July 30, 2026: Last month in the Philippines, American Marines unloaded anti-ship and air defense systems from a commercial ship. This was part of a NMESIS/Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System test. The Marines are learning how to rapidly deploy these weapons, as well as radars and other electronic monitoring equipment, to islands in the South China Sea and the Philippines. If there were a war or crisis with China, effectively executing these maneuvers would go a long way toward deterring Chinese aggression. The American Army is also contributing with launchers carrying cruise and anti-aircraft missiles.

In the early stages of World War II in the Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur ordered the takeover of all available foreign commercial shipping in Allied-controlled territory. These ships were essential in the early stages of the war to move Allied troops within the Southwest Pacific Theater of operations.

The Marines have also established the Marine Littoral Regiment, which will be built around existing Marine Regiments. The 1st Marine Littoral Regiment is based in Hawaii, the 2nd Marine Littoral Regiment is based in North Carolina, and the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment is based in Japan.

The littoral regiments make use of existing equipment to provide needed weapons, aircraft, and vehicles. One item, nine LSM\Landing Ship Mediums for each littoral regiment, does not exist yet. The Marines and the Navy are still working out the design of these new ships, which are larger and more capable versions of the World War II-era LSMs. They have not behaved themselves; one special item has to be obtained separately. The Marines want 45 LSMs for the three Littoral Regiments. This will provide nine LSMs per regiment, plus spares to replace LSMs that are out of service for maintenance or upgrades. The Navy and Marines are arguing over whether the LSM should be expensive at more than $300 million for each warship or cheaper, at about $100 million for each LSM transport. The Marines point out that neither the Navy's nor the Marine Corps' budget can afford the more expensive LSM version and note that the American Army already has eight 4,200-ton Besson-class logistics support vessels designed to do most of what the LSM is supposed to do. The Army logistics ships were built between 1987 and 2006. The Army ships have a crew of 31 and can travel 12,000 kilometers at 21 kilometers per hour, unrefueled and fully loaded. That can mean 82 standard shipping containers, fifteen M1 tanks, or anything in between. The Army ships have RO/RO (Roll On/Roll Off) capability for vehicles. The Army ships are similar in design to commercial transports used throughout the Pacific. The Marines are leasing two of these commercial ships to test their LSM concepts. The LSMs can be built quickly, and if the Navy and Marines agree on an LSM design soon, the new LSMs can begin arriving soon, with all 35 delivered by the early 2030s.

And then there is the problem that America lacks enough ships to support military operations in the Pacific. While the Marine Corps would be involved in the Pacific, most of the military manpower would be provided by the Army. A growing problem is the shrinking U.S. Army transport fleet. The Army has always had some ships of its own, for moving troops and equipment and for managing amphibious operations or major port operations overseas that need to happen very quickly. This is a tradition and a necessity that go back to the American Revolution. The Army is still seeking sufficient shipping to support a Pacific Ocean campaign. The Army was able to obtain only 8 6,000-ton LSV/Logistics Support Vessel units. The LSV is similar to the famous World War II-era LST/Landing Ship Tank. The LSVs are the largest transport ships the Army operates. The current Army naval force consists of over 130 vessels. These ships are mainly for port operations or landing craft. What is missing are freighters, tankers, and troop ships to get the Army and its supplies to the combat zone.

The American Army has always owned ships, usually tugs and coastal craft, to assist in moving supplies. During World War II, the American Army actually had more ships and more tonnage than the American Navy. By 2000, the Army had only about 295 ships. Nearly 20 years later, that number fell to 130. Back then, the decision was to buy more, mainly to speed up the deployment of units to overseas hot spots. During the 1991 Gulf War, it took the Army 150 days to move five divisions by sea to the Persian Gulf. It actually took 205 days to move all the combat and support units to the Gulf.

In 2000, the Army plan was to buy three LSVs. These are actually LSTs and can carry 24 M-1 tanks and deliver them right to a beach. At that time, the Army already had six LSVs. The Army also went on to buy high-speed, 80-kilometer-an-hour catamaran ferries that can move twenty tanks some 2,000 kilometers. The LSVs and 20 larger Roll-On/Roll-Off transports would be used to pre-position an armored brigade's worth of equipment off potential hot spots. Just add the troops, get the equipment ashore, and you're ready for war. All these Army ships were needed after September 11, 2001. With the terrorism threat, the Army has returned to obtaining shipping that can be quickly chartered. That worked after 2000 because the enemy was unable to threaten ships and charters, and their civilian crews were willing to do the work.

There is another potential complication. In the past, America has often been called on by its allies during military crises. The allies did not need much help with weapons or combat, but with logistics. America has been, for nearly a century, the world leader in moving military personnel and cargo to where it is needed and doing so under the most trying conditions of nature or enemy interference. Unless there is a major naval threat that requires a major military operation to protect shipping, America remains the most experienced at quickly organizing a major military logistics effort.

America spends nearly $2 billion a year to move military personnel and material. This does not include additional spending for war-related logistics. The level of activity and the length of time America has been at it make access to American logistics resources and specialists highly sought after by American allies. While the allies appreciate having American aircraft or ships move stuff for them, often it’s just the excellent and experienced advice from the Americans that is needed. What the army still needs are ships that can quickly and in large numbers land materiel somewhere without a major port nearby. That’s where LSVs, LCUs and LCMs are essential. These ships are essential for getting goods from ship to shore, no matter where the shore is, when port facilities are inadequate.

The most visible American military logistics organization is the USTRANSCOM/US Transportation Command or Transcom for short. The Air Force component is AMC/Air Mobility Command; the Navy contribution is MSC/Military Sealift Command. The Army contributes its expertise in handling the last mile, using ground and river/canal transport to get material from ships to the end user.

Since World War II, military logistics has evolved from a largely Army chore to one that depends much more on air freight. It was during World War II that America found it had the talent and capacity for truly massive, unprecedented logistical efforts on a global scale. Most of this was run by the Army, which had more ships under its control than the Navy. The Army ships and coastal craft were mostly for logistics, and that fleet of over 110,000 vessels contained very few warships. After World War II, the Navy got control of the Army fleet, and the Army Air Force became a separate service and developed a huge fleet of air freighters. The Army developed several generations of trucks and innovations like rapidly built temporary pipelines and a global network of transportation contractors.

These days, the largest component of Transcom is AMC. Most of the Transcom personnel are reservists or civilians, and much of the actual cargo movement is handled by aircraft, ships, and trucks hired for the occasion.

AMC and the Army move more tonnage, but if you want something moved anywhere very fast, which is common in wartime, AMC gets it done. AMC does this with a fleet of 1,100 aircraft. In 2011, when there were still many American troops in the Middle East and Afghanistan, AMC carried out 105,000 sorties, 20 percent of which were aerial refueling, the rest moving personnel and freight. MSC moved 502,000 measurement tons of cargo as well as 6.6 million tons of fuel.

The Army transport-type shipping is still needed as a reserve capability. Many of the Army ships are operated by reserve units, where part-time soldiers maintain skills needed in an emergency, when time is at a premium. That has been the Army's experience in every conflict America has been involved in for over a century.