The Maritime Trades Department has posted the following article covering part of the recent MTD executive board meetings. The article also is available on the MTD web site HEREU.S. Military Leaders Praise U.S. Maritime Industry
The increasingly close and productive relationship between the U.S. military and the private sector U.S.-flag maritime industry was highlighted at the MTD’s winter executive board meetings. The department’s board members issued a statement stressing their strong support for U.S. troops fighting in overseas theaters like Afghanistan and Iraq. At the same time, the heads of two defense agencies charged with moving U.S. troops and supplies overseas stressed that the U.S. military is “continuing to depend on (maritime labor) … to make the projection of America's power possible.”
Praising the skills and patriotism that the men and women of the U.S.-flag merchant marine have displayed in supporting U.S. troops in the War on Terror, both generals gave strong support to U.S.-flag programs like the Jones Act, Maritime Security Program (MSP) and the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement.
“The work that you have done with the Maritime Security Program, the Jones Act and many of the other national security programs in the maritime industry has given (the U.S. military) the ability (to project U.S. power overseas),” said Lt. General Robert Dail, who heads the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). “We need to continue our commitment between government, labor and industry to underscore this capability, make sure it doesn’t get put on the back burner and make sure it’s there for us tomorrow.”
“The truth of the matter is that in many ways (the private sector does) business much better than we can in the government. That’s why the teamwork here is so very important and why a fully funded Maritime Security is important to the defense community,” observed General Norton Schwartz, who oversees the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM).
According to Schwartz, “It’s all about chartering the direct course to deliver military power in the quickest, most efficient, most businesslike manner wherever and whenever the nation calls on us to serve.” He went on to explain, “A good way to get our minds around what this implies is that only about 21 percent of the shipping that we use is owned by the U.S. government. The other 79 percent is present in U.S. flags in American commerce.
“The ships that you sail aboard clearly represent one of the most cost-effective of expenditures that people have figured out how to make in American government.”
Schwartz told the MTD executive board that more than 90 percent of the materials entering combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 have moved via U.S.-flag sealift. Given this remarkable record, he said, “We are certainly interested in investing in you as partners in America’s maritime strength. We are counting on you to continue to play this very important role, and we know you’ll always be our shipmates.”
Dail made a similar observation, noting, “Since 9/11, maritime and other affiliated memberships have been active in helping (the U.S. military) protect our great American life, helping us execute the global war on terror. You’ve also helped us respond to our great role—in our greatest character—and that is in our response to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.”
The role that U.S. civilian mariners and other maritime workers are playing today has strong historical roots. As Dail told the MTD board members, “Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt—they’ve all accurately described the contributions that you make to our national defense. ‘Irreplaceable’ was their term.”
But the incredible performance of U.S. civilian mariners in turning points like World War II is not just ancient history, he said. It happened in the past and the near-past, and it’s happening now. Citing post-World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Balkans, the first Desert Storm, Desert Shield, then the Persian Gulf, he said, “You were there. You made us a success. You were our partner. We could trust you with the very livelihood that our troops needed to conduct the business that the national leaders told us to do.”
Dail also praised the contributions of U.S. trade unionists who have served and continue to serve in reserve forces and in the National Guard. “They have deployed overseas. They have seen action. They have served to a very high standard of honor.” In other words, they are “great patriots.”
In summary, he noted, “(America’s maritime capabilities) are critical to our national defense and security. I have seen the trust and confidence that is built between our nation and our troops, knowing that wherever they are, we will deliver the goods to them and we will get them there and bring them home.”
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