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         were deployed while more seasoned transporters remained at home.
       
       As the executive agent for linehaul operations, USARCENT was
       unprepared to meet the needs of her sister components. Throughout
       Desert Shield/Desert Storm, USARCENT linehaul support never matured
       to fully meet USCENTAF requirements. International border
       clearances and customs problems were never fully resolved and
       significantly delayed high priority cargo. We took tbe initiative
       to support our own linehaul requirements. In the early stages of
       Desert Shield, USCENTAF contracting, comptroller, and
       transportation personnel arranged commercial linehaul contracts to
       support our operating locations by coordinating with American
       Embassies and local contractors. During Desert Storm, we
       established our own linehaul capability called the Blueball
       Express. This capabiliy consisted of 200 Air Force drivers and
       100 commercially leased tractor trailers. This capability was
       developed because third country national drivers walked off the job
       during hostilities. The Blueball Express moved over 20 million
       pounds of USCENTAF cargo and munitions. Over 150 million pounds of
       cargo was moved by a combination of commercial, ARCENT, and
       Blueball Express assets.
       
          USCENTAF assets moving via sealift were a disappointment.
         Chronic problems tracking both ships and CENTAF cargo destined for
         the AOR were never fully resolved by Military Traffic Management
       Command (MTHC) and Transporation Command (TRANSCOM). Often times,
       ships arrived with no-notice and manifest data was unavailable.
       

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