USTRANSCOM strategy; underwriting the lethality of the Joint Force

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (October 18, 2022) – U.S. Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, commander, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), ushered in a new command strategy to guide command priorities with purpose to close capability gaps and achieve success.

“Make no mistake, the actions we take today will have a profound effect on our ability to project and sustain a combat credible Joint Force in contested environments, and build resilience against climate change and other transboundary challenges,” said Van Ovost. “To remain successful, USTRANSCOM must be ready to project power today and tomorrow, and we will only achieve this together."

The command strategy, designed to enable national defense priorities, focuses the global mobility enterprise on mission imperatives needed to address threats in the changing strategic and operational landscape. 

The 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS) directs the future Joint Force to be lethal, resilient, sustainable, survivable, agile and responsive. The reputation of USTRANSCOM has been validated through successes during Operation Allies Refuge (OAR) and throughout the delivery of aid to Ukraine, but Van Ovost addressed that strategic competition has become a reality, and the freedom of maneuver we currently enjoy across largely uncontested environments is not guaranteed. 

“The USTRANSCOM mission faces threats and while potential competitors are not invincible, the threats are real and imperative to change is urgent,” said Van Ovost. “We cannot rest on past successes, nor cede any advantage to our competitors. We must accelerate the momentum we have generated enterprise-wide to meet these challenges.”

How We Will Get There

The command strategy outlines the way forward and addresses that operations, activities and investments must balance the enterprise’s attention on today’s requirements, while preparing to meet those of tomorrow.  

“To maximize our role across the spectrum of competition and conflict, we will align our campaigning objectives across the primary elements of our Warfighting Framework,” said Van Ovost.  

Global Mobility Posture, a foundation of power projection, depends on operational access, basing, overflight and strong relationships with allies and partners. Van Ovost stated that global transportation networks must be expanded and strengthened to facilitate the ability to aggregate force packages to fight during brief periods of localized domain superiority and then disaggregate to survive.

Global Mobility Capacity is the ability to fully mobilize the Total Force at the point of need, using rail, motor transport, sealift, air refueling and airlift. USTRANSCOM relies on the ability to transition seamlessly between defense and commercial capacity, in tight coordination with interagency partners, the Joint Staff, Military Departments and other Combatant Commands. When necessary, USTRANSCOM must maintain the ability to rapidly increase capacity through emergency preparedness programs like the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) and Voluntary Tanker Agreement (VTA). 

Global Command, Control, and Integration is the ability to plan, coordinate, synchronize and control operations at echelon. Van Ovost stated that emerging technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning will allow the command to increase capabilities, by sensing demand and pushing sustainment without prompting, enabling faster tempo and preventing logistics from being the cause for failure on the battlefield.

“Our ability to transform data into decisions faster than our competitors is paramount,” said Van Ovost. “We must leverage these technologies to help sense and make sense of data at scale to create decision advantage for our leaders.”

Van Ovost addressed that as an enterprise, USTRANSCOM will be the engine that propels the NDS by underwriting the lethality of the Joint Force and ensuring the viability of deterrence options, while providing strategic flexibility.

“I remain confident we are headed in the right direction, but we will need to accelerate our momentum as an enterprise to generate systemic advantages against our competitors. We have an imperative to provide the Nation with options to deter aggression below the threshold of war and present our competitors with multiple dilemmas to give them pause,” said Van Ovost. 

USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, USTRANSCOM underwrites the lethality of the Joint Force, advances American interests around the globe and provides our nation's leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.

“Because of the amazing individuals working each day with urgency to advance our priorities, I know we will adapt and innovate to protect our Nation’s vital interests,” said Van Ovost. “I see the path ahead clearly – and we will rise together to the challenge!”