Civil Reserve Air Fleet: Looking from Desert Storm to The Future
Abstract
Based on American experience dealing with both the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War, it became apparent that the Department of Defense did not possess enough organic airlift capability to meet the full range of possible contingency needs facing the nation. In 1951 President Truman signed Executive Order 10219 bringing into being the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF). The voluntary CRAF program effectively marshals the full range of national airlift assets, civilian and military, to meet national contingency needs. Organized in three stages, CRAF augments the organic military airlift assets of the Military Airlift Command with over 500 commercial airliners drawn from U.S. industry. Although the CRAF program became a cornerstone of the nation's strategic mobility programs, it remained untested until 17 August 1990 when it was activated to support OPERATION DESERT SHIELD and OPERATION DESERT STORM. In its first activation, CRAF flew over 5,400 missions. With its first activation, predictably, some problems did surface, but the concept proved viable. This study reviews the mechanics of the program, some of the lessons learned from the initial activation, and provides recommendations for the future.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA251259
Entities
People
- Thomas J. Maxson
- William H. Sessoms
Organizations
- United States Army War College