Funding and force reductions this year and beyond mean it is more critical than ever for U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) to work closely with its commercial partners to balance risk and business, the commander told the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Wednesday.
The continued drawdown in Afghanistan, for example, means less business for TRANSCOM, and less business for its commercial partners in providing ground-air and sea-transportation for TRANSCOM’s global support mission.
“We have to make sure we have the right balance and adjust the business plan for the future, collaboratively working with industry,” TRANSCOM commander Air Force Gen. William Fraser told the HASC hearing on U.S. CENTCOM and U.S. TRANSCOM.
“If (combatant commander’s) demands are reduced, our workload will also be reduced,” he said, reading prepared remarks. “While these impacts will not occur immediately, the long-term results may directly impact our ability to execute critical missions of our supported COCOMs.”
Without budget certainty and the ability to build a plan for the future, he said, there could be unintended consequences both for the government agencies TRANSCOM works and its commercial partners. For example, some commercial partners might have to make decisions to be “with us or not,” he said.
For example, maintaining the Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) fleet of about 50 U.S. flagships and mariners is critical for the future, Fraser said.
That fleet gives TRANSCOM the “capability and capacity” it needs. These commercial ships have crews available and can surge if there’s a requirement, he said.
But it’s also necessary to look at the entire reserve fleet, he said: “to make sure they are maintained in a state they can be called upon should there be a need for it.”
“Readiness is critical to projecting power and providing support,” Fraser said. TRANSCOM’s requirements are driven by customer workload and readiness requirements.
However, he expects some unintended second and third order effects.
For example, to find necessary savings, MARAD might have to move some ships in the ready reserve to a less-ready status. That means a reduced operational status, a lag time of between 30 to 120 days to be ready because ships would not be immediately available. Of further consequence would be that ships moved to a less ready status would lose their crews, incurring job losses and time if the ships needed to be brought to operational readiness.
However, TRANSCOM’s initiatives are also saving money, Fraser said. For example, working with Air Force Air Mobility Command, there’s been a shift in how aircraft carry fuel. Previously, aircraft always carried the minimum amount of fuel to accomplish the mission. But working with industry, TRANSCOM developed a matrix to find where they could buy fuel at the least cost. Sending aircraft there to fill up on less expensive gas and then go on with their mission produced “significant savings.”
Also, TRANSCOM learned to be more efficient and effective by keeping aircraft full as they moved about, by better pallet loading, better training, and consolidating people at common locations. Similarly with containers, TRANSCOM mandates they must be 80 percent full at a minimum, which reduces the number of containers and is more efficient.
TRANSCOM has taken a cost-conscious look at what it does and developed tools to help its personnel make better decisions. With the right tools and education, “we’ve already seen some of the great things they can do if you turn them loose with innovation,” Fraser told committee members.