The mission of Military Sealift Command is to provide ocean transportation of equipment, fuel, supplies and ammunition to sustain U.S. forces worldwide during peacetime and in war for as long as operational requirements dictate. During a war, more than 95 percent of all equipment and supplies needed to sustain the U.S. military is carried by sea.
MSC provides the sea transportation component for the United States Transportation Command.
Recent crises have reinforced the vital role of Military Sealift Command as a major contributor in the execution of U.S. national strategy. The command operates ships that provide combat logistics support to U.S. Navy ships at sea; special mission support to U.S. government agencies; prepositioning of U.S. military supplies and equipment at sea; and ocean transportation of Department of Defense cargo in both peacetime and war.
During World War II, four separate government agencies controlled sea transportation. In 1949, the Military Sea Transportation Service, renamed Military Sealift Command in 1970, became the single managing agency for the Department of Defense's ocean transportation needs. The command assumed responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all military services as well as for other government agencies.
Only nine months after it's creation, MSC, then named MSTS, responded to the challenge of the Korean War. On July 6, 1950, only eleven days after the initial invasion of South Korea by communist North Korean troops, MSTS deployed the 24th infantry division for duty in Japan to Pusan, South Korea. In addition to transporting troops and combat equipment to and from Korea, command ships supplied U.S. bases and Distant Early Warning line construction sites and supported U.S. nation building efforts in from Europe and Africa to the Far East.
The 1960s brought the conflict in Southeast Asia. From 1965 to 1969 MSC moved almost 54 million tons of combat equipment and supplies and almost 8 million long tons of fuel to Vietnam. The Vietnam era also marked the last use of MSC troop ships. Now, most U.S. troops move primarily by air.
Through the 1970s and 1980s provided the Department of Defense with ocean transportation as part of U.S. determent efforts during the Cold War years.
During the first Persian Gulf War, consisting of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, MSC distinguished itself as the largest source of defense transportation of any nation involved. Command resources were tasked to deliver more than 12 million tons of wheeled and tracked vehicles, helicopters, ammunition, dry cargo, fuel and other supplies and equipment during the war. At the high point of the war, more than 230 government-owned and chartered ships delivering the largest part of the international arsenal that soundly defeated Iraqi aggression.
MSC was also involved in the second Persian Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, delivering 61 million square feet of cargo and 1.1 billion gallons of fuel by the end of the first year.
Military Sealift Command is one of three component commands reporting to the joint service U.S. Transportation Command, known as USTRANSCOM. Headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., USTRANSCOM is under the command of a four-star flag officer and is responsible for the coordination of all common-user Department of Defense air, land and sea transportation worldwide. Common-user ships carry cargo for more than one military service.
In addition to MSC, two other Department of Defense transportation component commands, the U.S. Army's Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command, also fall under the command of USTRANSCOM.
Commander, U.S. Transportation Command
The U.S. Transportation Command provides the coordination of all air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense. |
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Assistant Secretary of the Navy
For research, development and acquisition for procurement policy and oversight matters, MSC reports to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. |
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The Chief of Naval Operations
For Navy transportation matters, MSC reports to the Chief of Naval Operations, the senior Navy officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. |
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Commander, Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command reports within the Department of Defense through three distinct and separate chains of command. |
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Today, Military Sealift Command has more than 10,800 employees worldwide, approximately 80 percent of which serve at sea. MSC is the largest employer of merchant mariners in the United States. Approximately 5,100 employees are federal civil service, 660 are military personnel; and another 4,600 are employed by MSC contractors.
The transition from peace to war calls for a steady progression of increased levels of sealift ships and personnel to meet contingency requirements. The progression begins with prepositioning sealift.
MSC's prepositioning ships are loaded with combat equipment for U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy, as well as fuel for the Defense Logistics Agency. The ships are stationed in strategic areas around the world, close to potential contingency areas. In wartime, prepositioning ships are usually the first ships to respond.
In wartime and during other contingencies, the Sealift force can expand dramatically to move the massive amounts of heavy armored combat equipment and other war-fighter supplies from U.S. bases to the theater of operation. MSC first looks to the commercial market to charter suitable U.S.- flagged tonnage. If more tonnage is needed, foreign-flagged ships may be used. MSC may also activate government-owned surge sealift ships, normally kept in reduced operating status. In the event of a full mobilization, more than 1,000 ships and 30,000 people would be employed in sealift missions ashore and afloat.
Military Sealift Command is organized around four programs:
The Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement, or VISA, a partnership between the U.S. government and the maritime industry, was introduced in the mid-1990s to provide joint planning and assured access to commercial shipping at pre-agreed rates during a national emergency. The agreement makes it possible for the U.S. Department of Defense to use the ships and shore-based transportation systems of ocean shipping companies in time of war. In return, the companies receive a subsidy from the federal government or are awarded peacetime defense cargo movement contracts. Thus, the companies and their assets become an integral part of military contingency planning.
MSC has access to 1,000 selected reservists in MSC reserve units across the US. When mobilized, these reservists quickly take charge of establishing MSC port offices to assist with sealift operations wherever needed.
For more information, go to the Naval Reserves page.
MSC's worldwide operations are financed through two working capital funds. The Navy Working Capital Fund is used by MSC to support Navy fleet commanders and other Department of Defense entities. The Transportation Working Capital Fund is used to support sealift services.
Working capital funds are reimbursed by direct appropriations or by funds transferred into the working capital fund by various MSC customers. MSC receives no direct funding appropriations to support command operations; rather, MSC customers transfer funding for any service they request from MSC into the appropriate working capital fund, and MSC draws funds from the fund to pay for command operations.
Unlike private industry, working capital funds are budgeted to break even, not make a profit. The cost of MSC operations in 2004 exceeds $3 billion.
As the United States continues to draw down the size of its land-based military presence overseas, sealift will be an enduring mission. Our military's readiness and rapid response capabilities will depend increasingly on maintaining a presence "Forward…From the Sea."
Military Sealift Command, with its wide array of ocean transportation resources and its highly trained personnel, performs vital missions around the clock and around the globe. MSC delivers!
