U.S. Agencies Working To Recapitalize Strategic Sealift Capabilities.

• Author: Mayfield, Mandy

To project and sustain power overseas, the U.S. military must maintain a robust strategic sealift capability, to include the Merchant Marine. The Defense Department and civilian agencies are now teaming up to recapitalize an aging logistics fleet.

The Navy's Military Sealift Command has a critical role to play in providing ocean transportation and sustainment for U.S. forces during a conflict or crisis.

While some equipment and personnel can be transported via aircraft, major movements overseas are dependent on shipping.

"Our strategic sealift fleet must have the capability and capacity to accommodate 90 percent of the required military equipment expected to deploy during a major conflict," Erica Plath, director of the strategic mobility and combat logistics division within the office of the chief of naval operations, said during a panel discussion at the Navy League's annual Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

Christopher Thayer, director of maritime operations at Military Sealift Command, said the service needs to be prepared to operate in a contested environment.

"To make the difference, we will need a workforce of mariners trained and ready now to go forward into a contested maritime environment in order to accelerate improved outcomes," he said.

To do so, the Navy needs the support of not just the Pentagon, but also the civilian agencies responsible for providing and facilitating these key assets.

The Department of Transportation is working closely with the Defense Department and the sea service to advance a strategy to repair and replace dozens of ships in the coming years, said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

"This department is committed to supporting the maritime industry in all the details, including our cargo preference and maritime security, which are critical to supporting our mission," he said. "We also need a generational investment in our infrastructure."

As of press time, the Senate had passed a $1 trillion-plus bipartisan infrastructure bill. According to Buttigieg, the legislation contains funding for several strategic sealift priorities.

"That bill includes $17 billion to improve our ports and waterways, [and] the funding will go to everything from working our way out of the repair backlog to adding new capabilities and resources," Buttigieg said. It "is going to create millions of good-paying union jobs in the maritime sector and across the country."

Buttigieg reiterated his commitment to...