National Defense
In addition to moving cargo that enhances our daily lives, public ports serve
another critical function during wartime. The Department of Defense designates
two dozen ports to support the mobilization, deployment and resupply of U.S.
forces during major conflicts. Commercial port facilities routinely ship
military cargo and many U.S. ports host major naval installations.
For example, U.S. public ports and their commercial partners have been
instrumental in assisting the deployment of troops and material for Operations
Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom since the conflicts began there in early
2003. The Military Sealift Command (MSC) and the Military Traffic Management
Command (MTMC) use public ports to preposition mobility forces and assets and
provide global surface deployment command, together with control and
distribution operations, to meet national security objectives in peace and war.
Through coordination and cooperation among its
members, the National Port Readiness Network ensures military and commercial
port readiness for deployment of military personnel and cargo in the event of
mobilization or a national defense contingency. This network consists of nine
agencies: MSC, United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Military
Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), U.S. Joint Forces Command,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Forces Command, Maritime Defense Zone,
Maritime Administration, and U.S. Coast Guard.
According to USTRANSCOM’s 2004 annual report,
the total Operation IRAQI FREEDOM sealift tonnage moved in the first six months
of 2004 for the deployment and redeployment of approximately 240,000 troops and
their equipment was part of the largest troop rotation since World War II.
USTRANSCOM used sealift to create a “steel bridge” from commercial seaports in
the continental United States, Europe, and the Pacific to the U.S. Central
Command area of responsibility. Sealift accounted for approximately 84 percent
of the Operation IRAQI FREEDOM cargo shipped during this period, utilizing 210
vessels carrying more than 1.85 million tons.
U.S. ports also support relief missions both overseas and in the U.S. during
natural disasters, such as the tsunami relief effort of shoreline communities in
the Indian Ocean after the tidal wave hit on Dec. 26, 2004.
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