Strategic sealift: decisions today to ensure tomorrow.

Strategic Sealift is considered vital for our national security, and is often termed the Fourth Arm of Defense. It is made up of two fleets, one owned and operated by the U.S. government, the other owned and operated by commercial companies and often chartered by the U.S. government. The most recent studies on the status of strategic sealift in the United States, have all indicated that our present capabilities, both fleets, are insufficient to handle anticipated National defense requirements. This thesis is an investigation into our capabilities in light of the recent Persian Gulf war. Some decision makers in Washington are saying that, due to the outstanding results of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the United States no longer needs an active Merchant Marine. Despite these results our Fourth Arm is still insufficient. This thesis examines the reasons why this is true, and considers possible solutions to this problem, some of which have been provided from both the government and commercial companies. The conclusion is that to ensure our national security the United States must take decisive action now to improve both the government and the Merchant Marine fleets

Department dc:contributor.department

Management

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

1991

Author dc:creator

• Fults, Mary Alice

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Boger, Dan C.

Statement dc:rights

• This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/28566

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/28566