So Many, So Much, So Far, So Fast: U.S. Transportation Command and Strategic Deployment for Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm, Airlift, Sealift, Overland Transport

Strategic mobility, the capability to transport military forces rapidly across intercontinental distances into an operational theater, lies at the heart of US military strategy. Nowhere has the importance of strategic mobility been more evident than in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the military response to the Iraqi seizure of Kuwait that began in August 1990 and ended in March 1991.
This study presents a detailed analysis of how the Defense Transportation System (DTS)--the United States Transportation Command, its service components, and the civilian transportation industry—provided the strategic mobility that enabled the United States and its allies to assemble an overwhelming military force to defeat Iraq and free Kuwait. It is also a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the military and civilian personnel who ran the DTS during the operation.

Chapter I - Introduction * Nifty Nugget and the Joint Deployment Agency * Formation of United States Transportation Command * Notes * Chapter II - Strategic Deployment Management * Chain of Command * Strategic Lift Accomplishments * Fortuitous Circumstances * Deliberate and Execution Planning * Intransit Visibility * Notes * Chapter III - Airlift * Overview * Operations * US Strategic Airlift Fleet * KC-10 Extender * Navy C-9 Aircraft * Allied Support of US Airlift * Refugee Evacuation. Patriot Missile Deployment to Israel, and US Airlift Support for Allies * Desert Express and European Desert Express * Mail, Gifts, and Channel Airlift * Aeromedical Airlift, Planning, and Regulating * Tactical Airlift * Assessment * Military Airlift Command Fleet * 463L Pallets * The C-17 Aircraft and En Route Basing for Strategic Airlift Aircraft * Civil Reserve Air Fleet * Commercial Airlift Insurance Coverage * Airlift Sustainment Cargo Backlog * Notes * Chapter IV - Sealift * Overview * Operations * Afloat Prepositioning Force: Prepositioning Ships and Maritime Prepositioning Ships * Fast Sealift Ships and the Antares Casualty * Ready Reserve Force * Commercial Charters: US Flag and Foreign Flag * Delivery of Petroleum Products * US Merchant Mariners * Assessment * The Decline of the US Merchant Marine and Its Impact on Strategic Deployment * Commercial Industry's View and USTRANSCOM's Response * Foreign Flag Balkers * Desert Shield/Desert Storm Force Closures * Notes * Chapter V - Overland Transportation and Port Operations * Overview * Operations * US Ports * US Overland Transportation * Deployment from Europe * Assessment * Peacetime Operations, Exercises, and Planning * Reliability, Safety, and Labor * Military Traffic Management Command in Europe * USCINCTRANS' Conclusion * Notes * Chapter VI - Containerization * Overview * Special Middle East Sealift Agreement * Containerization of Ammunition and Unit Equipment * Post-Desert Shield/Desert Storm Containerization * Notes * Chapter VII - Operational Support * Overview * Total Force Integration * Accounting * Security * Overview * Overland and Port Operations * Airlift * Sealift * Conclusion * Intelligence * Historian * Public Affairs * Notes * Conclusion * Notes * List of Appendices * 1: Consolidation of Transportation in the Department of Defense * 2: Desert Shield/Desert Storm: A Chronology of Force Projection * 3: Desert Shield/Desert Storm Airlift Summary by Civil Air Carrier * 4: Desert Shield/Desert Storm Ammunition Delivery by Port * 5: Afloat Prepositioning Force Activation/First Voyage by Seaport of Debarkation Arrival Date (MPS) * 6: Afloat Prepositioning Force Activation/First Voyage by Seaport of Debarkation Arrival Date (PREPOS) * 7: Fast Sealift Ships Activation/First Voyage by Seaport of Debarkation Arrival Date * 8: Ready Reserve Force Activation/First Voyage by Seaport of Debarkation Arrival Date * 9: Summary of Desert Shield/Desert Storm Seaports of Embarkation Activity * 10: Desert Shield/Desert Storm Ship Activity by Port * Glossary.