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-

| Table of Contents | First Page | Prev Page | Next Page | Src Image |