Marine Expeditionary Force News

The ballistic missile submarine USS Maine surfaces to receive a vertical replenishment from Marines assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force in the Philippine Sea, May 9, 2023. Vertical replenishments enable Navy vessels to quickly receive critical resources without disrupting maritime security operations.

Brendan Smith brings more than a decade of maritime experience to his role as president of Seaward Services, a marine services company specializing in the operation, maintenance and repair of government and privately owned vessels. The company is part of the Hornblower Group.During his 6.5 years with the U.S. Navy, he served aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS Santa Fe, and his roles included chemistry and radiological controls assistant (CRA), quality assurance officer (QAO) and combat operations instructor.

The amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), along with multiple embarked Navy and Marine Corps units, completed initial rescue and recovery operations in support of federal and state officials Sept. 17, following Hurricane Irma's devastation of the Florida Keys. Iwo Jima and New York are scheduled to return home Sept 19. Led by Commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10, the Navy and Marine Corps units partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and with state and local officials until civilian authorities and the Florida National Guard could take over long-term recovery operations.

The U.S. and Philippine navies will participate in the Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama June 19-25 in the vicinity of Cebu. Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama is designed to enhance the complexity and diversity of training opportunities, while strengthening the longstanding alliance between the U.S. and the Republic of the Philippines. The exercise will focus on mutual security concerns that affect the Philippines including piracy and sea smuggling, maritime domain awareness and patrol, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness. "The training we will perform over the next week will provide excellent opportunities to deepen our long-time maritime partnership with the Philippine Navy," said Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson, commander, Task Force 73.

By a 98-1 vote, the Senate confirmed retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to be the 26th secretary of defense Jan. 20, and Vice President Michael R. Pence administered his oath of office shortly afterward.R. Pence administered his oath of office shortly afterward. Mattis is the first retired general officer to hold the position since General of the Army George C. Marshall in the early 1950s. Congress passed a waiver for the retired four-star general to serve in the position, because law requires former service members to have been out of uniform for at least seven years to serve as defense secretary. Mattis retired from the Marine Corps in 2013. Mattis is a veteran of the Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His military career culminated with service as commander of U.S.

Seaward Services, an HMS Global Maritime company, recently marked the end of a 15-year working relationship with Austal on the Westpac Express project. Seaward Services was awarded a contract in 2001 to provide operations, maintenance and technical management. Effective June 1, 2016, while another company has taken over the charter of the vessel, Seaward Services will continue its operations, maintenance and technical management of the Westpac Express. The High-Speed Vessel (HSV) Westpac Express transports military personnel and equipment over a 1,200 mile range in Asia for the Marine Corps Third Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) and Military Sealift Command. The 101-meter vessel, home ported in Okinawa, Japan, can carry 970 troops and 236 vehicles, and travel at speeds of 35 knots.

The charter of the Austal high speed vessel 'WestPac Express' has been extended for a further six months by the United States Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The modification to the charter will see the ship continue to support the operations of the United States Marine Corps’ Third Marine Expeditionary Force through to February 2014. The contract extension comes almost exactly 12 years after Austal announced it had signed a world first contract to charter the 101 metre high speed catamaran to the US military for the rapid deployment of Marines and their equipment in the Western Pacific.

The Dept of Defense exercise a 6-month option period for worldwide charter of a US-flagged passenger/cargo ferry. The vessel will support the Marine Corps, Third Marine Expeditionary Force, and will operate out of Okinawa, Japan. US Department of Defense state that contract funds in the amount of $6,968,500 are obligated for fiscal 2013.  Work will be performed at sea worldwide, and is expected to be completed by August 2013.  Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

General Dynamics NASSCO hold keel laying ceremony in its San Diego faciltiy for the future 'USNS John Glenn' (MLP 2). Delivery of this second MLP ship is scheduled for first quarter 2014, and is to be named John Glenn, in honor of John Herschel Glenn, Jr., the former U.S. Marine Corps pilot, astronaut and U.S. senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Ms. Lyn Glenn, daughter of John Herschel Glenn, Jr., and Mrs. Helen L. Toolan, wife of Lieutenant General John A.

A Washington think tank concludes Navy should deploy more ships, submarines, to the Asia-Pacific theater. The congressionally mandated report by the Center for International and Strategic Studies offers a number of suggestions to rebalance U.S. military forces after years of war, and bolster combat capabilities in the U.S. Pacific Command area. Authors David J. Berteau and Michael J. Green, the center’s co-directors, propose a shift of forces away from Northeast Asia — Japan and South Korea — and more toward Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, and Australia.

Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort's Medical Treatment Facility changed leadership May 25 as Navy Capt. Kevin J. Knoop assumed command from Navy Capt. David K. Weiss during a ceremony aboard Comfort at Canton Pier in Baltimore. Comfort's primary mission is to serve as an afloat, mobile, acute-surgical medical facility to the U.S. military, with a secondary mission of providing hospital services for disaster relief and humanitarian operations worldwide. Comfort's Medical Treatment Facility, or MTF, is crewed and maintained by medical personnel from the U.S.

Seaward Services to operate and maintain HSV ALAKAI and HSV HUAKAI for the United States Navy. Seaward Services (SSI), a HMS Global Maritime (HMSGM) company based in New Albany, Indiana, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract through Military Sealift Command (MSC) to operate and convert the former Hawaii Superferry vessels HSV Alakai and Huakai for MSC. HMSGM has been managing these vessels since overseeing their construction and was the operator during the use of Alakai in Hawaii as an inter-island fast ferry.

