Evaluation of Options for Overseas Combat Support Basing

The geopolitical divide that once defined the U.S. military policy collapsed as the Soviet Union disintegrated and was replaced by the rise of regional hegemons, producing an evolving security environment that is driven not only by regional powers but also by a persistent global insurgency and counterinsurgency. The ability of U.S. forces to provide swift and tailored responses to a multitude of threats across the globe is a crucial component of security in todays complex political environment. The Air Force, like the other services, has responded by transforming itself into a more expeditionary force. For the Air Force to realize its goals of global strike and persistent dominance, it is vital that the Air Force support the warfighter seamlessly and efficiently in all phases of deployment, employment, and redeployment. One of the major pillars for achieving these objectives is a global combat support basing architecture. This report focuses on an analytic framework for evaluating options for overseas combat support basing or forward support locations. The presentation of this framework is important because it addresses how to assess these options in terms of the relevant programming costs while considering a novel approach to scenario planning. This formulation minimizes the costs of operating and constructing facilities and transporting war reserve materiel WRM, costs that are associated with meeting the training and deterrent exercises needed to demonstrate U.S. global power projection capability and thereby deter aggression, while maintaining the necessary storage capacity and system throughput to engage in major combat operations should deterrence fail. This framework is based on the notion that U.S. interests are not only global but dynamic as well, particularly when the United States is confronted with emerging anti-access and area denial threats.