MSC Delivers! The Military Sealift Command Today
By David L. Brewer III
Rear Adm. David L. Brewer III is commander of the Military Sealift Command (MSC).
Every day, far from U.S. shores on the world's oceans, 41 of the U.S. Navy's 318 active ships are operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC), the premier provider of ocean transportation for the Department of Defense (DOD).
The 29 ships of MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force (NFAF) provide logistics services and supplies to the Navy battle force worldwide. MSC's familiar blue and gold stack stripes mean that the underway replenishment of food, fuel, ammunition, spare parts, equipment, and mail is close at hand.
Meanwhile, the eight ocean-surveillance ships (T-AGOSs) of MSC's Special Mission Program provide undersea data to the battle force, using surveillance towed-array sensor systems. Two ammunition ships and two hospital ships are maintained in reduced operating status (ROS) for the NFAF. Manned by small cadre crews, these ROS ships are ready for activation on short notice should they be needed for war or other contingency.
The MSC Fleet
The 41 battle force support ships are only a third of MSC's total fleet. On an average day, MSC has a total of about 120 active ships operating worldwide, providing an array of ocean transpor- tation and logistics services to DOD and other government agencies.
MSC's Special Mission Program also operates 20 ships for oceanographic surveys, counter-drug operations, submarine support, missile range instrument- ation, Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty verification, acoustic research, cable laying and repair, submarine navigation testing, and ballistic-missile test support.
MSC's Prepositioning Program manages 37 ships--which are anchored overseas in key areas of strategic importance--ready to sail on short notice with the vital equipment, fuel, and supplies needed to support U.S. combat forces in any contingency. The prepositioning ships--loaded with cargo for the U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Navy, and Defense Logistics Agency--are forward-deployed in the Mediterranean Sea, at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, and near Guam/Saipan in the Western Pacific.
MSC's sealift program provides ocean transportation to DOD during peacetime, contingency operations, or war using a combination of tankers and dry-cargo ships, including commercially chartered vessels and government-owned, contractor-operated ships. On average, 20 commercially chartered ships operate daily for MSC.
In wartime and during other contingencies, the MSC sealift force can expand dramatically to surge massive amounts of heavily armored combat equipment and other warfighting supplies to any theater of operations. By law and in accordance with DOD regulations, MSC must first look to the U.S. commercial market to charter suitable U.S.-flagged ships in order to satisfy surge sealift requirements. If no U.S. ships are available, MSC may activate one or more of the 16 MSC surge-sealift ships normally maintained in reduced operating status near potential loading ports.
This surge-sealift force is composed of eight fast-sealift ships and eight large medium-speed roll-on/roll-off ships (LMSRs). Both types of ships are fitted with onboard cranes and ramps, allowing them to offload critical military cargo at degraded port facilities and/or in areas with no port infrastructure. The surge-sealift ships are owned by MSC but operated by commercial contractor crews.
In addition to the surge-sealift ships, 76 other militarily useful ships, ordinarily kept in reduced operating status, form the Ready Reserve Force (RRF). Owned, maintained, and crewed by the U.S. Maritime Administration, RRF ships come under the operational control of MSC when activated for a contingency or war, and are supervised and managed under MSC's sealift program. During Desert Storm, sealift-program ships formed a logistics "steel bridge" to the Middle East, sustaining U.S. operational forces with critical deliveries of equipment, cargo, and munitions.
The War on Terrorism
MSC is a working command--66 percent of MSC's more than 8,600 personnel serve at sea on a daily basis. Approximately 2,100 active-duty Navy and U.S. Naval Reserve personnel work hand in hand with 1,100 civilians ashore, and with more than 3,500 civil service mariners and almost 2,000 commercial mariners afloat. Today, in fact, MSC is the largest employer of U.S. merchant mariners in the world.
Since the war on terrorism began, MSC has been at the forefront of the U.S. response, providing a variety of services and supplies to U.S. and allied forces around the world. USNS Comfort, one of the Navy's two 894-foot, 1,000-bed hospital ships, was activated within two days of the 11 September attacks, and sailed to New York City to provide much-needed relief for rescue and emergency workers. During her stay, the Comfort served 17,000 meals, housed 2,300 relief workers, processed 4,000 pounds of their laundry, and provided medical assistance to 561 workers during sick call.
Since September, MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships have been very active in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of operations--in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Persian Gulf--supplying Navy ships with the food, fuel, and equipment they need to remain on station. The USNS Saturn, USNS Niagara Falls, and USNS Concord, three of MSC's six combat stores ships, have provided the combat ships with everything they need from pancake syrup to spare parts.
Similarly, the USNS Flint, an ammunition ship, has provided virtually every type of ordnance smaller than a cruise missile to Fifth Fleet ships and carrier wing aircraft since mid-December. The fleet ocean tug USNS Catawba also has been on station, escorting embargoed vessels, providing standby towing services, and acting as a dive platform for rescue-and-recovery operations. The fleet oilers USNS John Ericsson, USNS Rappahannock, and USNS Pecos have kept Fifth Fleet ships steaming and their aircraft flying.
Collectively, MSC's 13 fleet oilers around the world pumped more than 229 million gallons of aviation fuel and nearly 77 million gallons of marine diesel fuel to the Fifth Fleet from 11 September to 31 March to support Operation Enduring Freedom.
