Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 25. Juli 2006 / Time Line July 25, 2006
Version 3.507/25/2006
CENTCOM TAPS COMMERCIAL AIR CARRIERS TO CUT IRAQ CARGO
COSTS
Inside the Army
July 24, 2006
Vol. 18 No. 24
The Defense Department is enlisting commercial air cargo carriers
to deliver military goods into Afghanistan and Iraq as part of a
new effort to save money, reduce the demand for C-130s flown by
reservists and -- in some cases -- deliver supplies more
quickly.
Logisticians at U.S. Central Command last week launched the
"Commercial and Government Air Program," a 45-day trial effort that
could set the stage for private carriers to tote as much as 20
percent of the cargo delivered across the region -- and save the
Pentagon nearly $9 million a month, Air Force Col. Glen Joerger,
deputy director of CENTCOM's Deployment and Distribution Operations
Center at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, said in a July 20 telephone
interview with InsideDefense.com.
The monthly cost for air cargo operations across the region has
averaged $55 million for the early part of this year. But CENTCOM
officials believe they can slash that tab by reducing military
flights across long distances -- flights that previously carried
relatively small loads. Instead, they are hiring commercial
carriers to ship the relatively small loads on previously scheduled
flights, which would save hundreds of thousands of dollars a day in
military aircraft operations costs.
This new effort, which is expected to reduce the presence of U.S.
military aircraft across the region and prime local economies,
began July 17 and already is demonstrating promising results,
according to Joerger.
By tapping commercial carriers to carry all variety of military
goods in cargo holds that might otherwise remain empty, the CENTCOM
program has generated savings at a rate that could reach $7.5
million in its first month, he said.
These avoided costs translate into military aircraft being freed up
for other air-drop, lift or even rescue missions. For instance,
instead of delivering cargo, CENTCOM this week was able to divert
four C-17s and one C-130 to Cyprus to assist with evacuating U.S.
citizens fleeing the current crisis in Lebanon without interrupting
the flow of supplies throughout its area of responsibility, Joerger
said.
This program also is intended to create more shipping capacity and
reduce reliance on Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve pilots
who fly a sizeable portion of the C-130 fleet.
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