United States Strategic Sealift and the National Military Strategy
Abstract
Today's U.S. National Military Strategy is shifting its focus away from its long standing history of containing the Soviet threat through a concept of forward deployment of U.S. forces, with reinforcing forces being drawn from the Continental United States (CONUS). Instead of forward stationing, the' United States is modifying its strategy to one that centers around responding to crises worldwide through power projection, primarily with major land and air forces based in CONUS. With the advent of the CONUS-based strategy, the Armed Forces' capability to project its forces rapidly by means of sealift has become even more critical. Since the Spanish-American War, the U.S. has depended on a strong Merchant Marine fleet to deploy forces to the theater of operations. Unfortunately, as America turns to its new CONUS-based strategy and sealift gains in importance, its merchant marine industry is seriously deteriorating. This paper examines the status of the America's sealift assets, both commercial and strategic reserves, in light of their role in supporting our Armed Forces. Additionally, it considers how these assets directly affect the National Command Authority's ability to execute its military strategy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 05, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA251196
Entities
People
- Lawrence M. Curtin
Organizations
- United States Army War College