimes. In July 1999, an AMC C-141B aircraft,
supported by two air refueling tankers, airdropped medical supplies over
Antarctica to aid an ill American doctor. On 16 October 1999, an AMC New York
Air National Guard (ANG) ski-equipped LC-130 airlifted this same physician from
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station to McMurdo Naval Air Station on
Antarctica s northern coast. Only Air Force airlift aircraft and aircrews had
the capability to do this challenging and lengthy mission during the bitterly
cold Antarctic winter. A world away, USTRANSCOM continued its support of those
in need following a massive August 1999 earthquake in Turkey. To aid Turkish
recovery efforts, an AMC C-5 deployed 70 members of the Fairfax County Virginia
Search and Rescue Team to Istanbul on a nonstop flight sustained by two air
refuelings. All in all, AMC completed 20 airlift missions in support of Turkish
relief efforts. A subsequent Turkish earthquake in November of 1999 claimed over
400 lives and injured over 3,000. AMC and USTRANSCOM relief efforts for this
earthquake mirrored the earlier efforts. In September 1999, USTRANSCOM responded
to another earthquake, this time in Taiwan. Again, AMC deployed a rescue team
from Fairfax County, Virginia and again, a C-5 aircraft deployed the team
direct, nonstop to Taipei. This flight lasted 18 hours and required two air
refuelings. The year 2000 found USTRANSCOM supporting flood relief in South
America and East Africa. In Venezuela, USTRANSCOM flew eleven C-17 and five C- 5
missions, transporting 189 passengers and over 527 short tons of food, water,
blankets, water purification systems, and other supplies. These missions helped
the people of Venezuela recover from a devastating flood that left almost
400,000 people homeless, 20,000 to 30,000 dead, and destroyed 23,000 homes. In
Mozambique, a three-month relief operation resulted in the formation of Joint
Task Force Atlas Response. During Atlas Response USTRANSCOM aircraft flew 596
sorties, carrying 1,172 passengers and 1,019 short tons of relief supplies to
aid the almost 1 million people made homeless by the rising floodwaters from
Cyclone Elaine. In our own country, on 2 February 2000, AMC flew a nine-person
team and 160,000 pounds of Navy search equipment to California to assist in the
recovery operations for Alaska Airlines Flight 261 off the California coast.
This past summer saw the worst western wildfires in 50 years. USTRANSCOM and AMC
flew 30 missions and deployed 3,682 Army and Marine passengers, and 206.7 short
tons of equipment to battle the fires. 10 During this same time period,
USTRANSCOM completed the first rotation of US forces supporting Task Force
Falcon in Kosovo via airlift and sealift. The redeployment returned the original
participants to US and European bases and deployed replacements from US bases to
Kosovo. In April of 2000, AMC flew over 130 Polish troops and 102.5 short tons
of their equipment into Kosovo, marking the first time Polish forces had been
transported aboard a US aircraft in support of NATO requirements. Also, for the
first time, USEUCOM used trains to transport peacekeeping troops and equipment
from Germany through Bulgaria and Macedonia into Kosovo. This rail-overland
approach saved seven days from the normal twelve-day sea-overland method
previously used. USTRANSCOM also supported the sixth rotation of US forces to
the International Stabilization Force in Bosnia with strategic lift. In October
of 2000, the Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) System provided Strategic AE support to
the 39 sailors injured during the USS COLE Bombing in the waters off of Yemen.
The injured sailors were returned to the United States during a two week period
utilizing strategic airlift coordinated by the Theater Patient Movement
Requirements Center, located in Ramstein Germany and the Global Patient Movement
Requirements Center, which is located at Scott Air Force Base (AFB).
Additionally, USTRANSCOM and AMC relocated our Denton Humanitarian Cargo
receiving and shipping hub from Pope AFB, North Carolina, to Charleston AFB,
South Carolina, offering more direct access to strategic airlift and sealift to
better support this important program. Utilizing military airlift and sealift,
the Denton program moved over 2.5 million pounds of humanitarian cargo from 86
donors to 39 countries in the year 2000 alone. The events just described are
only a snapshot of the missions USTRANSCOM performed or participated in since
USCINCTRANS last testified before this committee. Though sometimes small in
scale, the FBI deployments, Antarctic airdrop/rescue, earthquake relief, floods
relief, airline crash recovery support, and wildfire support efforts demonstrate
the tremendous reach and responsiveness unique to USTRANSCOM s airlift forces.
They are also representative of the myriad of tasks mobility forces must be
prepared to execute, most often on very short notice. Several points are
important to note in assessing these events. For one, America s mobility force
is often as busy in peace as it is in war. Even though responses to events such
as Hurricane Mitch are not as large or sustained as ALLIED FORCE, such
operations are conducted within peacetime manning and materiel constraints. At
the same time, USTRANSCOM continues support for Joint Chiefs of Staff and
regional CINC- 11 sponsored exercises, ongoing operations such as NORTHERN and
SOUTHERN WATCH, and channel airlift missions worldwide. As a result, the command
s peacetime force structure must routinely surge to wartime operational levels.
For aircrews alerted on short notice to fly relief support to disaster areas,
move fighter and bomber squadrons to Southwest Asia or Europe, or replace
deployed crews in moving channel cargo, the tempo can be very similar to
wartime. The more frequently we do these missions, the more our people look and
feel as if they are on a wartime footing during peacetime. The past few years
have brought one deployment after another, hence the observation that USTRANSCOM
is often as busy in peace as in war. All the above aside, although USTRANSCOM is
heavily committed around the globe conducting a wide variety of critical
peacetime missions, our ability to support the warfighter during two nearly
simultaneous MTWs is our paramount indicator of command readiness. Readiness:
Air Mobility Our newest airlifter, the C-17, continues to exceed expectations.
As of March 2001, the C-17 program has delivered 72 of 134 programmed aircraft,
as we continue fielding the operational wings at Charleston AFB, South Carolina
and McChord AFB, Washington, as well as the training squadron at Altus AFB,
Oklahoma. The C-17 is a tremendous success story. Without a doubt, it has very
efficiently and effectively assumed its place as AMC s core airlifter as the
C-141 retirement process continues. The C-17 s reliability, versatility, and
large capacity give combatant commanders options they never previously had at
their disposal. Unacceptably low C-5 fleet mission capable (MC) rates create a
shortfall in meeting Mobility Requirements Study 2005 (MRS-05) mandates. MRS-05
requires a C-5 MC rate of 65 percent, but in the past year, C-5 fleet MC rates
hovered at (and were frequently below) approximately 58 percent. Over the last
two years, AMC had to begin the unusual, but necessary, practice of assigning
two C-5s to its higher priority missions to better ensure the missions would be
accomplished reliably and/or on time. The net result is less aircraft available
for tasking and less flexibility. But, given the current C-5 fleet MC rate, we
believe this concept of operation reflects judicious management of critical
assets in support of an equally critical mission. AMC s air refueling force
performed superbly in ALLIED FORCE, and operationally is as ready as ever. That
said, ALLIED FORCE (the Air War over Serbia) revealed two significant concerns.
First, we discovered that our reserve component 12 tanker units need the same
kind of maintenance spares kits as our active duty units. Reserve component
tankers are early deployers during large air campaigns and must be just as
self-sustaining on arrival as our active units. Second, we revalidated our long
held concern that AMC has a significant KC-135 crew-to-aircraft ratio shortfall.
