Copyright 2001 Federal News Service, Inc. Federal News Service
April 26, 2001, Thursday
SECTION: PREPARED TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 15604 words
HEADLINE:
PREPARED STATEMENT OF GENERAL CHARLES T. ROBERTSON, JR. USAF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND
BEFORE THE
SENATE ARMED SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEAPOWER
SUBJECT - STRATEGIC AIRLIFT AND SEALIFT IMPERATIVES FOR THE 21ST
CENTURY
APRIL 26, 2001
BODY: 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.
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
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 "oneplane-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
USTRANSC0M'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 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, HTMC
operated at two US seaports and eight European seaports in support of the
deployment and onward movement of unit equipment, supplies, and ammunition. As
NATO air strikes began against Serbia, HTMC 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 839th Transportation Battalion, Livorno, Italy and unloaded in
Durres by MTMC's 840th 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 7th and 11th.
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 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. 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 nineperson 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.
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-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.C'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 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 selfsustaining on arrival as our active units. Second, we
revalidated our long held concern that AMC has a significant KC135
crew-to-aircraft ratio shortfall. The current ratios of 1.36:1 and 1.27:1 (AMC
and Mobility Force 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 fortyyear 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 MTWStype operation. Additionally,
a properly sized and structured Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA)
program is essential to providing timely access to commercial shipping.
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). HSC'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.C 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.
On the Iberian Peninsula, the Air Force left
Torreion 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 CRAG 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 CP=AF 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.
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 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 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.
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.
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 reengining 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 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 MRS05 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.erica 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 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 (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 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. C17s 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 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 frontline 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 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
raillinks 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
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 21st 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 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 multimodal 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.
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 1st 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.
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 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 21st 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
TimePhased 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 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.
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 21st 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 21st 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 long-standing
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. -- 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 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 P0V 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 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 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.