Afghanistan Evacuation: The Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and the Defense Production Act (DPA)

INSIGHTi

Afghanistan Evacuation: The Civil Reserve

Air Fleet (CRAF) and the Defense Production

Act (DPA)

August 25, 2021

Created in 1951, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) operates under the Defense Production Act’s (DPA)

Title I allocations authority and is available to respond to national defense needs or other contingencies.

CRAF is a cooperative emergency airlift program involving U.S. civil air carriers, DOD, and the

Department of Transportation (DOT). On August 22, 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III ordered

the Department of Defense’s (DOD) United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) to

activate the CRAF.

For more information on the Afghanistan withdrawal, see CRS Insight IN11730, Afghan Aerial

Evacuation in Context, CRS Report R46879, U.S. Military Withdrawal and Taliban Takeover in

Afghanistan: Frequently Asked Questions, and CRS Insight IN11726, The Afghanistan Withdrawal:

Military and Defense Implications; on the DPA, see CRS Report R43767, The Defense Production Act of

1950: History, Authorities, and Considerations for Congress.

Background on the CRAF

After the 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift, wherein U.S. and U.K. forces, plus civilian air carriers, resupplied

Allied-held West Berlin during a Soviet land blockade, President Harry Truman used DPA authorities to

create a federal emergency airlift capability. In December 1951, DOD and the Commerce Department

established the CRAF by joint agreement; DOT took over primary management of the program in 1967.

CRAF provides additional emergency airlift capability to DOD, and the federal government as a whole,

during contingencies where DOD cannot meet airlift requirements. The CRAF is authorized under the

allocations authority in Title I of the DPA, which relates to the presidential authority to control the

distribution of goods, services, and materials in promotion of the national defense when the Title I

prioritization authority is insufficient to the needs of the emergency. Under CRAF, participating U.S. civil

air carriers (i.e., commercial air passenger and cargo companies) enter into a contractual relationship with

TRANSCOM and receive certain preferences in providing commercial cargo and passenger services for

DOD.

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CRAF Composition

DOT manages civil carriers’ participation in the CRAF, while USTRANSCOM, for DOD, manages the

activation of the fleet. According to Air Mobility Command, the U.S. Air Force component of

TRANSCOM, participating CRAF aircraft are assigned into one of two main “segments”: national and

international. The national segment consists of aircraft capable of meeting domestic airlift requirements.

The international segment is sub-divided into long-range and short-range sections. Long-range passenger

and cargo aircraft supplement long-range, inter-theater military aircraft (mainly C-5 and C-17 aircraft),

while medium-sized passenger and cargo aircraft comprise the short-range international section.

To participate in international segments, according to Air Mobility Command, participating U.S.registered carriers must be able to commit 40% of their CRAF-capable fleet and maintain four complete

crews for each participating aircraft. As of August 2021, a total of 24 carriers and 450 aircraft are reported

to be enrolled in CRAF.

Prior to August 2021, the CRAF has been activated for emergency use twice: to support Operations

Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to May 1991; and to support Operation Iraqi Freedom

from February 2002 to June 2003. The Afghanistan evacuation is the third CRAF activation.

CRAF in the Afghanistan Evacuation

Although DOT manages the overall program, the USTRANSCOM commander is the activation authority

for the CRAF. The CRAF has three graduated stages of emergency activation that incrementally make

more airlift capacity available. Stage I is for “minor regional crises and humanitarian assistance/disaster

relief efforts.” Stage II is for “major theater war,” and Stage III for “periods of national mobilization.” As

the Afghanistan evacuation is a humanitarian assistance effort, the Defense Secretary has directed a Stage

I CRAF activation.

According to DOD, the current CRAF activation involves aircraft from multiple domestic carriers,

including three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, and Omni Air; two from

Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines. DOD noted it “does not anticipate a major impact to

commercial flights from this activation.” DOD also stated that CRAF-activated aircraft will not fly into

Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Instead, they will reportedly be used for “the

onward movement of passengers from temporary safe havens and interim staging bases,” which will

allow military aircraft to focus on flights to and from Kabul.

Policy Issues

As is the case with most DPA authorities and their derived programs, the CRAF operates at the

President’s discretion—or at the discretion of the President’s delegate. As such, beyond its inherent

oversight powers, Congress has a limited role in shaping implementation of CRAF and other DPAauthorized programs in response to the Afghanistan evacuation. However, with regard to the DPA and the

Afghanistan evacuation, there are policy considerations Congress may explore, including:

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CRAF employment processes, including potential activation, and other alternatives.

During past contingencies, the federal government has chosen to obtain emergency airlift

capabilities through other means. For example, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created Project Airbridge, which used

privately contracted aircraft to transport overseas supplies of personal protective

equipment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Resettling Afghan evacuees under other DPA authorities. FEMA and the Department of

Homeland Security have made use of Title I authorities in response to the COVID-19

pandemic and past natural disasters, including for development of post-disaster

infrastructure. Similarly, outside of the CRAF, the President could use the DPA to

establish domestic temporary staging areas and shelters for evacuees and procure

contractual services for the facilities’ staffing and maintenance.

Assigning interagency DPA coordination. The CRAF’s recent emergency activation,

along with the DPA’s employment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, suggest the

executive branch’s broader and more frequent use of DPA authorities. However, despite

FEMA’s nominal coordination role via Executive Order 13603, there is no central,

interagency organization to plan and direct the implementation of DPA authorities across

the federal government. The DPA Committee was authorized for this purpose in 2009, but

does not currently appear to fulfill this function.

Author Information

Michael H. Cecire

Analyst in Intergovernmental Relations and Economic

Development Policy

Heidi M. Peters

Analyst in U.S. Defense Acquisition Policy

Disclaimer

This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff

to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of

Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of

information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.

CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United

States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,

as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the

permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

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