Sealift (Strategic)

The movement of military forces, vehicles, ammunition, fuel, and sustainment by ship over intercontinental distances, which carries roughly 90 percent of the equipment and supplies for a US overseas deployment because no airlift can match its volume. In the US it is run by Military Sealift Command using surge roll-on/roll-off ships, the Ready Reserve Force, and chartered commercial hulls, backed by prepositioned squadrons. Strategic sealift is slower than airlift but moves the bulk: a single large medium-speed RO/RO carries what hundreds of cargo aircraft sorties would.