Mark Esper, secretary of the Department of Defense (DoD) and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, has said that DoD plans to add commercial vessels for military sealift operations in its budget request for fiscal year 2022.
Esper said at a prior Heritage Foundation event that the DoD, including the U.S. Transportation Command, is looking into recapitalizing the country’s sealift fleet through commercial procurement.
The DoD also needs “sufficient munitions” to ensure conflict preparedness, according to Esper.
“When you look at those you got to make sure you understand the flow of forces, that strategic mobility you’re talking about. And when I think about strategic mobility I think about the airlift and sealift principally,” he noted.
