1997 Annual Defense Report Table of Contents - Air Force Magazine

carriers responding to crises. These additional aircraft and crews would increase the striking power of the
carriers during the critical early stages of a conflict.
STRATEGIC MOBILITY ENHANCEMENTS
An essential element to being able to prevail in even one major regional conflict, much less two, is
strategic lift capability. U.S. lift assets are the foundation of the force's capability to project combat power
around the globe. The first priority in the opening phase of a war would be to get U.S. forces to the fight
in a timely manner. In many scenarios, U.S. forces would have no more than two weeks to get to the fight
if they are to support an effective defense. This places a high premium on forward stationed and deployed
forces, forces whose main equipment items can be prepositioned in or near a theater of potential conflict,
and forces that can deploy from their home bases very rapidly and deliver effective combat power.
Lift assets are also used in nearly every humanitarian and peace operation undertaken by U.S. forces.
These unique lift capabilities will continue to make U.S. participation in many multilateral operations a
key to their success. DoD is making substantial enhancements to U.S. strategic mobility -- most of which
were first identified in the 1992 Mobility Requirements Study (MRS) and validated in the 1995 MRS
Bottom-Up Review Update (BURU). These steps will better posture selected forces for early deployment
to potential conflicts.
Strategic Airlift
Given current Operating Tempo, DoD has programmed sufficient funds to ensure that its military air
mobility fleet (C-141s, C-5s, C-17s, KC-135s, and KC-10s) remains capable of deploying and supporting
forces as required. The Department plans to continue increasing U.S. strategic airlift capability, replacing
its aging C-141 fleet with C-17s. The C-17 program is executing a seven year procurement for a total of
120 aircraft by 2003 (last C-17 delivered by 2004). Twenty-nine C-17s have been delivered as of January
1997.
Strategic Sealift and Surface Transportation
DoD is also expanding and modernizing its sealift forces. In 1996, two roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ships
were added to the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), increasing to 31 the number of vessels acquired for this
fleet in recent years. Eleven large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off (LMSR) ships also will enter the surge
sealift force in coming years. In order to meet the MRS and MRS BURU recommendation of 36 total
RRF RO/ROs, five additional ships (or equivalent capacity) are required. These ships will provide surge
capacity for transporting equipment and supplies to distant theaters. DoD continues to maintain a viable
Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) capability. JLOTS is the employment of a multiservice force to
load and unload ships in the absence of fixed port facilities or in cases where the fixed port is damaged or
inadequate.
Finally, DoD is funding various measures to improve the flow of personnel, equipment, and supplies from
their locations in the United States to the ports from which they will embark. Some of these
improvements include expanding rail and airheads at contingency force installations, constructing a
containerized ammunition facility on the West Coast, and purchasing and prepositioning over 1,000
railcars for heavy/oversized cargoes.
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