THE UNITED STATES NAVY IN "DESERT SHIELD" I "DESERT STORM" IV. "BEANS, BANDAGES AND BULLETS" LOGISTICS OPERATIONS. "You've got to consider coming from the sea because of the sustainability. Three or four ships carry as much beans, bandages and bullets as all the nation's airlift combined!" -- General A.M. Gray, USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps Testimony before Congress, April 1990 "The overall logistics effort to mobilize and support DESERT SHIELD/STORM was herculean, especially in the weeks prior to initiating hostilities. The superb performance of the logistics community deserves high praise." -- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA Commander-in-Chief, U.S Central Command Preliminary Report on Lessons Learned, 5 April 1991 SEALIFT INVESTMENTS OF THE 1980s. falls in sealift capability. Alternative fast cargo Following World War II the primary strategic ship and prepositioning programs were evalu- sealift mission was to rapidly move men and ated with respect to possible contingencies in equipment to Europe.to defend against a So- the 1980s and 1990s. viet/Warsaw Pact attack. The central front was 3,600 miles away and sealift would be Following a comprehensive examina- provided by over 600 NATO merchant vessels tion of the alternatives, the Maritime and an active U.S. merchant fleet that still Prepositioning Ship (MPS) and Afloat numbered 578 major ships as of 1978. Those Prepositioning programs were approved in 578 ships dwindled to 367 over the next 12 1980. In 1984, the Secretary of the Navy for- years. mally recognized the increased importance of strategic sealift and accorded it equal status The Iranian crisis and Soviet invasion of with the Navy's three other main missions: Afghanistan in the late 1970s focused empha- sea control, power projection and strategic sis on developing rapid deployment forces to deterrence. respond to contingencies in distant regions, such as Southwest Asia, in addition to the In all, $7 billion was invested in im- continuing NATO mission in Europe. Plan- proved sealift during the 1980s. That invest- ners recognized existing and emerging short- ment purchased, modified or long-term leased: -27-
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