AR 220-10 specifies who has authority to authorize unit air movement. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of the Army (DA), authorizes unit air movement between overseas major Army commands or from an overseas major Army command to the continental United States (CONUS). Headquarters DA authorizes unit movement by air from or within CONUS. DA normally provides instructions and movement authority to the Army components of unified commands to implement DOD and JCS directives.
World situations that call for a rapid response by the armed forces use airlift to quickly move to an area of operations. Air movement of units requires detailed planning at all levels of command. This chapter gives a brief overview of the history of airlift and air movement missions and responsibilities. It also provides general instructions for conducting an air movement, emphasizing safety.
A nontactical movement is a movement in which units, personnel, equipment, and materiel move when no enemy interference or contact is anticipated. It emphasizes economical use of the aircraft cargo space and maximum use of the allowable cabin load (ACL). ACL is the amount of cargo and passengers (as determined by weight, cubic displacement, and distance from origin to destination) that may be transported by a specific type of aircraft. Unit integrity and unloading sequence are major considerations when planning a nontactical movement, but efficient economy of space utilization has the highest priority ( Figure 1-1 ). Units may not be required to be operational upon unloading.