HMS Global Maritime (HMSGM) announce the extension of the HSV WestPac Express’ charter with the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) and the Third Marine Expeditionary Force, beginning in February 2012. The contract can last up to an additional two years. The HSV WestPac Express has been operated by HMSGM for the past nine years as a high-speed transport vessel for military personnel and equipment over a 1,200 mile range in Asia. The 101-meter vessel, home ported in Okinawa, Japan, can carry 970 troops and 236 vehicles at speeds of 35 knots. Over the past nine years, the HSV WestPac Express has experienced many achievements. One of those achievements came in March…

Two Military Sealift Command ships delivered hundreds of pieces of U.S. Marine Corps equipment and containerized supplies to Thai ports in late January as preparations ramped up for Exercise Cobra Gold 2009, the major multi-national exercise scheduled for Feb. 4 - 17 in Thailand. Cobra Gold is a regularly scheduled joint and coalition multinational exercise hosted annually by the Kingdom of Thailand. Armed forces from Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and the United States are participating.

Austal’s operation located in , celebrated the start of work on its Modular Manufacturing Facility (MMF) with a groundbreaking ceremony on July 31, 2008. Located on , just south of , the MMF project when complete will include 700,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space, 80,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space, and 60,000 sq. ft. of office space. The MMF expansion will be constructed in two phases and will ultimately accommodate a total workforce of up to 1,200 personnel in the new buildings.

Two Military Sealift Command ships completed the at-sea offload of more than 350 pieces of equipment and supplies belonging to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force today in . The cargo, including wheeled and tracked vehicles, ammunition and supplies, will be used in Cobra Gold – an annual exercise designed to promote regional stability and security throughout . Maritime prepositioning ships USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez and USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin arrived off the coast of Chuk Samet, April 27.

Austal Limited secured a three-year contract with Military Sealift Command of the United States Military for the WestPac Express, a 331 ft.-high speed Theatre Support Vessel. This is the first time the US Military has contracted a commercial vessel of this type for military support. WestPac Express will be used for operations supporting the Third Marine Expeditionary Force (IIIMEF) of the United States Marine Corps. The three-year contract follows an extensive trial of the vessel during a ‘proof of concept’ charter period entered into between Austal and the US Military in July 2001. The vessel will be chartered from the financier for the contract with the United States Military.

Although it has diversified into other vessel types in recent years, Western Australian based shipbuilding group Austal still counts fast ferries as a core market. The last year has been no exception, with the biggest news being the June announcement of an order for what will be the world's largest high-speed multihull vessel. Even more significant than the vessel's 126.7 m length overall is the fact that the cargo-vehicle-passenger ferry will be based on slender stabilized monohull hullform (more commonly referred to as a trimaran). While the experienced high-speed builder from down under touts the commercial value of the project, ramifications for its military aspirations, particularly with the U.S. armed forces, are clear.

Having already completed two years of service supporting the operations of the U.S. Marine Corps' Third Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) in the Western Pacific theatre, the 101-m Austal catamaran "WestPac Express" has now achieved another distinction: it is the first large high speed vessel to be registered and flagged as a commercial ship in the U.S. After a competitive bid process, the HSV was first chartered in July 2001 for a "proof of concept" period. This was so successful that the Military Sealift Command signed a three year charter in January 2002, again after receiving several competing offers. The III MEF charter was the first time the US military had contracted a commercial vessel of this type for military support.

Having already completed two years of service supporting the operations of the US Marine Corps’ Third Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) in the Western Pacific theatre, the Austal catamaran “WestPac Express” has become the first large high speed vessel (HSV) to be registered and flagged as a commercial ship in the United States. After a competitive bid process, the HSV was first chartered in July 2001 for a “proof of concept” period. This was so successful that the Military Sealift Command signed a three year charter in January 2002, again after receiving several competing offers. The III MEF charter was the first time the US military had contracted a commercial vessel of this type for military support.

The JHSV requirements and concept of operations are similar to those of the Austal built WestPac ExpressAustal announced the award of a $3m Preliminary Design Contract for the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) program for the US Navy and Army. The JHSV requirements and concept of operations are similar to those of the Austal built “WestPac Express”, which has been successfully serving the III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan for more than six years. At the conclusion of the six-month JHSV Preliminary Design Contract…

A water bladder on the pier at Chinhae naval base is filled by offshore petroleum distribution system ship MV Vice Adm. K.R. Wheeler (blue-hull ship in distance) Feb. 26 as part of a demonstration of the ship's capabilities during Exercise Key Resolve 2008. Military Sealift Command personnel and ships demonstrated their ability to quickly respond to a breakout of hostilities on the Korean peninsula as part of exercise Key Resolve 2008, which ended today. Key Resolve, formerly called Reception…

The launch of (LCS 2) closely follows the recent delivery of the first Hawaii Superferry vessel. A 107 metre vehicle and passenger carrying aluminum catamaran, Superferry is Austal ’s largest construction project to date and is the largest high speed aluminum catamaran built in the . A second identical ferry is currently under construction and is scheduled for launch in September 2008. The recent purchase of an adjacent 100 acres of land and the award of $33.7m in funding from…