Air Transportation: Elements of a Changing Environment and What It Means to theCivil Reserve Air Fleet

摘要

The commercial air carrier industry is vitally important to the nation's rapidmobilization capability. In times of war or national emergency, when the Civil Reserve Air Fleet or CRAF is fully activated, participating air carriers contribute over 50 percent of the nation's airlift capacity. In peacetime too, the CRAF carriers are employed by the military to provide airlift services moving military passengers, equipment and supplies. Commercial augmentation is becoming increasingly more important as the nation remains engaged in many parts of the world and the military airlift fleet becomes smaller. The changes occurring within the air transportation industry are troubling and may limit CRAF's ability to mobilize in the future. The military logistics environment is changing. DOD logistics is in a period of transition shifting from a strategy of 'just-in-case' to more 'just-in-time' and as a result is reducing inventory. Much of this strategy is dependent upon rapid delivery of essential parts and supplies by using air transportation to reduce delivery time. To leverage CRAF participation, DOD is linking the opportunity for this new government transportation business to CRAF members. With less inventory and more of it moving by CRAF carriers does this practice expose the DOD supply channels to critical failure in the event CRAF must be activated. This author believes it does.