MSC's Afloat Prepositioning Force also was called into action. In late October, the container ship MV Maj. Bernard F. Fisher offloaded 373 20-foot containers of munitions in Diego Garcia for U.S. Air Force aircraft participating in Enduring Freedom. This offload was about half of the Fisher's normal inventory. The ship--ready for any contingency--is usually stationed at Diego Garcia, one of about 20 ships that preposition Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency cargo at that Indian Ocean island.
In January, Taliban and al Qaeda detainees under U.S. control were flown to temporary holding facilities at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The MSC Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) ship SS Maj. Stephen W. Pless, a combination
container/roll-on/roll-off ship, delivered a fleet hospital and more than 60 vehicles to Joint Task Force 160 (JTF 160), which is in charge of the holding-facility operations. The Pless normally prepositions Marine Corps equipment and supplies in the Mediterranean, but was in Norfolk, Va., completing routine maintenance when the call came to assist JTF 160. The Pless's stern ramp and onboard cranes allowed the ship to off-load cargo in Guantanamo Bay's austere port facilities.
Finally, MSC's sealift program relies heavily on commercial industry partners for moving defense cargo in support of Enduring Freedom. Since 1 October, more than 30 tankers have carried more than 350 million gallons of Air Force and Navy jet fuel, marine diesel fuel, and unleaded vehicle fuel to ports throughout the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. One MSC-chartered vessel moved more than 70 million gallons in eight voyages. Other MSC time-charter tankers moved 55 million gallons in 35 voyages; 24 voyage-chartered tankers moved the remaining 230 million gallons.
Innovative Solutions
MSC's role in providing DOD ocean transportation services is not limited to combat logistics, special missions, prepositioning, and sealift. Like other government agencies, MSC has increasingly looked to private industry for innovative, cost-effective alternatives to support services traditionally provided by the military. As a result, MSC's new business initiatives have generated estimated annual savings of $8 million over the past year for Navy and DOD customers.
For example, MSC contracted for the operation and maintenance of five watercraft and various small boats for the chief of naval education and training's diving and salvage training center in Panama City, Fla. The contract also included improved service for a Navy Surface Warfare Center research ship system. By combining these operations under a single contract, MSC saved these customers almost $1 million.
For several years, MSC has been contracting for harbor tug services around the world, allowing the Navy to reallocate, to traditional warfighting roles, the seagoing billets once assigned to Navy harbor tugs (YTBs). The commercially contracted, on-demand tug services maintain--and in some cases exceed--the required level of service while reducing Navy costs. MSC is always seeking to expand activities in this and other areas where its contracting expertise might help improve, at lower cost, the efficiency and effectiveness of the Navy and the nation's other military services.
MSC continuously searches for new technological solutions to meet maritime challenges. U.S. Marine Corps units based in Okinawa, Japan, needed a more efficient means to move troops and equipment to and from various training areas in the Western Pacific. The Marine Corps asked the advice of MSC's contracting specialists, who chartered a high-speed, 331-foot catamaran that--in a single movement--can carry up to 900 Marines and 350 tons of vehicles, aircraft, and/or other critical combat equipment. The ship, WestPac Express, is fitted with a folding stern ramp that allows for quick loading, and the catamaran's speed significantly reduces travel time to and from training locations. The result is increased readiness, reduced transit time, and less time away from home station.
Looking to the Future
As MSC moves into the 21st century, the command remains a vital player in the nation's defense. Indeed, the command's responsibilities are increasing in several areas.
Four Supply-class fast combat support ships will transfer to MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force. The first, USS Supply, was decommissioned and transferred to MSC in July 2001, becoming the USNS Supply. Her sister ships--the USS Arctic, USS Rainier, and USS Bridge--will transfer to MSC operation over the next three years.
MSC will crew each of these ships with 176 civil service mariners and 59 Sailors, freeing approximately 485 Sailors from each ship for assignment to warfighting billets. Personnel tempo policy for Navy Sailors limits deployment lengths, ideally, to six months. Civil service crews are not bound by such policies, however. For that reason, it is expected that, over a four-year period, the civilian-crewed Supply-class ships will deploy as much as 50 percent more than they did when crewed by Navy Sailors.
As part of the recapitalization of the combat logistics force, up to 12 new Lewis and Clark-class auxiliary cargo and ammunition ships (T-AKEs) will be built and delivered to MSC between 2005 and 2010. Designed specifically for operation by civilian mariners, these dual-product combat logistics ships will carry both ammunition and combat stores such as dry, frozen, and chilled products, spare parts, and consumables. The T-AKEs will replace the aging Kilauea-class ammunition ships and the Mars- and Sirius-class combat stores ships.
Operation Desert Shield studies revealed a serious shortage of large sealift ships capable of carrying heavy combat equipment to an overseas theater of operations. That study led to the decision on acquisition of the 20 LMSRs previously mentioned. The use of these ships will increase both the surge sealift and the prepositioning capacity available to U.S. military forces. The last three LMSRs being procured through that acquisition program will be delivered to MSC in 2003 and will add nearly 10 million square feet of sealift capacity for U.S. fighting forces.
Finally, one more Maritime Prepositioning Force (Enhanced) ship will enter the MSC inventory when the USNS Lance Cpl. Roy M. Wheat delivers to MSC this year. The Wheat will provide additional capacity for Marine Air/Ground Task Force gear as the Marine Corps expands its at-sea prepositioning package.
Business is moving faster these days. So is MSC. The command is more efficient, more effective, and continually discovering innovative ways to solve new challenges. MSC's people and its impressive resources are dedicated to providing the best possible service to the Navy, DOD, and other government customers.
Ashore and afloat, MSC delivers!
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