Global mobility and the war on terrorism
“You talk about national defense transportation, this is it right here,” said Welser, USTRANSCOM’s Director of Operations and Logistics. During his NDTA luncheon remarks, Welser discussed mobility successes in support of the war on terrorism, and shared some global mobility challenges.
“There are only two planes that can land in the country of Afghanistan, the C-130 and C-17,” he said. “So if you are going to deliver troops, equipment or supplies to Afghanistan, it’s going to be by C-17 or C-130”.
Operation Enduring Freedom now ranks third in our nation’s history of airlift operations. It only falls behind the Berlin Airlift, which lasted 15 months, and the buildup and sustainment for the Gulf War, which lasted nine months.
At the time of his remarks on June 27, Welser said, “USTRANSCOM had completed 11,364 missions, and moved 158,601 troops and 222,460 short tons in support of the war on terrorism.”
Other mobility statistics in support of Operation Enduring Freedom:
* Air evacuated 904 patients from the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to U.S. European Command and medical facilities in the U.S.
* Moved more than 560 detainees from Afghanistan to Guantanamo.
* 81,639 short tons moved by sealift.
* C-17s transported 283,000 gallons of fuel to airfields in Afghanistan.
* Delivered 2,400,000 food packets.
USTRANSCOM’s global mobility operations are not limited to airlift. 81,639 short tons of cargo have moved by sea and the use of surface transportation has increased since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom.
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