‘Logistics wins wars’: How Scott Air Force Base is supporting military strikes on Iran

U.S. Transportation Command, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, plays a significant role in moving equipment, personnel and supplies for American military operations worldwide — including the ongoing strikes on Iran.

“I also want to specifically call out United States Transportation Command and [U.S. Strategic Command] for their contributions to this fight,” said Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a Monday press conference. “We cannot project American combat power at the time and place of our choosing without both.”

While stealth bombers and activating missile defense systems often grab headlines, U.S. Transportation Command is a critical force that makes those missions possible. By planning much of the military’s movements of equipment, weapons, fuel and troops, TRANSCOM provides the logistical backbone that allows the U.S. military to operate globally.

TRANSCOM’s public affairs team would not confirm specifics of the combatant command’s role in the strikes against Iran, citing security concerns and communications being run by the White House and Pentagon.

“TRANSCOM has and continues to move equipment and personnel in support of [U.S. Central Command] requirements, projecting power at times and places of our nation’s choosing,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Retired Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, who stepped down as commander of TRANSCOM in 2024, described the logistics leading up to the strikes. Over the past two months, she said, TRANSCOM moved thousands of personnel to the Middle East and coordinated the refueling of hundreds of aircraft, “focusing on ensuring that we have the food, the fuel, the munitions necessary.”

During last summer’s operations targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, Transportation Command helped refuel stealth B-2 bombers, which operate out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and can fly 32- to 37-hour round trips.

“They cannot do that without air refueling,” Van Ovost said. “So, we work together with planners to map out their route and provide fuel along the way — both there and back multiple times.”

As many as a dozen air refueling aircraft operated by Air Mobility Command, which is also based at Scott Air Force Base, could be used on those missions, she said.

TRANSCOM also works closely with U.S. allies to coordinate all their movements.

Spain, like some other Western European countries, denied the U.S. permission to use jointly operated bases to attack the Middle Eastern country.

Fifteen U.S. aircraft, mostly refueling tankers, left bases in Spain since the operation began, according to Reuters. Nine KC-135 Stratotankers left for Germany, and another two aircraft left for France. The KC-135s are operated by Air Mobility Command.

“Spain, as a sovereign nation, can decide not to give us access basing or overflight,” she said.

That’s why Transportation Command has backup plans that are reviewed and rehearsed, Van Ovost said, to allow the U.S. to move planes elsewhere in Europe.

“Our partnerships run pretty deep,” she said. “Certain allies and partners may be with us on a certain operation, and they may not be with us on another operation. But we still exercise and work together with them on different plans. And that is what makes our ability to project and sustain around the globe.”

Cargo aircraft such as C-17 Globemaster and C-130 Hercules planes, both maneuvered by Air Mobility Command, transported much of the munitions and many of the troops employed in the attack.

While TRANSCOM’s operations are 24/7, Van Ovost said that when combat operations start, there is a shift in the tempo and work at Scott Air Force Base.

The first retaliatory volley from Iran was directed at seaports and airports in the region, she said. That changed patterns of travel for commercial airlines and commercial cargo ships, which requires coordination by TRANSCOM.

“There’s a lot of planning,” Van Ovost said. “One thing we do in the military well is plan.”

What TRANSCOM does behind the scenes with the help of the National Guard and commercial partners is critical work, and they all take pride in their efforts, Van Ovost said.

“It’s not glorious,” she said. “It’s not an air-to-air missile that you could see taking down another aircraft. It is the stick of lethality. They know that logistics wins wars.”

A planned media tour at Scott Air Force Base was canceled this week due to ongoing operations, highlighting the sensitive nature of TRANSCOM’s work.