Sealift is America’s Achilles Heel in the Age of Great Power Competition
Elee Wakim
January 18, 2019
In 1921, U.S. Navy submarine R-14 returned to Pearl Harbor under sail, having run out of fuel while on a rescue mission. Nearly a century later, the idea that a U.S. Navy combatant would run out of fuel is the stuff of Hollywood fantasy. With a globally distributed network of military infrastructure and a fleet of cargo and tanker ships, we know that logistical needs will never constrain operational flexibility. After all, it is the backbone of America’s ability to project hard power around the world. This capability has evolved significantly since the genesis of the underway replenishment in World War I, and has enabled the United States and allied nations to decisively defeat Iraq in the First Persian Gulf War, supply concurrent ground campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, and maintain nearly 100 continuously deployed naval combatants since the 1990s.
https://warontherocks.com/2019/01/sealift-is-americas-achilles-heel-in-the-age-of-great-power-competition/
