Draft Reinstated, for Airplanes

Commercial airlines have been enlisted by DoD to transport troops and equipment as part of the buildup for possible war with Iraq.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (right) ordered the activation of Stage 1 of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, according to a Februaty 8 U.S. Transportation Command press release. The CRAF, created in 1952, boosts U.S. military airlift capability with civilian planes, if needed.

Under Stage 1, 22 U.S. airline companies will make 47 of their passenger airliners and 31 cargo planes available for military use, according to TRANSCOM. Currently, only the 47 passenger aircraft are being used. The cargo planes could be drafted into service quickly if needed.

The Civil Reserve Air Fleet program has three stages. Stage 1 is the lowest activation level. Stage II was activated for the first time during Operation Desert Shield in 1990. Stage III, for full-scale mobilizations, has never been activated; it calls for the use of up to 400 civilian aircraft.

The Air Force's Air Mobility Command awards peacetime contracts to commercial air carriers that participate in the CRAF program.

Historically, the commercial sector has provided the U.S. military with 93 percent of all troop air-transport and 41 percent of long-range cargo needs, according to the TRANSCOM.
[Thanks to Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service --ed.]

Air Transport Association Reacts With Enthusiasm

"The airlines have a proud history of supporting the United States military in time of war—we have been doing so for over sixty years," said James C. May, president and CEO of the Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (right). "We are proud of what we do every day and even prouder to serve our country in time of crisis."

For decades, U.S. airlines have provided passenger and cargo transport services to the military in peacetime and wartime. In 1941, Edgar Gorrell, the first president of the ATA, presented the concept of voluntary civil airlift participation in wartime to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

"The activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program demonstrates just how important our commercial aviation system is to the United States," said May. "We are not only a vital sector of the economy—we can and do fulfill an essential national defense role."

[Plus, it will put some of the industry's excess capacity to good use --ed.]

Note: Air, Inc's Managing Editor of Publications, Robin Stewart, noted that the official list (above) is a bit out of date:

"I couldn't help but notice (in today's Aero-News) that a few of the airlines included in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet list have long since ceased ops, changed names, etc.  AIR, Inc.'s records indicate the following status of some of the companies on that CRAF list:

American International Airways - Merged w/Kitty Hawk, Inc. in 1997. Kitty Hawk International ceased operations, filed Chapter 11 by April 2000.
Fine Air - Changed name to/merged with Arrow Air. Arrow is on the CRAF list.
Tower Air - Ceased ops. Op certificate suspended Oct. 10, 2000.
Trans Continental Airlines - Doesn't exist under that name. Changed name to Express Net Airlines.
Reno Air - Doesn't exist under that name. Merged with American.
Reeve Aleutian - Ceased scheduled ops 12/00 & ceased all ops 3/18/01, but ... There's still a phone number, (907) 243-1112, with a recorded message that says,"You've reached the corporate offices/headquarters of Reeve Aleutian," so they are a partial mystery.

"Hope this helps!"

[Thanks, AIR!  --ed.]

FMI: www.gao.gov/new.items/d03278.pdf; www.jet-jobs.com; www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2003/b02082003_bt064-03.html; www.af.mil/news/factsheets/Civil_Reserve_Air_Fleet.html