The current ratios of 1.36:1 and 1.27:1 (AMC and Mobility Forces,
respectively)...inherited from the KC-135 s Cold War days... are simply
inadequate to meet our post-Cold War contingency requirements. ALLIED FORCE
required a ratio of 1.8:1 (only slightly higher than that required for Desert
Storm and similar contingencies since) and we expect that future air campaigns
will likely require the same. USTRANSCOM and the Air Force are working to
resolve both issues (spares kits and crew ratio) through funding and force
structure initiatives. To further quantify the future requirements of our
forty-year old KC-135 force a Tanker Requirements Study 2005 and an Economic
Service Life Study were recently completed. The results are just now being
finalized and once complete, will allow us to better determine the most
appropriate way ahead for this still reliable, but rapidly aging fleet. Even
though this statement highlights worrisome gaps in airlift capacity, low MC
rates, insufficient crew-to-aircraft ratios, and shortfalls of spares kits, you
can remain assured that our aircrews and supporting ground crews are highly
motivated and extremely capable. You may also be assured that we are working
hard with both the Air Force and DOD to try to find the funding required to
resolve these significant air mobility shortfalls for current and future
requirements. Readiness: Sealift Thanks to investments made in our surge sealift
forces, they are, today, more efficient and better able to meet lift
requirements than ever before. That said, the recently released MRS-05 study
indicates that cargo delivery requirements for two MTWs have increased by one
million tons relative to the requirements projected in our previous analytical
guidance- Office of the Secretary of Defense s (OSD) 1994 Mobility Requirements
Study- Bottom Up Review Update (MRS BURU). With this increased requirement as a
backdrop, USTRANSCOM is working hard to identify solutions while building on
today s successes. Early access to commercial shipping, combined with
containerization of unit equipment, significantly shortens the time required to
close forces for the counterattack phase of a MTW-type operation. Additionally,
a properly sized and structured Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA)
program is essential to providing timely access to commercial shipping. 13
Programs to improve the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) managed by the Department of
Transportation s Maritime Administration (MARAD) have excelled at improving
readiness. The RRF today is a well-maintained and ready force of 72 inactive
ships plus four ships activated for prepositioning. As of December 2000, the RRF
had completed 129 of 131 no-notice activations on time since Desert Storm (a
dramatic turn-around from our dismal Desert Storm experience). MSC s surge ships
- Fast Sealift Ships (FSSs) and Large Medium Speed Roll- On/Roll-Off ships
(LMSRs) - regularly support joint exercises and their prepositioning ships
provide forward-deployed combat equipment and sustainment supplies to the
regional CINCs. Readiness: Forward Presence Another vital component of
USTRANSCOM readiness is forward presence. Each transportation component command
has forward based units and deployed forces around the globe. MTMC operates at
seaports in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and in the Pacific where MTMC
personnel interact with allied governments, militaries, and local authorities.
These forward-based activities allow instant access to seaports as well as to
lines of communication radiating from those seaports. MSC s area commands
maintain operational control of MSC ships that are assigned to, or pass through,
their areas of responsibility. They include MSC Atlantic in Norfolk, Va.; MSC
Pacific in San Diego, Calif.; MSC Europe in Naples, Italy; MSC Far East in
Yokohama, Japan and MSC Central in Manama, Bahrain. These commands not only
serve as focal points for MSC customers in their respective operating areas but
are also direct links to MSC ships for maintenance, logistics and other
services. AMC depends on a global network of ready, capable en route bases to
support contingency and wartime deployments in support of regional CINCs. It is
absolutely imperative that we continue to maintain adequate infrastructure at
this declining group of core bases to support sustained strategic airlift
operations during contingencies. Since 1993, major overseas en route air base
locations declined 69 percent from 39 to 12. Of particular interest are the
changes associated with two specific forward bases in Europe: Rhein Main,
Germany, and Rota, Spain. USTRANSCOM presence at Rhein Main will end by 31
December 2005. United States Air Forces Europe has agreed to withdraw all US
forces from Rhein Main in exchange for a variety of key construction projects at
Ramstein and Spangdahlem Air Bases, also in Germany. These projects do not add
cargo or passenger throughput capability to the theater but are intended only to
replace the capability lost at Rhein Main. 14 On the Iberian Peninsula, the Air
Force left Torrejon Air Base, Spain, and has been working to obtain a like
capability at Rota Air Base, also in Spain. USTRANSCOM s air component, AMC,
must have at least two capable en route air bases on the Iberian Peninsula.
Iberian bases are key to supporting NATO, as well as to managing the easterly
strategic airflow required in support of potential areas of conflict in the
middle east. Our Spanish en route bases are also blessed with more favorable
weather and fewer air traffic control and overflight restrictions than our other
European oases. Readiness: Partnership with Guard and Reserves The readiness of
USTRANSCOM relies very heavily on our TOTAL FORCE partners in the National Guard
and Reserve components. USTRANSCOM, more than any other unified command, relies
on its reserve components for both peacetime responsiveness and wartime
capability. In every mode-air, land, and sea-USTRANSCOM reserve components
provide a majority of the command s military wartime capability. Since
USTRANSCOM cannot meet any significant requirements without the immediate
participation of reserve forces, it is imperative that they are adequately
funded for training and
modernization. USTRANSCOM s reserve
forces are key to our peacetime responsiveness, and the command receives
excellent support from reserve volunteers. The Air Reserve Component (ARC) flies
over 44 percent of AMC and local unit scheduled peacetime missions. These
missions are accomplished both during scheduled monthly Unit Training Assembly
periods, as well as during additional volunteer flying training periods. To
support these missions, the aircrew must deconflict their flying commitments
with their civilian responsibilities. Despite the high level of volunteerism,
the Presidential Reserve Call-up (PRC) formerly known as the Presidential
Selective Reserve Call-up is still essential for USTRANSCOM to be able to
support any major contingency. Kosovo provides the most recent example where
many volunteers responded but the command still needed a PRC to source
approximately 3,300 additional personnel, most of whom were used to support the
deployed air refueling force, since 57 percent of our capability now resides in
the ARC. A decision to request a PRC is not a business as usual proposition. It
is an extraordinarily tough decision made only with full knowledge of the
sacrifices it demands of our reservists, their families, and their employers. It
cannot (and must not) be taken lightly or used too often. Readiness:
Partnerships With Industry The readiness of the DTS also depends on timely
access to militarily useful commercial transportation. USTRANSCOM s superb
relationship with the US commercial transportation industry allows DOD to
leverage significant capacity in wartime without the added peacetime cost of
sustaining comparable levels of organic capability. To ensure timely and
efficient access to commercial capacity, the command has several agreements with
industry. For wartime airlift capacity, the Civil Reserve Airlift Fleet (CRAF)
provides 93 percent of DTS international passenger capacity, 98 percent of DTS
strategic aeromedical evacuation, and 41 percent of DTS international long-range
air cargo capacity. It would cost the American taxpayer over $50 billion to
procure and $1-3 billion annually to own and operate this capability as part of
the US military airlift fleet. Instead, the CRAF program guarantees peacetime
business to participating airlines in exchange for their pledge to provide
specified capacities in wartime. Based on the above logic, it is imperative that
USTRANSCOM do its best to ensure the CRAF program continues as the success story
it has grown to be. Our CRAF partners voluntarily support an unpredictable
wartime requirement and, in exchange, deserve as predictable a safeguard of
their capital investments as possible. In this respect, Aviation War Risk
Insurance is vital to assure our CRAF carriers that they can recover from
significant loss or damage in support of DOD. The recent practice of passing
one-year re-authorizations strains the mutual commitment between DOD and our
CRAF partners and is a disincentive to those in, or contemplating joining, the
program. USTRANSCOM fully supports recent congressional efforts to enact
Aviation War Risk Insurance legislation in a four-year increment and would
encourage similar treatment for the Defense Production Act, another CRAF-related
statute. For sealift we rely upon the commercial US Flag Fleet to move over 80
percent of sustainment cargo during wartime. The sealift companion to CRAF is
the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA). Recently implemented in
concert with MARAD and the US maritime industry, VISA provides DOD wartime
access to sealift capacity and intermodal infrastructure in return for peacetime
business preference. When needed, VISA is activated in three stages of
increasing levels of commitment. Implementation of this program, after several
years of negotiations, is a major accomplishment for USTRANSCOM. DOD now has
much quicker and far more effective access to US flag fleet capacities during
both contingencies and war. 16 A third formal agreement with industry in support
of DOD is the Maritime Security Program (MSP). MSP provides an underpinning for
VISA by helping to guarantee the continued presence of a healthy US flag
commercial fleet operating in international commerce, and available to provide
sustainment sealift capability in time of war or national emergency. In return
for MSP financial assistance, participating carriers commit vessels and other
transportation resources for DOD use in the event of contingencies. These
vessels also provide employment to a number of the US merchant mariners needed
to operate RRF, surge, and commercial shipping during wartime. Although we are
confident MSP continues to ensure the availability of near-term manning of US
flag sealift capacity, it has not stopped the disturbing decline in the US
population of qualified civilian mariners. It is essential that we continue to
monitor this domestic maritime workforce and, as necessary, take whatever
protective measures might be required to maintain the numbers we will need in
time of crisis. In addition to MSP, bilateral shipping agreements with allied
nations are also established to increase surge sealift capability in time of
war. All the above aside, USTRANSCOM s partnership with industry extends far
beyond the formal contractual arrangements just outlined. In fact, the command
interacts daily with the commercial sector in support of DOD customers.
