Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Strategic Sealift And National Security: Effects Of A Declining Merchant Marine And Problematic Marad-Administered Reserve Forces, Michael J. Colston

Theses and Major Papers

Strategic sealift, the movement of cargo in support of deployed troops in an international conflict, relies primarily on a national asset--a National Defense Reserve Force, administered by MARAD, and a commercial asset--the US Merchant Marine. The decline of the merchant marine, along with the attendant decline and unmanageable nature of MARAD-administered forces, made sealift (which was once carried out simply by purchasing space on US carriers) the limiting factor in the successful execution of Operations DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM. This decline is documented in a literature review. A nine case analysis of sealift performance, examining three scenarios at three times, is …