Strategic Airlift Support for U.S. Forces Deployment to Operation DESERT SHIELD.
Abstract
The logistics accomplishments of the strategic airlift support for Operation DESERT SHIELD set historical records. The launch from a standing start to full mobilization of the military airlift fleet was the most rapid ever conducted by the Military Airlift Command (MAC). Except for a brief lull during the first week in November 1990, the MAC team delivered the equivalent of the Berlin Airlift every five weeks. The official activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) was another historical first. The wide-body jumbo jets of the commercial air carriers were well suited to move massive amounts of cargo and huge numbers of combat troops in minimum time. In addition to the first use of the CRAF, the first large scale mobilization of the Selected and Ready Reserve forces since World War 11 brought over one fourth million citizen soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines, and Coast Guard into the active service of our nation. The airlift effort was so intense over such an extended period of time that some limiting factors soon became apparent. Enroute support facilities over-flowed with deployed aircrews and support personnel. The peacetime C-5 aircrew ratio of three crews per airplane could not stay up with the high rate of daily flying time logged by the airframes. MAC was forced to extend almost every aircrew duty limitation to stretch those resources.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADB165868
Entities
People
- William R. Tefteller
Organizations
- Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy