|
response time.
CRAF contributes about one-half of the U.S. Transportation Command's wartime airlift capability.
"As opposed to investing in a large government fleet, CRAF allows us to work contractually with commercial airlines to get
the job done," said Dave Dias, chief of air mobility analysis. "During wartime, we expect approximately 93 percent of
passengers and 40 percent of bulk cargo to go by CRAF as well as nearly all of our international patient movements."
This outsourcing by the U.S. military, according to CRAF transportation specialist Michael Spehar, greatly expands
capabilities, speed and efficiency of transport, whether it is during peacetime or wartime.
"We utilize a total of 35 (commercial airline) carriers and more than 900 aircraft.
"The CRAF gives us access to 33 (commercial airline) carriers and more than 900 aircraft," Spehar said.
CRAF movement occurs during one or more of three stages. Stage I is for minor regional crises; Stage II would be used for
major regional contingencies; and Stage III would be used for periods of national mobilization. With approval from the
Secretary of Defense, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command can activate all three stages of CRAF if necessary.
"A partial Stage II has only been activated once in 40 years," Spehar said, "and that was during Operation Desert
Shield/Desert Storm."
Stage III has not yet been activated.
Of all the civil carrier contracts, the International Airlift Services contract is the largest.
In fiscal year 2001, the contract totaled approximately $700 million, according to U.S. Navy commander Burt Quintanilla.
Commercial carriers, he said, also donate use of their crafts to the military, beyond any paid contractual arrangements.
"Since Sept. 11, 2001, we've spent (an additional) $1.4 billion with the commercial airline industry in the fight against
terrorism," Quintanilla said. "Putting that figure in perspective, the U.S. typically spends $600 million to $700 million
annually. This is strategic partnership at its best."
Particularly during an era of commercial airline bankruptcies, the CRAF is a major customer that is boosting the air
industry, Spehar said.
"We pay the commercial airlines in exactly the same fashion during wartime as we do during peacetime," he said. "It's a
standard, contracted rate for passengers and cargo. It's fair to them, and it's fair to us. And it's a partnership that we
continue to nurture every day."
|
In addition to chartered commercial flights that transport military personnel and supplies, the CRAF agreement includes are
aeromedical CRAF agreements for flying military personnel.
Other CRAF partnerships include those with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Spehar said the FAA provides war risk insurance for CRAF pilots carriers operating for the Department of Defense.
This insurance provides coverage for crewmembers, as well as the hulls.
In addition to military partnerships with the commercial airlines industry, the military also teams with its commercial
counterparts in the maritime industry.
The Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement or VISA is an initiative that provides assured access to commercial shipping
during wartime and peacetime.
Jointly sponsored by the Maritime Administration and USTRANSCOM, VISA uses commercial sea vessels to transport both
personnel and supplies for use in combat and in humanitarian relief.
In much the same way that CRAF provides access to commercial aircrews, infrastructure and aircraft, VISA is a giant
customer for merchant mariners.
The program that guarantees access to global intermodal systems through and the U.S.-flagged ocean shipping industry.
The Secretary of Defense created the VISA in January 1997 as an alternate to the existing Sealift Readiness Program.
"Both the VISA and the CRAF play to the strengths of the American transportation industry," said Quintanilla, a Sealift
team chief.
The VISA is time-driven rather than accessed and volume-driven.
"In Stage I, we typically have approximately 15 percent intermodal capacity," Quintanilla said. " In Stage II, that capacity
is about 40 percent, and it's roughly 50 percent in Stage III. Our desire is to piggyback on commercial shipping companies'
existing systems. By doing that, the military is utilizing shipping firms' staffs and overhead, keeping costs down and
efficiency up."
Joint planning between USTRANSCOM and the shipping industry, he said, reduces the effects of market disruption through
carrier coordination agreements, much like the coordination between USTRANSCOM and the Civil Reserve Air Fleet.
editor/publisher: Kerry Smith
email: ksmith@ibjonline.com
|