Commercial air and sea carriers carry tons of DOD cargo and thousands of DOD
passengers annually, from scheduled channel air cargo and passenger movements to
containerized cargo aboard ships destined for exercises, sustainment activities,
and commissaries. Almost 70 percent of scheduled DOD passengers were carried by
the commercial sector in 2000 and almost 40 percent of scheduled air cargo moved
by commercial carrier. It is imperative that USTRANSCOM continue to foster
partnerships with industry and remain sensitive to the business environment in
which our commercial partners operate. The US transportation industry is vital
to national defense and USTRANSCOM strongly supports laws such as the Jones Act,
the Cargo Preference Acts of 1904 and 1954, and the Fly America Act that
contribute to the health of those industries and our accessibility to them.
Readiness: Antiterrorism and Force Protection (AT/FP) DTS transportation assets
and information systems are vulnerable to a variety of threats worldwide that
could diminish readiness in peace and war. The increased attempts by rogue
elements to acquire missile technology, as well as weapons of mass destruction,
threaten every element of the DTS. The 17 threats to transportation information
management systems grow as well, not just from potential enemies abroad but also
from attacks at home. Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) are the most
serious threat to our large, predictable, and slow flying air mobility aircraft.
These systems are lethal, affordable, easy to use, and difficult to track and
counter. According to a 1997 CIA Report, MANPADS have proliferated worldwide,
accounting for over 400 casualties in 27 incidents involving civil aircraft over
the previous 19 years. This proliferation has forced air mobility planners to
frequently select less than optimal mission routes due to lack of defensive
systems on airlift aircraft. Increasing numbers of potential adversaries have
developed, or are developing, sophisticated air defense systems. During ALLIED
FORCE, concerns about the Yugoslav air defense system, especially mobile
launchers and MANPADS, forced airlift planners to frequently use less efficient
routings. To counter such threats, AMC and the Air Force are developing a Large
Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system to protect mobility aircraft.
Our merchant ships that carry large volumes of high value DOD cargo during
contingencies are also vulnerable to attack-in port, at anchorage, and in
transit through disputed waterways and choke- points worldwide. Since they may
operate independent of naval escorts, we are reviewing options to ensure
protection from a growing number of asymmetric threats, including piracy and
terrorism. Due to the relatively small size of the crews aboard our merchant
ships, technology must be the force multiplier that gives them the capability to
detect, identify, and deter threats. MSC is developing a ship defensive system
that will use thermal imaging and intrusion detection devices to help protect
merchant shipping utilized by DOD. Chemical or biological weapon attacks on en
route or arrival airfields or seaports during deployments could significantly
reduce throughput, slowing the deployment of combat forces. Even though our
military aircraft and ships are prepared to operate in contaminated
environments, our CRAF and VISA commercial carriers are not obligated to proceed
into such areas. Given today s increased threat, we must provide reasonable
protection for our commercial crews who, despite all precautions, could be
exposed to contamination while supporting deployments. Additionally, AMC is
developing and testing a procedure designed to protect commercial aircraft and
personnel by reloading cargo from commercial aircraft onto military aircraft.
This procedure will allow AMC to keep commercial aircraft flying into protected
areas and to continue cargo 18 movement into high-risk areas. This will
hopefully ensure an uninterrupted flow of personnel and cargo into a theater.
Significant progress has been made in improving the protection posture of
merchant mariners. Five of six Maritime Union Schools have been certified to
teach chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) defense courses and three of
seven maritime academies are preparing to teach MSC-sponsored CBR defense
courses. Today, all FSSs, LMSRs, and prepositioning ships are CBR defense
equipped and MSC recently received funding to begin purchasing CBR defense
equipment for inactive RRF ships. As of October 2000, $987,000 has been
obligated to fully outfit 36 RRF vessels. Progress is also being made in
providing protection for CRAF aircrews. AMC stores and maintains protective
clothing and equipment for issue to civilian aircrews prior to their entry into
potentially hazardous areas. This equipment is currently stored in a central
location for inventory and replenishment reasons and stands ready for immediate
issue. Readiness: Strategic Brigade Airdrop Improved capability to mount a
strategic brigade airdrop (SBA) of Army airborne forces is an important AMC
readiness initiative. The C-17, as the C-141B s replacement for SBA, was
initially unable to meet the Army s 30 minute SBA standard. Today, after working
with the Army on both the C-17 s hardware and procedures associated with SBA,
AMC is now able to conduct an SBA within 28 minutes using a mix of C-17 and
C-141B aircraft. By the time our C-141Bs have retired, we will have installed a
Dual Row Airdrop System in the C-17 fleet, allowing our C-17s to drop twice as
much cargo per aircraft, thereby decreasing the number of aircraft required for
a C-17 only SBA and keeping formation pass time within the Army s time
standard...another AMC/Army good news story. Readiness: Joint Logistics Over The
Shore I continue to be concerned about the readiness of our Joint Logistics Over
The Shore (JLOTS) capabilities...primarily due to the decline in CINC-sponsored
JLOTS exercises. Many areas of the world, where we might be required to deploy,
lack the kind of fixed port infrastructure required to offload the large ships
that move the bulk of our land combat forces and sustainment cargo. JLOTS is a
joint Navy and Army operation that utilizes a variety of landing craft, floating
causeways and cranes, tug boats, and specially trained personnel to offload
ships at sea and move cargo ashore without benefit of accessible or suitable
ports. That said, to be able to implement this capability in a timely manner, it
must be exercised regularly and realistically. 19 Since 1998, USTRANSCOM has
been able to execute limited JLOTS exercises. Four of the last five scheduled
exercises were cancelled due to real-world operations, funding shortfalls,
operations tempo (optempo)/personnel tempo (perstempo) concerns, and host
nation/local political issues. Robust, realistic exercises must be conducted
regularly if a ready, reliable capability is to be sustained. JLOTS exercises
are time consuming and difficult to simulate. Personnel and equipment must be
put offshore, in the surf, and on the shore to maintain proficiency. The
planning between maritime units responsible for JLOTS and combatant command
staffs that employ JLOTS operations is invaluable. As the designated DOD
proponent for JLOTS, USTRANSCOM will continue to encourage the regional CINCs to
include JLOTS scenarios in their overall exercise programs, as well as to assist
them in programming and planning future such exercises. 20 THEME TWO:
MODERNIZATION USTRANSCOM s
modernization
efforts are focused on being able to fully meet this nation s strategic mobility
requirements, across the spectrum of operations, while simultaneously reducing
risk, ensuring future readiness, and providing a framework for meeting future
MRS-05 requirements. Continued acquisition of the C-17, upgrade of our C-5 and
KC-135 fleets, standardization and
modernization of our C-130
fleet, completion of existing sealift programs, improvements to the network of
bases which comprise our global transportation infrastructure, and upgrades to
the tremendous capability enhancers inherent in our transportation information
systems capability, are all key pillars of our comprehensive
modernization program. Additionally, we are looking well ahead
to identify, develop, and program projects for the inevitable future
recapitalization of aging air mobility and sealift systems, as well as our
global transportation infrastructure.
