Americas Defense Meltdown - IT Acquisition Advisory Council

CHAPTER 8air mobility for a new administrationJames P. StevensonSpecial thanks to Thomas Christie whose technical expertise and critiques were extremelyvaluable in making this chapter possible.To implement U.S. National Military Strategy (NMS), the United States relies heavilyon moving personnel, equipment and supplies by air. Transport Command (US-TRANSCOM) operationally oversees transportation, sustainment and distributionof personnel, equipment and supplies whether it be air, sea or land. USTRANSCOMconsists of three components: 1) U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC); 2)U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC); 3) U.S. Army’s Surface Deploymentand Distribution Command (SDDC). Special Operations Air or Specialized Airpowerconsists of airpower provided by Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)as part of Special Operations Command (SOCOM). 1 AMC is one of the Air Force’s 10Major Commands (MAJCOMs). AMC’s responsibilities include air refueling, specialmissions, airlift and aeromedical evacuation for all U.S. troops.Airlift is segmented into tactical and strategic airlift. Tactical airlift is the airlift ina particular area or theater of operation – it has much shorter distances than strategicairlift, and usually involves smaller and less expensive aircraft. Strategic airlift movesbetween continents or across theaters. It usually involves larger and more expensiveaircraft. In-flight air refueling extends the range of all air assets.Important examples of air mobility include the Berlin Airlift (1948-49), the YomKippur war (1973), operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (1990-1991), andOperation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan (2001). In June of 1948, as theSoviets blocked land routes to Berlin, the airlift became center stage and literally keptapproximately two million Berliners from starvation. At the geopolitical level, theBerlin Airlift maintained the strategic status quo and averted war. 2 In the subsequentexamples, in-flight air refueling was essential, with specialized airpower vital in thefinal two examples. Air mobility is not just important in the traditional “hard power”and “soft power” instances, but is increasingly important in “smart power” – usingboth hard and soft power in an integrated way. 3 One example of “smart power” isBuilding Partnership Capacity (BPC). BPC is defined as “Targeted efforts to improvethe collected capabilities and performance of the Department of Defense and itspartners.” 4 In practical terms, this means we train and empower other countries to dosimilar military operations (e.g., tactical airlift). BPC requires that the United States