SHIPS OF MSC: Special Mission ships

Posted on December 11, 2012 by jfalexander

The following blog post is a follow-up entry to MSC’s warfighting series and originally appeared on the command’s website.

MSC’s Special Mission Program has 24 ships that provide operating platforms and services for a wide variety of U.S. military and other U.S. government missions.

Oceanographic and hydrographic surveys, underwater surveillance, missile tracking, acoustic surveys, and submarine and special warfare support are just a few of the specialized services provided to:

Special mission ships are operated by civilian mariners who work for private companies under contract to MSC.

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USNS Lewis and Clark participates in bilateral exercise in Maldives

Posted on October 10, 2012 by jfalexander

The following blog post was written by Ed Baxter, MSCFE Public Affairs.

USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1), with over a hundred U.S. Marines aboard, began bilateral training exercise Coconut Grove in the Republic of Maldives Oct. 6.

DIEGO GARCIA – Marines with Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment,1st Marine Division board the USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE-1) here Sept. 30 while in transit to the Maldives for Exercise Coconut Grove 2012, scheduled Oct. 6-16. Coconut Grove is a bilateral training exercise conducted bi-annually between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Maldivian National Defense Force. (Photo by Cpl. Isis M. Ramirez)

U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division are training with counterparts from the Maldivian Marine Corps in myriad of operations including jungle patrolling, convoy operations, weapons handling and marksmanship drills, military operations on urban terrain, combat lifesaving techniques and small boat operations.

The exercise is taking place on the Maldives’ southernmost island of Gan through Oct. 16. The Maldives is comprised of 1,192 islands spread over 35,000 square miles of the central Indian Ocean.

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Snapshots from Africa Partnership Station 2012: Swift showcases skills & goodwill – Part One

Posted on September 5, 2012 by jfalexander

By Jessica F. Alexander

The following blog post was originally published in the July 2012 edition of SEALIFT, a Military Sealift Command newspaper publication. During the month of September, we will be highlighting regular blog posts from the mission as APS 12 concludes in Africa.

HSV Swift (HSV 2), a U.S. Military Sealift Command-chartered high-speed vessel, is providing critical support to the U.S. Navy’s partnership mission in Africa this year.

Swift pulls into Durban Harbor, South Africa, June 5 for a two-day port visit.
U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Suzanna Brugler

Since January, the U.S. Navy has been deployed to Africa as part of an ongoing international effort to improve regional maritime safety and security during a mission called Africa Partnership Station 2012.

APS is an international security cooperation initiative aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities in order to improve maritime safety and security in Africa. Training activities focus on counter-piracy, illicit trafficking, and energy and resource security.

Sailors aboard HSV Swift (HSV 2) practice hose-handling techniques during damage control training May 8.
U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jonathan Garcia

In the past five years, APS has brought together more than 30 African, European, North and South American countries. The mission is in part motivated by the belief that effective maritime security and safety will contribute to development and economic prosperity.

Swift arrived in Africa May 4 after a fuel stop in Dakar, Senegal. Once on station, the ship’s crew conducted brief port visits in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, Lome, Togo and Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo before heading further south to Namibia and other locations in South Africa.

There are currently 60 total crew members aboard the ship, including contracted mariners, U.S. Sailors and Marines and the Embarked Security Team.

HSV Swift is a mission-critical element to APS 12, providing a versatile, agile platform for a variety of subject-matter expert exchanges with host nations.

In remarks aboard Swift, Capt. Susan Dunlap, Navy Africa Region Director, talked about the impact of the APS mission commitment in terms of resources.

“It is a huge task to schedule ships, hold conferences, make plans and do everything that needs to be done to bring off an event of this magnitude,” said Dunlap.

Partner nations benefit because the concerns of the maritime environment today are global.

“Piracy affects all nations that transport goods on the ocean. Drugs trafficked through most of Africa mostly reach European shores. Terrorism is exported to the United States and all over the world. So it is in our own interest to help Africa improve maritime security,” Dunlap said.