Modernization: Air
Mobility This country s number one Defense Transportation challenge (read:
shortfall ) is with its strategic airlift fleet. . .a significant gap in our
ability to meet the needs of DOD agencies (and specifically the needs of the
regional warfighting CINCs) around the globe...due to a simple shortage in the
number of airlifters available coupled with significant maintenance challenges
associated with our fleet of C-5 airlifters. Consequently, USTRANSCOM s number
one
modernization goal is to, once and for all, complete the
fix to our strategic airlift fleet. As suggested, one key to our airlift
modernization requirement is a significant reliability
enhancement and re-engining to AMC s C-5 fleet. The C-5 fleet represents 50
percent of this nation s organic airlift capability and carries approximately 50
percent of our wartime outsize and oversize cargo. There is no other aircraft in
the world that can do what the C-5 does for America. Unfortunately, over this
past year, MC rates for C-5s have averaged approximately 58 percent, well below
our wartime requirement. Only two projects are required to make the C-5 well :
an Avionics
Modernization Program (AMP) and a Reliability
Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP). The AMP is designed to replace all
the high failure and unsupportable avionics and flight control systems on the
entire 126 aircraft C-5 fleet and make the C-5 compatible with international
standards required for flight today and tomorrow s increasingly restrictive
Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) airspace. RERP will replace engines and
pylons, and upgrade aircraft skin and frame, landing gear, pressurization, and
auxiliary power units...the C-5 s most unreliable systems. A 21 number of
independent studies have shown that C-5
modernization efforts
could improve the C-5 MC rate to 75 percent (or higher) by 2014, as well as
extend the aircraft s service life past 2040, while simultaneously reducing our
cost of ownership by over $11 billion in Life Cycle Costs. At the request of the
OSD, AMC has completed an Outsize and Oversize Analysis of Alternatives, focused
on the increased MRS-05 airlift requirement, that defines needs, options, and
costs, and using those inputs, recommends solutions. To meet this nation s
peacetime and wartime outsize and oversize requirements, results of that
analysis recommend an operationally effective, best value mix of RERPed C-5s and
new purchase C-17 aircraft. We agree completely with that analysis. America
cannot afford to lose the C-5 fleet s organic capability or allow it to continue
to atrophy. Without it, simply put, the cost and risk associated with meeting
our wartime requirements would be unacceptable. In fact, it was USTRANSCOM s
inability to meet our warfighting oversize and outsize airlift cargo requirement
which led to the decision to significantly modernize the Air Force s strategic
airlift fleet through the acquisition of the C-17 aircraft. That said, even with
the currently approved C-17 multi-year procurement program, we will still fall
approximately 10 percent short of being able to meet even the our operational
war plans. Complicating matters even more, the ongoing retirement of our C-141
fleet (Active Duty by FY03 and Guard/Reserve by FY06) is rapidly putting Air
Mobility Command in a position, based on a simple shortage of airframes, where
with increasing frequency, it is losing the flexibility to reliably and
efficiently meet the country s peacetime requirements. Simply put, the
authorized C-17 fleet of 134 programmed aircraft cannot and will not offer the
same flexibility as did the 256 aircraft C-141B fleet it is replacing. Based on
the current program, USTRANSCOM simply will not have as many aircraft tomorrow
to meet its constantly increasing peacetime requirement, as it did yesterday.
Bottom line: this nation s number one DTS shortfall is its ailing and
numerically inadequate strategic airlift fleet. The simple solution to this
challenge is at hand: We must get on with modernizing our C-5 fleet (AMP and
RERP) and we must continue the C-17 acquisition program-up to the requirement
specified in the recently released Mobility Requirements Study - 2005 (MRS-05).
Without a doubt, fixing Strategic Airlift is our number one DTS imperative. The
ongoing
modernization of the Air Force s 546 KC- 135 air
refueling tankers involves two primary programs: The first, an ongoing avionics
modernization program called Pacer CRAG 22 (Compass, Radar, and
Global Positioning System) will be completed by 2003. Besides improving the
aircraft s operational capability, Pacer CRAG reduces required aircrew members
from four to three and significantly reduces maintenance costs. The second
program proposes modifying 45 KC-135s to a MultiPoint Air Refueling System
configuration, purchasing 33 MultiPoint kits by 2007. Unlike Air Force aircraft,
Navy, Marine and many allied aircraft require drogue nozzles for air refueling;
yet only our KC-10 tankers currently have the ability to perform boom refueling
and drogue refueling on the same sortie. KC-135s must currently land and be
re-configured with a drogue adapter system for drogue air refueling missions. A
MultiPoint capability on 33 aircraft will significantly increase our ability to
provide air refueling to our sister services, as well as to our allies. The
C- 130 fleet consists of 700 aircraft composed of 15 different
models and 20 variations. There are 514 basic combat delivery C- 130s and
USTRANSCOM owns 346 of them. Within USTRANSCOM, the
C- 130
serves two primary purposes: power projection and intratheater support of
deployed forces. There are several challenges facing the
C-130
fleet. The average active duty aircraft is 28 years old. Several of these
aircraft will reach the end of their service life as early as 2002, and older
onboard equipment across the remainder of the fleet is rapidly becoming obsolete
and cost prohibitive to maintain. Three years ago, an AMC Tiger Team studied the
problem and recommended replacing the oldest
C-130 models with
new
C-130Js and modifying those with the longest remaining
service life to a common C-130X configuration. The Air Force plans to purchase
approximately 150 combat delivery
C-130Js, retire an equivalent
number of C-130Es, and modify the remaining 397 C-130E/H model aircraft to the
standard X configuration. As with the KC-135 Pacer CRAG program described above,
the core of the C-130X program is a total cockpit Avionics
Modernization Program (AMP). While we re at it, AMP will
incorporate the requirements of the GATM environment, to include required
upgrades to communications, navigation, and surveillance systems. The
C-130 AMP is currently in source selection and the contract is
expected to be signed in spring 2001. USTRANSCOM s number one force protection
concern is with the vulnerability of its large, slow-flying aircraft to the
terrorist world s increasing shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile (MANPAD)
capability. Consequently, high on our priority list is fielding of a Large
Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system which can counter that threat.
The cost of this program, with an ultimate objective of equipping all at risk
mobility aircraft, is substantial, but we feel the cost of 23 losing a large
airlifter, an aircrew, or its critical passengers and/or cargo is significantly
greater. Currently, funding is approved in FY 2001 for research, development,
test and evaluation, and installation of LAIRCM on 20 aircraft (twelve C-17s and
eight C- 130s). Additional funding and options for additional installations will
be coordinated in future Air Force Budget submissions. To operate in the
increasingly crowded international airspace environment, AMC is committing more
than $6 billion to modernize the communications, navigation, and surveillance
systems of its air mobility fleet. As suggested, a modern and capable Global Air
Traffic Management (GATM) suite is essential for access to the optimal but
increasingly congested flight routes through which we are required to operate.
To prevent backlogs, air traffic controllers must put more aircraft in the same
airspace. In order to comply with international agreements related to safety,
traffic separation, and communication, and for AMC aircraft to continue to be
allowed access to this increasingly congested controlled airspace, we must keep
pace with the GATM requirement.
