US military airlift policy strives to maximize the available wartime reserve of airlift for a given investment. Unfortunately, the capacity of America's strategic airlift system has consistently fallen short of the proposed wartime requirements and remains so today. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Military Airlift Command's attempts to reduce the airlift deficit included a CRAF Enhancement Program that subsidized the conversion of CRAF jumbo aircraft into cargoconvertibles. Although several aircraft were modified, the program was allowed to die during the 1980s. However, this option needs to be re-examined since Air Mobility Command's efforts to close the contemporary airlift gap such as C-17 procurement, the C-141 Service Life Extension Program, and the outright purchase and operation of a fleet of commercial cargo aircraft are expensive and problem-ridden. | Enhancement Of The Civil Reserve Air Fleet by William G Palmby, Paperback | Indigo Chapters