By Ed Baxter, MSCFE Public Affairs
Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser, III, commander, U.S. Transportation Command made his first-ever visit to one of Military Sealift Command’s dry cargo/ammunition ships, Jan. 23.
Fraser toured USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE 6) as part of a trip to MSC Far East headquarters in Singapore, where he spoke with active duty Navy Sailors, MSCFE civilian staff members and civil service mariners.
MSC is one of three component commands of USTRANSCOM, which provides full-spectrum global mobility solutions and related capabilities in peace and war.
Capt. Ed Santillan, Earhart’s civil service master, and Chief Engineer Joseph Galucci highlighted the ship’s mission, history and abilities for Fraser. The 12 ships in MSC’s Combat Logistics Force are designed to provide efficient delivery of food, fuel, ammunition and spare parts to Navy ships at sea, enabling them to stay on station.
“This ship has the capability to respond quickly which adds to our readiness capability,” Fraser said. “We don’t know where or when our next call will come from.”
Fraser held an all-hands call with crew members in the Earhart’s galley, thanking them for their service and answering any questions.
“What you do out here is build relationships which is huge as we look towards the future,” Fraser said.
Ashore, Navy Capt. James Hruska, MSCFE’s commander, briefed Fraser on MSC operations and activities in the vast U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. Army Lt. Col. Ameed Micko, commanding officer of the Okinawa-based 835th Transportation Battalion, also attended the briefing.
“Having the opportunity to showcase one of our Navy’s most modern and capable ships to the manager of DOD’s logistics efforts world-wide was quite an honor for the crew,” Santillan said.
During his two-day visit to the island nation, Fraser met with the U.S. ambassador to Singapore, senior defense officials from Singapore’s Air Force and Ministry of Defense and observed operations at one of Singapore’s commercial container ports.
Fraser also visited the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia before returning to the United States.