AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
A STUDY IN SEA-AIR INTERMODAL PORT
SELECTION: STRATEGIC DECISION
MAKING FOR UNITED STATES SOUTHERN
COMMAND
GRADUATE RESEARCH PAPER
Todd C. Markwart, Major, USAF
AFIT-ILS-ENS-11-07
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
AIR UNIVERSITY
AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED.
The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official
policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United
States Government.
AFIT-ILS-ENS-11-07
A STUDY IN SEA-AIR INTERMODAL PORT SELECTION: STRATEGIC
DECISION MAKING FOR UNITED STATES SOUTHERN COMMAND
GRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECT
Presented to the Faculty
Department of Operational Sciences
Graduate School of Engineering and Management
Air Force Institute of Technology
Air University
Air Education and Training Command
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Science in Logistics Management
Todd C. Markwart, BS
Major, USAF
June 2011
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED.
AFIT-ILS-ENS-11-07
A STUDY IN SEA-AIR INTERMODAL PORT SELECTION: STRATEGIC
DECISION MAKING FOR UNITED STATES SOUTHERN COMMAND
Todd C. Markwart, MS
Major, USAF
Approved:
_________//signed//____________________
Doral E. Sandlin, Lt Col, USAF (Chairman)
__10 Jun 2011__
date
_________//signed//____________________
Jeffery D. Weir, PhD (Member)
__10 Jun 2011__
date
AFIT-ILS-ENS-11-07
Abstract
World events and subsequent dramatic changes in the expeditionary force
structure and strategy of the U.S. military have forever altered the traditional approach to
operational employment and readiness under previous paradigms. Greater degrees of
flexibility and speed are required to carry out operations, which are aided by the utility of
intermodal transport options to quickly and efficiently move large force package rotations
in support of geographic combatant commanders¡¯ (CCDR) requirements. The United
States Transportation Command (U.S. TRANSCOM) is responsible for making decisions
on the most efficient mix of sea and airport operations to support U.S. Government and
Department of Defense (DoD) movement requirements worldwide, and the selection of
the best port pairs is critical in executing that mission. U.S. TRANSCOM has used a
decision model which evaluates ten sea and airport factors to prioritize port pairs, but
recent humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations in Haiti brought new attention to
United States Southern Command¡¯s (U.S. SOUTHCOM) need for constantly evolving
logistical planning. This research uses a ¡°value focused¡± methodology to identify factors
and data sources to broaden the scope of the existing model to help U.S. TRANSCOM
remain flexible in supporting worldwide CCDRs including U.S. SOUTHCOM.
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