Get your STUFT together: Why the Pentagon needs a civilian fleet before missiles fly

Wars rarely begin when nations are fully prepared to fight them. They begin when political leaders would prefer more time, military planners want more forces, and logisticians need more ships, aircraft, ammunition, and supplies.That is precisely why the United States and its allies should revisit an old but highly practical concept: Ships Taken Up From Trade — STUFT.I first became acquainted with STUFT while serving from 1987 to 1990 as the Amphibious Operations Officer on Commander 6th Fleet’s NATO staff, Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe, in Naples, Italy. I was responsible for coordinating NATO amphibious training throughout the Mediterranean, working with forces from the U.S., the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, Greece, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. My Royal Marine counterpart, Lt. Col. Andrew Eames, had fought in the 1982 Falklands War and provided me with firsthand insight into Britain’s use of commercial shipping during that conflict. The Royal Navy and Royal Marines understood an essential truth: when war comes unexpectedly, a nation may have to fight with more than the ships painted gray and flying naval ensigns.Britain requisitioned or chartered civilian vessels to help carry troops, aircraft, equipment, fuel, and supplies thousands of miles into the South Atlantic. The lesson was straightforward. Commercial shipping cannot replace a navy, but it can dramatically expand a nation’s ability to project and sustain military power when existing naval capacity is insufficient.I encountered the same problem from another perspective during the 1990-91 Gulf War, while serving in the Operations Section of I Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters in Saudi Arabia. As American forces assembled for the Desert Storm ground offensive, the Navy and Marine Corps faced a serious shortage of amphibious shipping. Ultimately, ships had to be repositioned from across the Navy to embark approximately 30,000 Marines.We solved the problem — but wartime is the wrong time to begin searching for solutions.For much of the post-World War II era, the U.S. could afford to “buy the battlefield” with time, distance, and money. Today, those luxuries are far less certain. Modern missiles, drones, cyberwarfare, precision weapons, and rapidly developing crises can compress strategic warning from months to weeks — or even days.Meanwhile, building sophisticated warships is enormously expensive and time-consuming. Governments must continue investing in modern naval forces, but no responsible defense strategy should depend entirely upon the assumption that sufficient purpose-built military shipping will be available when the next crisis erupts.STUFT should therefore become a deliberate plan B, prepared during peace rather than improvised during war.The first requirement would be to identify suitable commercial vessels before they are needed. Container ships, roll-on/roll-off vessels, ferries, tankers, and other commercial ships possess different characteristics that could support military operations.Governments could establish agreements with commercial owners specifying the circumstances under which designated ships could be chartered or requisitioned. Compensation, insurance, crew arrangements, and required modifications should be negotiated beforehand — not during the opening weeks of a war.Selected ships could also receive modifications that increase their military usefulness. Depending upon their intended role, these might include reinforced helicopter landing areas, communications equipment, additional fuel-transfer capability, medical facilities, improved damage-control systems, and other mission-specific equipment.Command and control would be particularly important. A commercial vessel suddenly incorporated into a military operation cannot simply sail into a naval task force and be expected to function effectively.A modular communications package could solve much of this problem. Unclassified equipment could remain aboard designated vessels, while classified communications and cryptographic systems could be installed by qualified military specialists when the ship is activated for exercises or operations.But equipment alone is insufficient.Military personnel designated to operate STUFT vessels should periodically embark during exercises. Ship captains, military command elements, communications specialists, and civilian crews need to understand beforehand how authority, navigation, communications, force protection, and operational control will function.The first time these people work together should not be after missiles have started flying.There is also an important alliance dimension. A future conflict in the Indo-Pacific or a major NATO contingency would almost certainly place enormous demands on sealift. Rather than every nation developing an entirely separate system, allies should establish compatible STUFT standards covering communications, vessel certification, military modifications, command relationships, and periodic exercises.Such a program would not eliminate shortages of amphibious warships or strategic sealift, nor should commercial vessels be regarded as substitutes for properly designed naval combatants. Commercial ships are generally more vulnerable and would require careful employment and protection.But that misses the central point.STUFT is not about replacing the fleet. It is about creating strategic depth before the shooting starts.A relatively modest investment made during peacetime could give the U.S. and its allies access to a much larger reservoir of maritime capacity during an emergency. Just as importantly, a credible ability to mobilize commercial shipping would complicate an adversary’s calculations by demonstrating that allied maritime capacity extends beyond the number of warships visible on a naval register.I have seen my share of war during my lifetime, and one lesson has remained constant: preparedness cannot begin after the emergency arrives.OPINION: THE HONG KONG LEAK DEMANDS AN F-35 REDESIGNThere is only one thing worse than war — and that is being unprepared when war is suddenly thrust upon you.STUFT provides a practical, affordable, and historically proven way to ensure we are better prepared when that day comes.Tom Williams is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel with 28 years of active-duty service, including two tours in Vietnam, evacuation of Americans from Beirut in 1976, and the liberation of Kuwait in 1990-91, followed by 11 years of contract training and mentoring in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. He is the author of the Heart of a Marine book series.