March 31 2020 Defense Primer United States Transportation Command United States Transportation Command USTRANSCOM or TRANSCOM is a Department of Defense DOD functional combatant command responsible for providing air land and sea transportation to meet national security needs TRANSCOM’s assigned mission is to “conduct globally integrated mobility operations lead the broader joint deployment and distribution enterprise and provide enabling capabilities to project and sustain the Joint Force ” It is the centerpiece of the Defense Transportation System which comprises U S military U S commercial and foreign transportation resources Established in 1987 TRANSCOM is located at Scott Air Force Base AFB IL Historically the command has provided strategic mobility in support of several major contingency operations from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom It has supported peacekeeping initiatives such as Operations Restore Hope Somalia Uphold Democracy Haiti and Support Hope Rwanda It has also aided humanitarian relief operations in response to natural disasters such as Hurricanes Dorian Florence and Michael TRANSCOM has a workforce of over 138 000 personnel of which about 50% are in the Reserve Component The command reports that on any given day it conducts more than 240 air missions has 30 ships underway and sends 1 200 ground shipments As well TRANSCOM manages over 597 000 personal property shipments each year associated with Permanent Change of Station or PCS moves as part of its steady-state operations Figure 1 Figure 1 USTRANSCOM Shipping Providers Source CRS analysis of USTRANSCOM data March 2020 TRANSCOM operates in over 85% of the world’s countries To accomplish its extensive array of missions the command uses military assets organic assets but also relies heavily on its commercial-sector partners nonorganic assets TRANSCOM’s commercial partnerships are reflected in its large volume of contracting activities See Table 1 for TRANSCOM’s steady-state contracting estimates for FY2020 Table 1 USTRANSCOM Contracting Portfolio Division Programs FY2020 Airlift Division 10 $2 3B Sealift Services 6 $877M Specialized Transportation Support 15 $2 5B Information Technology related services 60 $251M Source USTRANSCOM Note FY2020 estimated expenditures on all contracts Component Commands TRANSCOM’s Transportation Component Commands TCCs fulfill roles in training equipping and resourcing the forces necessary to carry out TRANSCOM’s global missions TRANSCOM is composed of three TCCs one each from the Army the Navy and the Air Force A description of each follows Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command SDDC SDDC headquartered at Scott AFB is TRANSCOM’s Army component that is responsible for all defense surface transportation SDDC connects “surface warfighting requirements through distribution network nodes to the point of need responsively projecting power and delivering desired effects in support of the Combatant Commands COCOMs and the Total Joint Force ” SDDC is also involved in planning and executing the surface delivery of equipment and supplies to all deployed service members Military Sealift Command MSC MSC is TRANSCOM’s Navy component headquartered at Naval Station Norfolk VA MSC operates 125 civiliancrewed ships that replenish U S Navy ships provide logistics support and strategic sealift and perform specialized missions around the world MSC is responsible for the ocean transportation of military cargo and supplies used by deployed U S forces and coalition partners During contingencies MSC also exercises operational command over the Maritime Administration’s MARAD’s Ready Reserve Force See CRS Report R45725 Shipping Under the Jones Act Legislative and Regulatory Background by John Frittelli Air Mobility Command AMC AMC TRANSCOM’s Air Force component headquartered at Scott AFB provides airlift and aerial refueling services https crsreports congress gov Defense Primer United States Transportation Command for all U S armed forces AMC also provides rapid transportation services in response to humanitarian crises and natural disasters Major Subordinate Units In addition to the TCCs TRANSCOM has one subordinate command and one joint directorate Subordinate commands are established in an area or functional role to exercise operational control within the assigned operational area The Joint Enabling Capabilities Command or JECC is TRANSCOM’s subordinate command that “provides mission-tailored capability packages on short notice to assist Combatant Commanders to plan prepare establish and operate Joint Force Headquarters in globally integrated operations ” The Joint Reserve Component Directorate is a joint directorate under TRANSCOM that provides trained reserve component forces to support TRANSCOM’s mission This directorate includes the Joint Transportation Reserve Unit or JTRU which augments TRANSCOM in providing air land and sea transportation for DOD Voluntary Tanker Agreement VTA The VTA is another program established by