A Comprehensive Examination of the Civil Reserve Airfleet

The United States of America has entered the twenty-first century fighting a war against terrorism. Terrorists are an enemy that can suddenly appear anywhere in the world with little or no warning, and then quickly disappear into the concealment of society only to wait for another opportunity to strike again. The 2002 National Security Strategy (NSS) of the United States describes terrorism as "different from any other war in our history".1 The NSS goes on to explain that the United States must "continue to transform our military forces to ensure our ability to conduct rapid and precise operations to achieve decisive results".2 Because it is difficult to predict when or where a terrorist attack might occur against the United States, or one of its allies, it is imperative that the United States military have the capability to quickly respond to terrorist attacks anywhere around the globe. The National Defense Strategy of The United States of America emphasizes this point by stating, "a key goal is developing the Capability to surge military forces rapidly from strategic distances to deny adversaries sanctuary".