Modernization: Sealift Sealift
modernization is a good news story. Our sealift capability
meets three critical requirements: prepositioned equipment and supplies afloat
for immediate response, surge for rapid power projection, and sustainment for
support of protracted operations. Thanks to the commitments of the Navy and
MARAD, our sealift force- including surge, RRF, and prepositioning-is more
capable and ready today than it has ever been. By 2002, when our last LMSR is
delivered, we will, at long last, meet the sealift requirements specified in the
1994 MRS BURU. That said, we do know that the total sealift requirement grew
somewhat in the recently completed MRS-05 study. As well, our continuing concern
with the shortage of heavy lift vessels required to deliver smaller floating
craft has still not been resolved. We will be addressing solutions to these two
issues in the months to come. Of 19 LMSR ships originally programmed, 18 have
been launched and 15 delivered. The latest, named after Medal of Honor recipient
Private First Class Ralph E. Pomeroy, was launched 19 March 2001. Recently, a
decision was made to make modifications to an existing LMSR, to use it to
complete the Marine Corps Maritime Prepositioning Force-Enhanced (MPF-E)
program, and to build a 20th LMSR to complete the Army s prepositioning program.
This win-win solution further enhances our sealift forces by adding capacity to
the original MPF-E program and giving the Army a new LMSR to meet its
requirements. 24 MARAD continues to improve the RRF. Recently, it reconfigured
several existing ships to provide additional deck space and modified existing
spaces to increase overall capacity. As good as it is today, the current force
is aging and will, over time, become more costly and difficult to maintain.
Recapitalization of the sealift capacity provided by the RRF will eventually be
necessary and we must plan and program accordingly to avoid having sealift
capability decline again to its woeful pre-DESERT STORM condition. Therefore, I
wholeheartedly urge that we continue the funding, vigilance, and vision that
sustain current levels of sealift readiness and capacity for the long term.
Similarly, funding and vigilance to sustain the readiness of MSC s surge forces,
the FSSs and LMSRs, must remain a priority in order to preserve these vital
front-line deployment assets.
Modernization: Infrastructure and
Enablers Modern infrastructure, in CONUS and overseas, is critical to rapid
and/or timely and efficient strategic deployment. Our domestic infrastructure of
aerial ports, sea ports, railheads, and connecting highway and rail arteries are
the launch platforms we use for our strategic deployments. As a predominantly
CONUS-based force, these launch platforms mean more to us today than ever
before. Overseas, our en route air mobility bases and seaports remain key to
moving forces into a theater of operations. In the wake of the Cold War, our
CONUS and overseas mobility infrastructure has been stressed in two fundamental
ways: first, we have fewer overseas bases through which we can operate, and
second, an increased (and increasing) deployment optempo is stressing that fewer
number of bases in ways they have never been stressed before. Along with the
Services and regional CINCs, USTRANSCOM must continue to diligently monitor our
global mobility infrastructure and keep up with needed repairs and improvements.
For example, to sustain large airflows during peacetime and wartime, AMC
requires access to a network of air bases worldwide with sufficient fuel
systems, ramp space, and other servicing facilities to accommodate large numbers
of large aircraft. USEUCOM, USTRANSCOM, and the Joint Staff identified the need
for at least six primary en route air mobility bases in USEUCOM and, partnered
with DLA, have developed a comprehensive plan to improve the infrastructure at
those bases. Likewise, we are working with United States Pacific Command
(USPACOM) and DLA to identify and fix en route base shortfalls in the Pacific
region. In fact, DLA and Air Force budgets now support all identified en route
fuels projects. Significant construction began several years ago and continues
in FY 2002, but the infrastructure will 25 not get well (i.e. fully meet the
requirements laid out in our war plans) until the end of FY 2006, and then only
if all projects remain on track. Therefore, en route infrastructure investments
will continue to be among the highest priorities at USTRANSCOM for some time to
come. Over the past several years, Congress has been generous in providing
USTRANSCOM with a modest separate funding line labeled Mobility Enhancement
Funds (MEF). MEF infrastructure projects are, by definition, relatively low in
cost (less than $5M) but with an excellent cost-to-benefit ratio. MEF provides
funds for small, less glamorous, but high payback, improvements that are
otherwise overlooked by the Services. Since DESERT STORM, MEF has improved rail
links to ammunition depots and military installations and funded a host of
runway and ramp improvements in CONUS and around the world, contributing
significantly to an increasingly efficient and effective DTS...in peace and
crisis. An important milestone occurred last year when MTMC took over operation
of a portion of Concord Naval Weapons Station, California. Previously, the only
developed ammunition seaport for unrestricted operations was Sunny Point, North
Carolina. Very important to our war plans, further development of this key West
Coast ammunition port will significantly reduce shipment times to the Pacific
region and provide much needed redundancy for strategic munitions sustainment.
Another important enabler in need of
modernization is the Army
and Navy s JLOTS capability. The challenge? There is minimal JLOTS equipment
forward deployed and current equipment can only offload ships during Sea State
Two Conditions (relatively calm seas) or less. We believe the regional CINCs
will benefit significantly from a Sea State Three (SS3) capability, currently
under development, that in some regions would allow substantially more operating
time in rough seas. As suggested, the Army and Navy have programs in place that
should attain SS3 capability by 2005 if fully funded.
Modernization: Mobility Requirements MRS-05, mentioned earlier,
identified a mobility requirement baseline for the beginning of the new
millennium. A more comprehensive and realistic analysis than ever before
conducted, MRS-05 used the FY 2005 programmed force structure for all Services
as outlined by defense planners and Service program s. The scenarios explored in
the analysis also recognized the increased complexity involved in deploying
forces from our post-Cold War global engagement posture, as well as our need to
be able to respond to asymmetric attacks by enemy forces, including attacks
using chemical weapons. This comprehensive, two year, end-to-end analysis looked
at mobility 26 requirements within the CONUS, between theaters (inter-theater
mobility), and within individual theaters (intra-theater mobility). While
prepositioning, surge sealift, and CONUS transportation assets were found
largely satisfactory, some improvements are required in each area. That said,
the most dramatic finding in the new study was its validation of the consensus
belief across the DOD that we are operating today with a significant strategic
airlift shortfall. Of particular interest has been the JCS and CINC review of
the study. Without exception, their review supports an increased strategic
airlift requirement of 54.5 million ton-miles per day (MTM/D) to meet the
mandates of the National Military Strategy at a minimal moderate level of risk
(...versus the 49.7 MTM/D requirement goal outlined in the 1994 MRS-BURU study,
and our current approximately 45 MTM/D capability). While USTRANSCOM fully
supports the Chairman s recommendation of A minimum 54.5 MTM/D, it must be
understood that the range of options varied from 51.1 MTM/D up to 67 MTM/D. When
the assumptions are adjusted, the study shows a significantly higher demand for
organic (military) airlift assets and capability.
Modernization: Shaping the Future DTS Given the probability, at
some point in the near-future, that the CINCs will be tasked, once again, to
support an operation on the high-end of the spectrum of conflict, i.e. a high
intensity Small-Scale Contingency or a Major Theater War, the Services are
working hard to transform themselves to meet the challenges of the 21 st
Century. Responding to this reality, the Army has articulated a new vision for a
strategically responsive and dominant force designed to meet the full spectrum
of future military operations. The Army s Transformation will occur in three
phases, culminating in an Objective Force whose goal is to send a brigade
anywhere in the world in 96 hours, a division in 120 hours, and five divisions
in 30 days. Similarly, the Air Force has transitioned to an Expeditionary
Aerospace Force (EAF) structure to improve its responsiveness to the diverse
needs of our National Security Strategy and the warfighting CINCs. Organized
into smaller Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) packages, the EAF provides standard
sets of capabilities to the regional CINCs while simultaneously providing more
stable, predictable rotations for Air Force people. The Air Force goal is to be
able to deploy five AEF modules anywhere in the world in 15 days. As a
supporting command, USTRANSCOM s job is to be able to rapidly project these
transformed forces quickly and reliably 27 anywhere in the world. The future DTS
must be as flexible as technology will allow, complete with state-of-the-art
information systems, modernized transportation vehicles and support equipment,
and top- of-the-line trained personnel to operate the technology.
