Inspector General Robert P. Storch announced today that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) released the report, “Evaluation of Contested Mobility Training Requirements for Personnel Supporting the DoD Surge Sealift Mission.”
The objective of this evaluation was to determine whether the DoD effectively provided contract mariners supporting the surge sealift mission (known as the Ready Reserve Force) with the skills needed to operate in a contested environment (CE)—a hostile or uncertain environment where host government forces do not have control of the territory and population or where hostile forces have control to oppose an operation. Sealift is how the DoD, through the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), and the Department of Transportation, through the Maritime Administration (MARAD), move most military equipment during a major conflict.
“A prepared Ready Reserve Force is critical to the U.S. national security strategy, especially in contested environments,” said IG Storch. “Without specific training, contract mariners in the Ready Reserve Force may not be prepared to support critical DoD surge sealift missions successfully. They also may not be apprised of the latest threats and procedures related to operational security and tactical maneuvering.”
The DoD OIG determined that MSC and MARAD officials did not identify specific CE training requirements for contract mariners—the personnel who operate the surge sealift fleet. This occurred because MSC and MARAD officials did not develop an agreed-upon approach for defining CE training requirements for contract mariners or develop a training program. In addition, the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) did not ensure that the MSC and MARAD developed requirements or an approach for providing CE training to contract mariners, in accordance with USTRANSCOM Strategic Sealift Program Guidance.
To address these issues, the DoD OIG recommended that the Commander of the Military Sealift Command, in coordination with the Department of Transportation Maritime Administrator, develop and implement an approach for defining CE training requirements and an associated training program for the MARAD contract mariners, and that the USTRANSCOM Commander develop and implement an oversight plan to ensure that officials from the MSC and MARAD develop and implement mariner preparedness requirements in accordance with the Strategic Sealift Program Guidance. The DoD OIG will continue to monitor the progress of implementing both recommendations.