Since 2009, privately-owned US-flag commercial vessels and their civilian US citizen crews have transported more than 90% of the sustainment cargo needed to support US military operations and rebuilding programs in Iraq and Afghanistan. A 2006 report prepared for the National Defense Transportation Association – Military Sealift Committee – concluded that “the likely cost to the government to replicate just the vessel capacity provided by MSP dry cargo vessels would be $13 billion.” In addition, the United States Transportation Command has estimated that it would cost our Government an additional $52 billion to replicate the global intermodal systems made available to DOD by our US-flag operators.  READ MORE (PDF)