Simultaneously, USTRANSCOM s operational processes must be updated to take
advantage of the technologies and capabilities we are pursuing. It is obvious
that future strategic mobility aircraft and ships will need to move greater
amounts of cargo faster. Among the possible capabilities that we are studying
include: high speed sealift vessels that cross the oceans and offload cargo in a
fraction of today s time; large airships that carry several times the cargo of
today s airlifters; floating off- shore base modules that are moved to crisis
areas and assembled as multi-modal transshipment bases; super short take-off and
landing tactical transports that carry
C-130 size loads to
small, austere landing zones; and multi-mission strategic mobility aircraft with
a common airframe for airlift and aerial refueling (and perhaps even Command and
Control, Reconnaissance and Surveillance). USTRANSCOM, along with industry, is
actively exploring these and other future technologies and concepts for military
and commercial use. Given current lead times for design and development, it is
imperative that we stay abreast of industry initiatives, articulate militarily
useful requirements, and insert them early in the design of future systems.
Every regional CINC knows well that he cannot prosecute his mission without
adequate and reliable strategic lift. On 27 March 2001, Gen Tommy Franks, CINC,
US Central Command, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. His
comments are representative of what I hear from the other regional CINCs every
day: With few permanently stationed forces in the region, our vitally important
power projection capability depends upon strategic lift and robust land and
sea-based prepositioned assets. Our ability to deploy forces and equipment
quickly remains the linchpin for conducting rapid response to contingencies in
USCENTCOM's AOR. We must continue
modernization and maintenance
of our strategic deployment triad: airlift, sealift, and prepositioning. The
accelerated retirement of the C-141 fleet and the significant challenges of
maintaining readiness levels of the C-5 fleet make continued production of the
C-17, progress toward C-5
modernization, and support of the
CRAF program critical to meet major theater war deployment timelines. Our
requirements for strategic airlift combined with intratheater airlift are
addressed in MRS 05, which we support. 28 The procurement of Large, Medium Speed
Roll-on Roll-off (LMSR) ships is on track and will significantly enhance our
lift capability. Under the current procurement plan, we will meet our force and
sustainment deployment timelines with these LMSRs and Ready Reserve Fleet (RRF)
assets by the end of FY03. Prepositioning in the region, the third leg of the
strategic deployment triad, helps mitigate our time-distance dilemma, ensures
access, demonstrates our commitment to the region, and facilitates sustainment
of forces until the Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) are established.... 29
THEME THREE: PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS Our processes, the collection of rules and
procedures which govern our day-to-day business practices are under constant
revision as we seek to improve the speed and reliability of our customer
service. Our goal is a set of most effective and efficient processes that are
applicable across the entire spectrum of our activities, from interaction with
our commercial transportation providers to our warfighter CINC customers.
Whether the issue is information technology, supply-chain management, doctrine
or training, USTRANSCOM is constantly searching for the best business practices
available today. Process Improvements: Information Management DOD relies on
USTRANSCOM to do more than just provide multimodal planning and transportation
support to US forces worldwide. We also provide information systems critical to
managing the DTS. Our systems are robust, reliable, and available to our
customers worldwide. Transportation management today is not just about moving
people and cargo but also about the timely and accurate movement of shipment
information. The role of information technology (IT) at USTRANSCOM today has
moved beyond being a great enabler of our current procedures, to the point now
where it has become the catalyst for the introduction of new processes designed
to change future business practices. In order to maximize IT investments and
mission support, USTRANSCOM has designated a Chief Information Officer (CIO) to
conduct strategic planning and IT management. The USTRANSCOM Command, Control,
Communications, and Computer Systems (C4S) Director fills that function and
today wears two hats: CIO in peacetime and Director of C4S in wartime. The
USTRANSCOM CIO and I are working closely together to develop an enforceable
enterprise-level architecture. It is our vision that such an architecture,
properly constructed, will establish system, technical, and operational views of
the present and future that will set the policy and chart the development of
information technology solutions for as far out into the future as we can see.
The architecture documenting our current environment was delivered in 1998, and
in December of 2000 we completed our To-Be Enterprise Architecture. Now, we are
focused on establishing the foundation for managing our information technology
investments. The Global Transportation Network (GTN) is USTRANSCOM s pivotal
information system for the management of transportation information both today
and in the future. GTN is changing the way military organizations and our
commercial partners conduct their operations. In fact, USTRANSCOM is moving to
the next phase of GTN process improvement with the recent announcement of 30 our
GTN 21 initiative. With near real- time visibility of high priority materiel
moving through the DTS, customers can make operational decisions faster than
ever before. GTN is linked to a wide variety of transportation IT systems across
DOD and the commercial transportation sector, contributing significantly to
total in-transit visibility (ITV), i.e. the ability to track the identity,
status, and location of any passenger or piece of cargo moving in our system.
Today, commanders, planners and logisticians, whether they be on CINC- level
staffs or in tactical units on the battlefield, expect accessible and reliable
ITV. USTRANSCOM is dedicated to giving it to them- from end-to-end. Within AMC,
Mobility 2000 (M2K) is another 21 st century process improvement designed to
guarantee a near real-time digital data link connection between AMC aircraft and
our worldwide command and control centers, to include Federal Aviation
Administration en route air traffic control centers. M2K will significantly
improve both our capabilities and our safety, linking AMC not only to our
aircraft, but also to this country s global network of air traffic control
systems, allowing totally integrated flight management. We will begin M2K
modification of our aircraft in FY 2002 but, unfortunately, based on current
funding availability, will not be able to complete the program until FY 2014.
Process Improvements: The Deployment Process USTRANSCOM is also pursuing a
number of initiatives, many in partnership with United States Joint Forces
Command, to improve the deployment process. One of the most far-reaching
projects currently underway is orchestration of the several sub- initiatives
associated with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's 72-hour standard for
generation of Time-Phased Force and Deployment Data (TPFDD) required for any
sizable deployment of DOD forces. The TPFDD is basically a list and schedule of
deploying units and all their deploying equipment and is typically developed
jointly by the combatant commander, the Services, and USTRANSCOM. In the past,
TPFDDs have taken weeks to develop and implement. Our improvement initiatives
include four key areas for improvement, which we believe, collectively, will
decrease the time required to develop the TPFDD down to the Chairman s desired
standard. Process Improvements: Leading DOD s Distribution Revolution Currently
no single DOD organization is tasked with measuring the overall effectiveness,
design, or optimization of DOD s global distribution/supply chain management
system. As a partial remedy to this disconnect, in February 2000 the Defense 31
Logistics Agency (DLA) and USTRANSCOM partnered to lead a revolution in DOD s
supply and transportation systems. The primary goal of our revolution has been
to create a warfighter-based, value-added, logistics capability which will allow
DOD to more rapidly, effectively and efficiently fulfill its mandate under the
National Military Strategy. The key component of our partnership is the
Strategic Distribution Management Initiative (SDMI), an initiative formed to
provide senior DOD leaders with logistics process improvement recommendations
that balance four major customer focus areas: service, cost, readiness, and
sustainability. SDMI cutting edge efforts analyze and compare current
distribution requirements, patterns, processes, and systems against an ideal
to-be integrated distribution supply chain. The initiative is designed to
optimize support to the warfighter by analyzing material stockage through
warehousing, storage, distribution, and strategic transportation practices and
linking them to each regional CINC s joint theater distribution system. In the
short time since we set off on this journey, SDMI has conducted in- depth
analyses of the air and surface distribution channels, performed modeling and
simulation diagnostics, and started developing processes and digital tools that
imbed velocity in our customer support. SDMI s initial focus is on four major
areas: stock management, surface distribution, air distribution, and financial
processes. A flag officer heads each effort in consultation with OSD, the Joint
Staff and military service representatives. Process Improvements: Command
Streamlining USTRANSCOM has fully embraced a series of organizational
initiatives designed to streamline our operations and increase effectiveness. A
prime example of these changes is taking place within our Army component,
Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC). MTMC has adjusted portions of its
headquarters staff and shifted some planning and operational responsibilities to
its subordinate commands while simultaneously centralizing personnel, logistics,
administration, resource management, passenger, and personal property functions
at their headquarters in order to keep field elements focused on force
projection and sustainment. MTMC has also standardized the organization and size
of its battalions and groups making them more flexible and responsive and better
able to project Deployment Support Teams worldwide, thereby making MTMC forces
more flexible and responsive. These centralization and standardization changes
have produced impressive results. MTMC is now operating with a five percent
smaller staff and has realized a $57.6 million cost avoidance over the last
fiscal year. 32 Future initiatives at MTMC will pursue contracting for the
management of container and rail assets, and address options for better
integration of operational functions up and down the chain of command, as well
as across commands. Through all of this, USTRANSCOM and MTMC will continue to
work with our commercial partners to identify, evaluate and, where appropriate,
pursue better business practices to improve our support to our customers.
