The Civil Reserve Air Fleet :: essays research papers

AbstractThe Civil Reserve transmit Fleet is a partnership between the Department of Defense and commercial airlines where the airlines contractually commit a portion of their aircraft and crews to be used by the Department in the resultant role of any level of military conflict. These aircraft can be called up and postulate to respond quickly to provide airlift lose to the Department of Defense. There are minimum required levels of participation in order for the airlines to be eligible, and in turn they receive peace time business including passenger and incubus battlefront approximately in proportion to their commitment level. The program is divided into common chord segments which include varying amounts and sizes of aircraft that serve specific purposes. There are also three levels of activation depending on the severity of the conflict, which also require different amounts and sizes of aircraft. This program has been in place for nearly 53 years, and has become an essent ial partnership required for an effective United States military. The following pages are an investigation variant aspects of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet such as its purpose, history, and effectiveness.The Civil Reserve Air FleetThe Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) is a network of select aircraft from several commercial airlines that are all committed in various amounts to the Department of Defense (DoD) to provide airlift resources when the capability of U.S. military aircraft is exceeded. This system is designed so that these carriers can provide military cargo movement and tidy sum transportation to anywhere in the world on short notice in the event of a military conflict. In order for airlines to join the CRAF, they must commit at least 30 percent of their long-range passenger fleet and 15 percent of their long-range cargo planes (Fact Sheet, 2004). These aircraft must also be U.S. registered, capable of over water operations, and have at least four complete crews assigned for each aircraft (Fact Sheet, 2004). Airlines that participate in CRAF have provided vital support to our military since the Korean War (Graham, David, 2003). The Persian Gulf War was the first official activation of the CRAF, where two thirds of the troops and one quarter of the air cargo was moved by commercial airplanes (Graham, 2003). Though not officially activated, the CRAF is currently supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing nearly double the amount of aircraft that the DoD has estimated for its near demanding war strategies. This paper will provide a brief explanation of the purpose of the CRAF, its history, the effectiveness of the program, and a quick look towards the future of the CRAF.