BC-17

<p>The Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) is the heart of the nation's strategic airlift capability. In the words of General Norton A. Schwartz Commander of United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) in his March 2007 address to the House Armed Services Committee A critical partner in our nation's ability to project and sustain forces is a viable Civil Reserve Air Fleet. It supplements Air Mobility Command's organic airlift force which is insufficient in and of itself to meet the airlift needs of the combatant commanders during contingencies while satisfying its normal peacetime commitments. Capable of providing over 90 percent of troop-carrying capability over 40 percent of cargo-carrying capability and 100 percent of aeromedical evacuation capability America's heavy reliance on the commercial airline industry is reflected in the National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 280 and Joint Staff war plans. An inherent shortfall of the CRAF however is that of the 1364 aircraft enrolled in the program (as of May 2007) none have the ability to carry outsized cargo. In fact there are very few aircraft in the world with this capability. The only two within the US are the C-17 and C-5 both purely military platforms. Considering oversized and outsized equipment amounted to 85 percent of the cargo carried during the first Gulf War the projected closure of C-17 production C-5 modernization problems and the Air Force' heavy reliance on the CRAF during contingencies it is a very real concern for Pentagon officials in managing America's future strategic airlift force.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>