Process Improvements: Agile Transportation for the 21 st Century With one eye
always on the future, USTRANSCOM is initiating an Advanced Concept Technology
Demonstration that will concentrate exclusively on enhancing the DTS. As the
single manager for the DTS, USTRANSCOM requires system-wide visibility of all
transportation assets and intermodal resources to optimize the employment of its
lift capabilities in response to movement requirements. Agile Transportation
2000 (AT 2000) will enable USTRANSCOM to better determine transportation
feasibility, estimate costs, project throughput capability, foresee potential
choke points, and make modal and intermodal decisions. AT 2000 s operational
objectives include: -Development of decision support tools to better manage the
DTS in peacetime and in crisis surge modes -Cost Avoidance for DTS services for
CINCs and services -Improvements in the quality of service for component
customers Finally, a major goal of Agile Transportation for the 21 st Century is
to develop a near real-time capability to provide a transportation plan to a
supported CINC within 4 hours of USTRANSCOM receiving the CINC s TPFDD. Process
Improvements: Business Practices The longstanding partnerships between
USTRANSCOM and commercial industry afford a unique opportunity to infuse best
business practices of the civilian sector into the DTS. Recognizing this
opportunity, the Secretary of Defense designated USTRANSCOM as DOD s first
Reinvention CINC. Since that time, USTRANSCOM has played a key role in the
development of reinvention proposals that will change the way DOD does business
in the areas of business finance, workforce and organizational shaping, and
process streamlining. For example, USTRANSCOM is seeking: - Improved financial
controls-real-time visibility of our financial status and improved flexibility
in directing funds towards emerging opportunities. 33 -Improved organizational
controls-the ability to shape our workforce and organizational structure in
response to changing market conditions. -Improved process controls-the ability
to rapidly evolve our business rules, information processes, and contracting
decisions for optimal efficiency and effectiveness. Process Improvements:
Management Reform Memorandum #15 A significant change is taking place in the way
USTRANSCOM conducts its day-to-day business with its customers and vendors.
Government-unique documents are going out the window. In their place are
commercial forms and streamlined automation of our business practices.
Improvements to USTRANSCOM s business processes have been underway for some
time. That said, our efforts have been elevated to the next level with our
implementation of Management Reform Memorandum #15 (MRM-15) - Reengineering
Defense Transportation Documentation and Financial Processes. MRM-15 memorandum,
signed July 7, 1997, by Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre, set in motion a
revolution in business practices for DOD transportation services. USTRANSCOM is
the functional manager for MRM-15, which is virtually overhauling our defense
transportation and payment processes. The changes we are making streamline
procedures, reduce paperwork, and eliminate the need for government-unique
payment centers dedicated to paying transportation services. A major initiative
under MRM-15 eliminates government-unique documentation, to include freight
Government Bills of Lading and military manifests for commercial sealift
movement. Currently, the DOD is using US Bank's PowerTrack service, an online
payment and transaction tracking system, basically reducing the payment cycle to
carriers from an average of 60 days to 3 days. This new service is now used
almost exclusively for worldwide express movements and sealift intermodal
container service, as well as for commercial transportation payment of freight
movements within the US. Additionally, PowerTrack's single-source information
center provides instant access to shipment data for both carriers and shippers.
Furthermore, it automates reconciliation of freight bills and invoices, and
guarantees timely payments. A collateral benefit is that PowerTrack provides a
strong information component which will serve as an analytical tool to
accelerate our move into true distribution management for the entire DTS.
Process Improvements: Personal Property Enhancements Our effort to improve the
household goods (HHGs) movement process is a critical quality of life issue for
DOD members. The current program, unchanged for 35 years, has drifted far from
the quality move our service members and their families deserve. To remedy this
unsatisfactory situation, and based on congressional language in the FY 1996
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), three different, but related, pilot
programs are currently ongoing. All three pilot programs have proven themselves
to be significant improvements over the current program. Unfortunately, since
the onset of these initiatives, because they are still only pilot programs, only
a small number of DOD members have experienced the program improvements our test
group has enjoyed. At best we have touched only an estimated 46,000 of the
613,000 households we move each year. Consequently, less than 10 percent of our
shipments have received any of the benefits a complete HHGs reengineering will
bring. That still leaves 567,000 shipments per year unaffected by any real
systemic improvement. Left to its scheduled course, our HHG reengineering
efforts will not touch the remainder of these DOD families for several more
years. We believe DOD can realize improvements much sooner than planned by
incorporating those successful pilot features which have already proven
successful across all three initiatives into the current program now. It is
USTRANSCOM s recommendation, for the good of DOD personnel worldwide, that we
incorporate these core cross-pilot initiatives now versus waiting until the
pilots are complete and the final report rendered. To bring these pilot
successes into the current program, we have established a task force team,
comprised of industry representatives and DOD personnel, to review and
coordinate the proposed changes. As a reminder, our proposal to begin
integrating our most successful pilot features into the current program now is
not intended to replace or stop the pilots, but merely to capitalize on their
successes early-with the real winner being our military families around the
world. As demonstrated in the ongoing pilots, there is additional cost
associated with giving our Service members the kind of move they deserve. Today,
our Service members not only receive a substandard move, they also
simultaneously incur a host of out-of- pocket expenses not covered by their
moving allowances. That said, we are aware that the military services have not
programmed the necessary funds near term for the increased costs required to fix
this unsatisfactory situation. Therefore, to lead turn this, USTRANSCOM has
begun soliciting the support of senior leaders in DOD, the Administration, and
Congress to begin 35 identifying funds now, so that we can start including these
core improvements in our FY 2002 move program. In my view, we cannot start too
soon to rectify our deplorable HHGs movement system. Process Improvements:
Global Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) Contract Another critical quality of life
issue for military personnel assigned overseas is the movement of POVs to new
duty stations. In September 1998, MTMC awarded a 2-year contract with three 1-
year options to handle the approximately 75,000 vehicles per year that DOD
ships. Now in its first option year, the program is a real success story.
Customer satisfaction rates are up from 77 percent to 99 percent and claims
ratios have decreased from 11 percent of shipments to 5 percent. Furthermore,
because all CONUS vehicle processing centers are contractor-owned and operated,
MTMC has realized outsourcing cost savings through the closure of 12
government-owned vehicle processing centers and the reduction of 39 positions.
