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Armed Forces reach milestone - one million moved

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill., (USTCNS) --- The U.S. military reached a major milestone recently. More than one million troops have been moved (deployments and redeployments) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

According to 2000 census data, this is like moving every man, woman and child in the state of Montana more than 7,000 miles.

OEF began Oct. 7, 2001, when the U.S. and coalition partners attacked terrorists and their infrastructure in Afghanistan. OIF combat operations began March 19, 2003.

In addition to this troop movement milestone, more than 2.75 million tons of equipment and cargo have been transported via air and sea in support of these operations.

Col. Jim Pavlisin, chief of U.S. Transportation Command's Joint Operations Division says one million is a significant milestone, but looking at current airlift operations compared to past operations reveals an even more impressive picture.

"Our records show the number of passengers moved in support of OEF and OIF far exceed the numbers of troops moved for any other operation; including the Berlin Airlift, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Restore Hope, Joint Endeavor and operations in Kosovo", according to Pavlisin.

USTRANSCOM is the combatant command responsible for providing air, land, and sea transportation for the Department of Defense during peace and war. The Defense Transportation System is the network managed by USTRANSCOM to complete this mission, and its execution is performed by the Transportation Component Commands: the Air Mobility Command, the Military Sealift Command and the Military Traffic Management Command.

Strategic airlift is performed by AMC by optimizing military aircraft and contracted support provided by commercial carriers. Well over 90 percent of passenger movements for deployments and redeployments are accomplished using commercial airlift. Although military lift platforms often carry small numbers of troops, they are primarily used for strategic transport of cargo.

Office of Public Affairs - transcom-pa@mail.mil
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