APS bolsters maritime safety and security by increasing African nations’ capabilities to secure their own territorial waters and enforce their own economic exclusive zones.

However, true mission success is also dependent upon the friendships and partnerships that are built along the way, and maritime security in Africa is a long-term effort.

During the month of June, Swift continued the mission in Mozambique, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Kenya before the APS East mission concludes and heads to the west coast to begin APS West with visits in Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin.

The ship’s gold crew and blue crew turned over in July, and APS 12 is scheduled to conclude in September.

For more information and to join the conversation visit: http://www.facebook.com/hsv2swift.

USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon: MSC’s cargo platform for #JLOTS12

Posted on August 28, 2012 by jfalexander

By: Jessica Alexander

The following blog post is the second installment of a two-part series highlighting this year’s JLOTS exercise.

From the moment we checked onboard, it was clear that Military Sealift Command (MSC) container roll-on/roll-off ship USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK 3006) was the center of activity for this year’s Joint-Logistics-Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) exercise off the coast of Norfolk.

Newport News, Va. (August 22, 2012) Military Sealift Command container roll-on/roll-off ship USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK 3006) is anchored off the coast of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story during Joint-Logistics-Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) 2012, an annual joint exercise sponsored by U.S. Transportation Command designed to demonstrate the real-world capability of the Department of Defense to transport supplies from ship to shore without a pier. The JLOTS capaility was most recently utilized during the U.S. response to the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. This year’s exercise occurs throughout the month of August. #JLOTS12

Operated by civilian contractmariners from Keystone Shipping Company, USNS Obregon served as the prepositioned ship that allowed troops from the Army’s 7th Sustainment Brigade and Navy Beach Group Two to test their capability to move cargo from ship to shore in event of a natural disaster or combat situation.

Initial planning began in Fall 2011 for this U.S. Transportation Command–sponsored exercise and the actual demonstration involved over 1,000 personnel, including MSC employees from Norfolk and Washington D.C.

During this year’s JLOTS exercise, five unique ship capabilities were demonstrated simultaneously from the decks and cargo holds of USNS Obregon.

Newport News, Va. (August 22, 2012) View from atop the “morgan crane” onboard USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK 3006), anchored off the coast of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story during Joint-Logistics-Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) 2012, an annual joint exercise sponsored by U.S. Transportation Command designed to demonstrate the real-world capability of the Department of Defense to transport supplies from ship to shore without a pier. #JLOTS12

One of these unique capabilities included the USNS Obregon’s “morgan crane”. The only crane of its kind in today’s Navy, USNS Obregon’s “morgan crane” is capable of lifting and moving up to 500 tons quickly and efficiently.

Other capabilities included the port and starboard ramps utilized for vehicle offload; a stern ramp used for launch craft and other cargo movement; and the Amphibious Bulk Liquid Transfer System (ABLTS) which is a large hose capable of reaching 10,000 ft. to transfer water or fuel ashore.

All together, nearly 380 pieces of rolling stock and containers were discharged via lighterage from USNS Obregon ashore to the beach at Fort Story in a two-week time frame, culminating with a demonstration for military leadership onboard USNS Obregon, August 23.

I had the opportunity to observe the exercise in full force last week, while USNS Obregon was still anchored almost a mile off the coast. During my time aboard the ship, I met Bill Fish, a JLOTS expert and Navy civilian, who said that this year’s demonstration went off without a hitch.

The ship’s master, Capt. Rick Jordan, amplified this observation, saying his favorite part of the exercise was the joint teamwork.

Lt. Cmdr. Carolyn Hunter, the MSC Navy Liaison Officer assigned to JLOTS 2012, underscored the critical support from the ship’s crew, saying every member on board the ship contributed.

“The exercise is no small task and it takes true teamwork and professionalism to execute such a large-scale operation,” she said.

The JLOTS operation is critical to the U.S. military’s readiness, and MSC ships, like USNS Obregon are critical to JLOTS – prepositioned at sea, around the world, every day, operating forward and ready to deliver.