MarAd: RRF shipping option saved $168 million during Iraq war
The U.S. Ready Reserve Force saved taxpayers more than $168 million compared to the airlift option for military hardware transport to support the troops during the Iraq war.
The RRF supplied more than 80 percent of the “surge sealift requirements” to support U.S. troops in Iraq, said Maritime Administrator William G. Schubert at a May 20 RRF welcome home ceremony in Beaumont, Texas, for the vessels “Cape Victory” and “Cape Vincent.”
Forty of the 68 RRF ships participated in the recent conflict. These ships transported numerous cargoes, including Apache helicopters, multiple launch rocket systems, Humvees, fuel tankers, and bulldozers.