MARAD that derives its authorities from the Defense Production Act of 1950 It enables volunteer U S commercial tanker owners and operators to make their vessels available to satisfy DOD needs The VTA helps meet contingency or wartime requirements for point-to-point petroleum oil and lubricants POL movements It is not applicable to peacetime resupply operations normally addressed by commercial-type charters Defense Freight Transportation Service DFTS DFTS is a collaboration between TRANSCOM the Defense Logistics Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency that provides “a single touch point for DOD shipments by allowing a commercial third party firm to manage and coordinate transportation” using all forms of surface transportation TRANSCOM is responsible for execution of the program which is designed for highvolume repetitive shipments between fixed locations Non-Organic Assets Considerations for Congress The Commander of TRANSCOM with the approval of the Secretary of Defense has the authority to develop and maintain contractual relationships between DOD and the commercial transportation industry to cultivate concepts requirements and procedures that provide responsive strategic mobility capabilities Examples of DOD airlift sealift and surface transportation programs involving the commercial transportation industry are as follows  Cyber security As reflected in Figure 1 TRANSCOM Civil Reserve Air Fleet CRAF The CRAF “is a cooperative voluntary program involving the Department of Transportation DOT DOD and the U S civil air carrier industry in a partnership to augment DOD aircraft capability during a national defense related crisis ” The program derives its authority from the Defense Production Act of 1950 but was instituted by Presidential Executive Order 10219 in February 1951 DOD and DOT work collaboratively to manage the CRAF program to meet DOD airlift requirements in emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of the military’s aircraft fleet All CRAF aircraft must be U S -registered carriers that are fully certified by the Federal Aviation Administration To provide incentives for civil carriers the participating airlines are given preference in carrying commercial peacetime cargo and passenger traffic for DOD As of January 2020 25 carriers and 436 aircraft are enrolled in CRAF These numbers change on a monthly basis Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement VISA Secretary of Defense William Cohen approved creation of the VISA program on January 30 1997 Similar to CRAF VISA is a partnership between MARAD and the U S maritime industry to provide DOD with assured access to commercial sealift and intermodal capacity to support the emergency deployment and sustainment of U S military forces Established under DOT in 1981 MARAD has responsibility in areas involving ships and shipping shipbuilding port operations vessel operations national security environment and safety Through the VISA program DOD develops transportation solutions in anticipation of its wartime requirements relies heavily on commercial providers for shipping This results in approximately 90% of TRANSCOM’s communications occurring over unclassified networks Consequently TRANSCOM assumes a degree of mission risk resulting from threats and vulnerabilities to the cyber security postures of its commercial providers and their associated networks and systems While TRANSCOM actively manages the risk to its own systems it depends on external organizations to manage the risk to its commercial providers  Fuel price volatility TRANSCOM’s operations and annual budget are affected greatly by even small changes in fuel prices which are subject to multiple factors such as supply and demand value of the dollar and geopolitical risks and events see CRS In Focus IF11202 Oil Price Volatility and the Department of Defense by Heather L Greenley TRANSCOM uses a Defense Working Capital Fund to mitigate price volatility however the fund serves multiple purposes see CRS In Focus IF11233 Defense Primer Defense Working Capital Funds by G James Herrera Relevant Statutes Title 10 U S Code Chapter 157 – Transportation Title 10 U S Code Chapter 961 – Civil Reserve Air Fleet Title 10 U S Code §2218 – National Defense Sealift Fund Other Resources DOD Directive 5158 04 USTRANSCOM Defense Transportation Regulation 4500 9-R Joint Publication 4-01 The Defense Transportation System G James Herrera Analyst in U S Defense Readiness and Infrastructure Hibbah Kaileh Research Assistant https crsreports congress gov Defense Primer United States Transportation Command IF11479 Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service CRS CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role CRS Reports as a work of the United States Government are not subject to copyright protection in the United States Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS However as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material https crsreports congress gov IF11479 · VERSION 3 · NEW