Combat Logistics Force News

Founded as the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and renamed Military Sealift Command in 1970, MSC today not only support the Navy, but we are the Department of Defense's provider of all sealift. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently interviewed Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, U.S. Navy, for insights on the service today and it’s needs to grow in the future.What makes MSC so vital to the Navy’s fleet and our military forces around the world?When we  look at the history of contested logistics in World War II…

The U.S. Navy announced it has accepted delivery of the lead ship of its new class of fleet replenishment oilers, USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205), built by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego.T-AO 205’s July 26 delivery follows the completion of Acceptance Trials with the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey to test the readiness and capability of the craft and to validate requirements.“USNS John Lewis will provide much needed capability to the fleet as the primary fuel pipeline at sea,” said John Lighthammer, program manager, Auxiliary and Special Mission Shipbuilding Program Office.

Shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO on Thursday laid the keel for the future USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206), the second of six vessels in the John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler program for the U.S. Navy.At 746-feet in length and displacing 49,000 tons, the future USNS Harvey Milk will provide logistics support to carrier strike groups around the world. Fleet oilers serve as a supply lifeline for Navy vessels carrying out missions in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and beyond.

U.S. shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO has begun building the future USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205), the first ship for the U.S. Navy’s John Lewis fleet replenishment oiler program.Representatives from the shipyard and the U.S. Navy gathered in San Diego on September 20 for a steel cutting ceremony signifying the start of construction for the first of six vessels in the John Lewis-class.Construction of the first ship is scheduled to be complete in November 2020. John Lewis will be operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) and is the first ship named after the civil rights leader and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient."As the first ship of its class…

As Congress wrestles with the budget, there is at least a bipartisan consensus that defense spending should grow, and that includes growing the Navy’s fleet. The current goal is 355 ships, an admirable goal, but an objective that faces many cost hurdles. The surface fleet (which excludes submarines and aircraft carriers) needs to grow in capability and capacity. The numbers of ships being procured or envisions would increase as the total n umber of ships increases, but the number in this story represents current program status.

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

Rear Admiral Mark “Buz” Buzby, commander of the Military Sealift Command, sat with Maritime Reporter contributing editor Edward Lundquist talked with a week before his retirement aboard USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) at Little Creek, Virginia, on May 10, 2013. The talk centered on a unique event in maritime history. MSC had seven ships in the area east of Japan, responding to the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed 19,000 people. One of them was the fast combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10)…

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announces the Navy will go ahead with spending reductions to meet fiscal constraints imposed by sequestration. a.  Shut down carrier air wing two (cvw-2) in april. f.  Return USS Thach (FFG 43) to homeport early from deployment to SOUTHCOM. a.  Begin negotiating contract modifications to de-obligate efforts for any investment programs for which the remaining unobligated balance will be insufficient after the sequestration reduction is applied. e.. f.  Cancel march navy recruiting media support and reduce the majority of advertising contracts as much as possible under contractual conditions. These actions are being taken to preserve support for those forces stationed overseas and currently forward-deployed.

With the crack of a champagne bottle and the traditional words, "I christen you.," Military Sealift Command ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) was christened May 5 during an evening ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. The 689-foot Chavez, the newest of the Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo/ammunition ships operated by Military Sealift Command, continues the Lewis and Clark-class tradition of honoring legendary pioneers and explorers. The ship honors Cesar Chavez…

Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of its newest dry cargo/ammunition ship, USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE 13), during a short ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO Ship Yard San Diego. The ship, which was christened Nov. 12, 2011 in San Diego, honors slain civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers, who is remembered for his efforts to end segregation at the University of Mississippi in the 1950s and for his opposition to Jim Crow laws in the 1960s. Since its launch, the ship has been undergoing a series of tests and trials in preparation for its delivery to MSC.

The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command today announced an organization re-alignment designed to increase efficiency while maintaining effectiveness. MSC is implementing the plan to realign three core aspects of the Washington, D.C.,-based command's shore side operations: the roles of three of the command's Senior Executive Service personnel, the number and structure of programs that conduct the command's seagoing missions, and the reporting structure of several field activities. MSC is repositioning three of its key Senior Executive Service members to better manage this new program structure. One SES will be the program executive over MSC's government-operated ships…

Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS William McLean during a ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. The 689-foot long McLean, designated T-AKE 12, is the 12th of 14 new dry cargo/ammunition ships scheduled for delivery to the Navy by the end of 2012. The first ship of the class, USNS Lewis and Clark, joined MSC’s fleet in 2006 and is one of 11 dry cargo/ ammunition ships currently operating as part of the command’s Combat Logistics Force, delivering vital fuel, equipment and supplies to Navy warships at sea.

Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd left Cam Ranh Bay in southern Vietnam today, marking the end of a historic visit - the first by a U.S. Navy ship to the port in more than three decades. Byrd spent seven days at Cam Ranh Shipyard for routine maintenance and repairs that included underwater hull cleaning, polishing of the ship's propeller, repairing shipboard piping, and overhaul of the salt water cooling system that keeps the ship's engines cool and runs the air conditioning. Cam Ranh Bay is 180 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly called Saigon.

Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn delivered vital fuel and supplies to Canadian navy ship HMCS Charlottetown April 29, the first replenishment at sea of a coalition ship by an MSC ship during Operation Unified Protector. Unified Protector is the NATO-led operation to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas in Libya. The operation includes an arms embargo enforced by Charlottetown and other NATO warships and aircraft patrolling the approaches to Libyan territorial waters to reduce the flow of arms, related material and mercenaries to Libya. Big Horn delivered 29,782 gallons of fuel to Charlottetown during the 44-minute evolution while operating alongside at 13 knots on a mostly cloudy day in the moderate seas of the central Mediterranean.

Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn delivered vital fuel and supplies to Canadian navy ship HMCS Charlottetown April 29, the first replenishment at sea of a coalition ship by an MSC ship during Operation Unified Protector. Unified Protector is the NATO-led operation to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas in Libya. The operation includes an arms embargo enforced by Charlottetown and other NATO warships and aircraft patrolling the approaches to Libyan territorial waters to reduce the flow of arms, related material and mercenaries to Libya. Big Horn delivered 29,782 gallons of fuel to Charlottetown during the 44-minute evolution while operating alongside at 13 knots on a mostly cloudy day in the moderate seas of the central Mediterranean.

SAN DIEGO – General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), today launched the U.S. Navy’s newest supply ship, USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12), during an evening christening ceremony at the shipyard. The USNS William McLean is the 12th of a class of 14 dry cargo/ammunition ships slated to serve as Combat Logistics Force (CLF) ships or be part of the Maritime Prepositioning Force. USNS William McLean is named after William Burdette McLean (1914–1976), the U.S. Navy physicist who conceived and developed the heat-seeking Sidewinder missile.

Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of its newest dry cargo/ammunition ship, USNS Washington Chambers, during a short ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO Ship Yard San Diego on Feb. 23. The ship, which was christened and launched Sept. 11, 2010, in San Diego, honors Navy Capt. Washington Irving Chambers, a pioneer in Navy aviation who arranged the world's first airplane flight from a warship Nov. 14, 1910. The flight confirmed the potential for carrier-based naval aviation.

The , Carderock Division (NSWCCD) has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) discussing Energy Conservation Applications for the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) Combat Logistics Force, Auxiliaries and Sealift ships. The BAA solicits innovative concepts for Navy shipboard energy conservation and carbon footprint reduction with the potential for rapid transition to Fleet operation.  The solicitation is BAA number N00167-11-BAA-01.  The Energy Conservation BAA will be open for two years and white papers may be submitted any time throughout the period beginning 1 December 2010 and ending 31 October 2012.  This BAA, more information and directions for submitting white papers to NSWCCD can be found at http://www.navsea.navy.mil/nswc/carderock/pub/business/baa.aspx.

Following three days underway, the future USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10) completed acceptance trials, June 19, departing from and returning to the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. Charles Drew is the 10th Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ship to be presented to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). Completion of acceptance trials is the final major milestone prior to delivery to the Navy. During Acceptance Trials, the ship successfully demonstrated a variety of systems including main propulsion, engineering, ship control systems, and crew support. "The success of these trials is a credit to the Navy-NASSCO team’s continued focus on affordability and quality…

The Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo/ammunition ships - the Navy's newest class of logistics ships, also called T-AKEs - grew July 14 when Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of the 10th ship in the class, USNS Charles Drew. The currently deployed T-AKEs operate as part of MSC's combat logistics force - allowing Navy ships to stay at sea, on station and combat ready for extended periods of time. "As our 10th ship in the T-AKE class, USNS Charles Drew is another milestone for MSC," said Capt. Jerome Hamel, commander, Sealift Logistics Command Pacific, MSC's office in San Diego.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD) has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) discussing Energy Conservation Applications for the U.S. Navy. The BAA solicits innovative concepts from industry and academia that can introduce applications for Navy shipboard energy conservation and carbon footprint reduction with the potential for rapid transition to Fleet operation. The target segment of the Fleet is the ships operated by Military Sealift Command: Combat Logistics Force, Auxiliaries and Sealift. The Navy may consider changes to shipboard operation, existing products, modifications or adaptations to existing products, or new products where the concept can be integrated with appropriate ships. The solicitation number for this BAA is N0016709BAA01.

The Navy announced Oct. 9 the newest Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ship (T-AKE) would be named USNS Medgar Evers. The announcement was made by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus during a Jackson State University speaking engagement in Mississippi. Continuing the Lewis and Clark-class tradition of honoring legendary pioneers and explorers, the Navy's newest underway replenishment ship recognizes civil rights activist Medgar Evers (1925-1963) who forever changed race relations in America.

Following two days underway, the future USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE 9) completed Acceptance Trials Jan. 29, departing from, and returning to, the General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) shipyard in San Diego. Matthew Perry is the ninth Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ship to be presented to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). Completion of Acceptance Trials is the final major milestone prior to delivery to the Navy. During Acceptance Trials, the ship successfully demonstrated a variety of systems, including main propulsion, engineering, ship control systems, and crew support. NASSCO is under contract for the construction of the entire T-AKE class, a total of 14 ships.