The Civil Reserve Air Fleet :: essays research papers

AbstractThe Civil Reserve fashion return is a partnership between the subdivision of Defense and commercial airlines where the airlines contractually deplumate a portion of their aircraft and crews to be used by the Department in the event of any level of military conflict. These aircraft can be called up and required to respond quickly to provide airlift support to the Department of Defense. There are minimum required levels of participation in ball club for the airlines to be eligible, and in turn they receive peace time crease including passenger and lading doing approximately in proportion to their inscription level. The program is divided into three segments which include varying amounts and sizes of aircraft that serve specialised bearings. There are also three levels of activation depending on the hardness of the conflict, which also require different amounts and sizes of aircraft. This program has been in place for roughly 53 years, and has become an essential p artnership required for an effective joined States military. The following pages are an investigation diverse 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 ne 2rk of contract 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 ashes is designed so that these carriers can provide military cargo movement and troop transportation to anywhere in the world on hornswoggle notice in the event of a military conflict. In order for airlines to join the CRAF, they must commit at least 30 share 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 expect at least four complete crews assigned for each aircraft (Fact Sheet, 2004). Airlines that move into in CRAF have provided vital support to our military since the Korean struggle (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 appendage Iraqi Freedom, providing nearly double the amount of aircraft that the DoD has estimated for its most demanding fight 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.