Prioritization of Strategic Airlift Capability: Is it Effective?

This is a AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A668034. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: The Department of Defense (DoD) possesses a single strategic airlift fleet to meet the airlift requirements of the entire DoD. The operation of this fleet is entrusted to the Air Mobility Command (AMC), and its effective operation is supposed to be enabled by the movement priorities established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Since the end of the Cold War, AMC has faced transportation requirements growing in both number and urgency due to a more dynamic global environment. The ability of the DoD movement priority system to effectively apportion limited strategic airlift assets has been called into question, especially during times of strain such as the recent operations in Kosovo. This paper looks at quantitative and qualitative data to answer the question "does the current priority system work?" Both sets of data triangulate towards a similar conclusion: the prioritization system often leaves lower priority requirements with periods of no service rather than reduced service. This decreases the overall readiness of U.S. forces and works against the Joint Vision 2020 concepts of dominant maneuver and focused logistics. This research indicates an entirely new prioritization system needs to be developed. The new system must be able to provide reliable support to critical nonvolatile requirements and flexible support to volatile requirements. Doctrine for managing the strategic airlift fleet also needs to be re-engineered to more effectively employ the organic airlift fleet and commercial contract carriers.