The contractor assumes full movement responsibility and full claims
responsibility up to $20,000 per vehicle except during the ocean portion of the
shipment. Any responsibility for ocean damage is with the ocean carriers in
accordance with the separate contract with them. With this new POV shipment
program, along with enhanced intransit visibility, DOD has simultaneously
realized a strengthened partnership with ocean carriers, supported our VISA
participants and VISA program goals, and promoted financial stability for our
partner ocean carriers. The program has been so successful that the projected
cost of the two-year contract fell from the original $394M to $350M, a savings
of $44M. Rates per POV fell $70 for the three option years, providing savings in
those years of $5M per year and $15M overall. Effective the second quarter of FY
2001, the contractor assumed responsibility for vehicle cleaning and agriculture
inspections at no cost to the government (saving an additional $1.5M), developed
a new computer system to provide total end-to-end visibility of POVs in shipment
and absorbed the $3M in costs for that system. Process Improvements: Aeromedical
Evacuation (AE) System It has been recognized that today s AE system was built
for a world that no longer exists. With the reduction in DOD s overseas medical
footprint since the end of the Cold War, we have seen an increased requirement
for a more rapid, responsive AE system. Last year, an AE Tiger Team formed by
Air Mobility Command reviewed the existing system, end-to-end, and proposed a
more responsive, flexible, and capable system adaptable to missions across the
spectrum of operations. The goal is to build 36 a single, integrated,
requirements-based AE system that operates as efficiently in peacetime as it is
designed to operate in war. THEME FOUR: PEOPLE It should go without saying that
the real strength of USTRANSCOM s readiness and warfighting capability lies in
her exceptional men and women. It is only through their frequently extraordinary
efforts that we are able to provide and maintain a ready, dependable
DTS...around the world, every day. In these times of increased operations tempo,
we must remain sensitive to the quality of life of our Service members. Meeting
their needs not only leads to better readiness and higher retention, it is
simply the right thing to do. That said, I am not encouraged with the trends
associated with retention of our highly-trained aircrews. To be blunt: pilot
retention is at historic lows...a condition which stretches USTRANSCOM s ability
to maintain readiness. I am also concerned by significant losses of experienced
enlisted aircrew members. The percentage of aviators accepting increased
retention bonuses rose slightly this past year but still falls below the level
we require to sustain the force. Just as troubling, second-term reenlistment
rates, my primary indicator of enlisted retention, are dropping significantly
among several critical support fields, and it appears that monetary incentives
alone are not going to solve the problem. In addition to inadequate
compensation, workload is the other factor at the root of our retention
problems. Aircrews and support personnel spend too much time away from home or
work too hard while they are at home compensating for deployed personnel and
training time lost to previous deployments. Today, as I said earlier, the
peacetime workload is often as heavy for active duty aircrews and support
personnel as during wartime. The situation becomes even more tenuous for our
guardsmen and reservists who must balance high peacetime operations tempo
demands with the stresses of their civilian careers. Although we have taken some
steps to mitigate the effects of the unprecedented peacetime operations tempo,
now we need to take the next step and increase support manning and
aircrew-to-aircraft ratios to the levels required in this new environment in
which we are operating. With our frequent wartime optempo going head-to-head
with manning levels and ratios established in the Cold War, we are wearing our
people out and as a consequence, many who would prefer to stay are leaving for
more stable and predictable civilian careers. In my view, it is more
cost-effective to increase manning than to have to continually prematurely
replace experienced personnel...and I suggest that it is high time we got on
with fixing the problem. Another USTRANSCOM area of concern is the availability
of trained and qualified merchant mariners. The goal here is to ensure a trained
and efficient US merchant marine workforce sufficient to support domestic and
international waterborne commerce as well as to guarantee national emergency and
wartime sealift and auxiliary manning needs. MARAD supports the maintenance of a
viable US merchant mariner pool through the MSP, enforcement of cabotage laws,
enforcement of government cargo preference requirements, and maritime training
and education. DTS prepositioned, surge, and sustainment sealift are all
dependent on this pool of qualified US merchant mariners. While no significant
problems are apparent in manning the surge fleet through FY03, the projected
speed of mobilization, combined with the projected length of future conflict,
portends significant shortages. Current drags on the pool of merchant mariners
include the relative unattractiveness of the career due to salaries, lifestyle,
and work environment. Limited new vessel construction coupled with the reduction
in crew size required on our newer ships is aggravating the situation. Through
MSC, USTRANSCOM is partnering with maritime labor organizations, the US Coast
Guard (USCG), and MARAD to refine a mariner tracking system and to develop
contingency sealift crewing processes and mechanisms. This partnership will look
at methods of increasing the availability of both licensed and unlicensed
mariners while simultaneously continuing to urge the Administration and Congress
to support those programs that serve to maintain this critical personnel
resource pool into the future. Over the past two years, there have been
significant enhancements in the military health system, making the TRICARE
benefit more accessible to our entire military family-both to our active duty
members and their families, as well as to our retirees of all ages. We are
grateful to Congress for the hallmark provisions of the FY 2001 NDAA,
which-among other things-expanded the military healthcare benefit for active
duty members and their families, returned military healthcare to our Medal of
Honor recipients, and perhaps, most significantly, returned the promise of
healthcare for life to our senior patriots (over age 65), as well as extending
to them the comprehensive pharmacy benefit they so richly deserve. Over the past
several years, Service members have voiced apprehension that benefits promised
to them upon entering the military have changed or may change in the future.
They wondered if the quality health care promised to them and their families
would be there when they need it. They watched to see how we kept faith with
retirees and placed significant weight on this factor when making their career
decisions. I am hopeful that this year s 39 landmark legislation will reaffirm
for active duty members our nation s commitment to truly take care of them and
their families if they choose a career with us. Indeed, if we can regain and
retain the troops confidence, this legislation can be a tremendous retention
tool. That said, even with the great strides that have been made at the
legislative and operational levels in improving our military healthcare program,
many challenges remain. Although patient satisfaction with TRICARE has steadily
increased over the last several years, issues surrounding access, claims
processing, and other bureaucratic hassles associated with the program are still
major dissatisfiers among our beneficiaries. Recent programmatic and legislative
changes to the program, such as the FY00 NDAA introduction of Beneficiary
Counselors and Assistance Coordinators, designed to resolve user concerns on the
spot, provide patients with significantly improved advocacy in our military
treatment facilities. That said, much remains to be done, and the men and women
of the military health system are working hard to implement the additional
reforms needed to keep our promise of quality healthcare delivery for the entire
military family. TRICARE aside, Congressional support for our people extends
well beyond the health care arena. For example, pay and benefits, to include
adequate housing and/or housing allowances, remain major concerns as we strive
to adequately care for the men and women who daily sacrifice so much for our
nation. I am hopeful that last year s landmark legislation will translate into a
reaffirmation of Congress and the Administration s commitment to take care of
our members and their families as they, in like manner, commit to a career of
service to our country. This legislation should be another significant retention
tool and, likewise, should form the basis for all necessary follow-on quality of
life initiatives. I can not emphasize strongly enough how important it is that
we do whatever is necessary today to win the battle for the hearts and souls of
our very talented men and women and their families. The risk-in continued loss
of combat capability and readiness to execute the national military strategy
today and in the future-is too great to accept. FINAL THOUGHTS Since President
Reagan ordered the establishment of USTRANSCOM on 18 April 1987, the command has
evolved into a truly unique joint organization with a customer focus second to
none. On any given day, the USTRANSCOM team can be found providing critical
strategic transportation to a host of US and international agencies, from our
regional CINCs to the myriad of other US government agencies with global
interests. No matter what the mission assigned, the customers supported, or the
major world event to which America has chosen to respond, the connection I would
have you make - and remember for all future events - is that if there is a US
response, that response is borne on the shoulders of the men and women who
operate the air, land, and sea components of USTRANSCOM. There are not many
headlines for what they do. In fact, we call them this country s quiet heroes.
These dedicated transportation warriors stand ready every day to professionally
execute their global mobility mission-and in so doing, to successfully enable
our national military strategy. While ready to perform any mission assigned
today, we remain focused on, and committed to, preparing for the future.
Accordingly, our focus is on the readiness of our people, our processes, our
systems, our infrastructure, and our partnerships with industry. I am extremely
proud of today s USTRANSCOM Total Force Team of civilians, active duty, Guard,
Reserve, and industry partners. It is an honor for me to lead the highly
professional members of USTRANSCOM and its Service Components who comprise our
national Defense Transportation team. I look forward to the future and remain
confident that USTRANSCOM will continue to provide the most effective and
responsive strategic mobility capability in the world.
LOAD-DATE: April 30, 2001, Monday