Military Sealift Command

Military Sealift Command

Established:	9 July 1949
Activated:
Renamed:	1970
Commander:	RADM Mark H. Buzby Mark H. Buzby Rear Admiral Mark Howard Buzby is an officer in the United States Navy.On October 16, 2009 Buzby was appointed theCommander of the Military Sealift Command, replacing RADM Robert D... , USN October 2009
Component of:	United States Navy United States Navy The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Reports to:	Military Sealift Command reports to the Commander, U.S. Transportation Command for defense transportation matters, to the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command for Navy-unique matters and to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition for procurement policy and oversight matters.

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.

Military Sealift Command ships are civilian manned, and are referred to be as being in service, rather than in commission. Some, owned by the United States government, have the prefix USNS, standing for United States Naval Ship, whilst others, on charter or equivalent, are simply the normal merchant MV

Merchant vessel

A merchant vessel is a ship that transports cargo or passengers. The closely related term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire...

or SS. Their hull numbers have the prefix T- in addition to the normal hull number that an equivalent commissioned ship in the USN would have.

Four programs comprise Military Sealift Command: Sealift, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force (NFAF), Special Mission, and Prepositioning. The Sealift program provides the bulk of the MSC's supply-carrying operation and operates tankers for fuel transport and dry-cargo ships that transport equipment, vehicles, helicopters, ammunition, and supplies. The NFAF’s role is to directly replenish ships that are underway

Underway replenishment

Underway replenishment or replenishment at sea is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way.-History:...

at sea, enabling them to deploy for long periods of time without having to come to port. The Special Mission program operates vessels for unique military and federal government tasks, such as submarine support and missile flight data collection and tracking. The Prepositioning program sustains the US military's forward presence strategy by deploying supply ships in key areas prior to actual need.

Mission

The United States Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift

Sealift

Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies...

and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It is a component of the United States Navy, reporting to Fleet Forces Command (USFFC). Military Sealift Command is also one of three component commands reporting to U.S. Transportation Command

United States Transportation Command

The United States Transportation Command is one of nine unified commands of the United States Department of Defense. The mission of USTRANSCOM is to provide air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, both in time of peace and time of war.USTRANSCOM, located at Scott Air Force...

(USTRANSCOM).

Military Sea Transportation prior to 1949

As early as 1847, both the U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

and U.S. Navy chartered American merchant ships separately. Following the Mexican-American War, Brigadier General Thomas S. Jesup, Quartermaster of the Army, recommended that the Navy be given responsibility for all water transportation requirements for the military. However, each service managed their own sea transportation throughout the nineteenth century and both World Wars.

In World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, four different government agencies conducted military sealift functions, the Naval Transportation Service, the Army Transport Service, the U.S. Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration

War Shipping Administration

The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....

, and the Fleet Support Services. To oversee these organizations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...

(JCS) established the Joint Military Transportation Command.

Military Sea Transportation Service

On 15 December 1948, the Secretary of Defense

United States Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...

James Forrestal

James Vincent Forrestal was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense....

issued a statement, "all military sea transport including Army transports would be placed under Navy command." Issues with funding held up the transfer of the functions to the Navy. The new Secretary of Defense, Louis Johnson

Louis A. Johnson

Louis Arthur Johnson was the second United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from March 28, 1949 to September 19, 1950....

, issued a memorandum on 12 July 1949 that detailed service responsibilities and the funding of the new Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS).

MSTS became the single managing agency for the Department of Defense's

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

ocean transportation needs. The command assumed responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all military services as well as for other government agencies.
The new command set up subcomponents, for example, Military Sea Transportation Service Pacific (ComMSTSPac).

Nine months after its creation, MSTS responded to the challenge of the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. On 6 July 1950, eleven days after the initial invasion of South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

by North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

n troops, MSTS deployed the 24th Infantry Division for duty in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

to Pusan, South Korea. In addition to transporting troops and combat equipment to and from Korea, command ships supplied US bases and Distant Early Warning

Distant Early Warning Line

The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...

line construction sites and supported US nation building efforts from Europe and Africa, to the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

.

The 1960s brought the conflict in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

. From 1965 to 1969 MSTS moved almost 54 million tons

Short ton

The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...

of combat equipment and supplies and almost 8 million long ton

Long ton

Long ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...

s of fuel to Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. The Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

era also marked the last use of MSC troop ships for personnel movement. Currently, most US troops are prepositioned by air.

MSTS was renamed Military Sealift Command (MSC) in 1970. Through the 1970s and 1980s MSC provided the Department of Defense with ocean transportation as part of US deterrent efforts during the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

years. During the first Persian Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

, consisting of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, MSC distinguished itself as the largest source of defense transportation of any nation involved. Command resources delivered more than 12 million tons (11 million metric tonnes) of wheeled and tracked vehicles, helicopters, ammunition, dry cargo, fuel and other supplies and equipment during the war. At the high point of the war, more than 230 government-owned and chartered ships delivering the largest part of the international arsenal that defeated Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. MSC was also involved in the second Persian Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

, delivering 61000000 ft2 of cargo and 1100000000 gallons (4,163,953.2 m³) of fuel by the end of the first year.

Command structure

Military Sealift Command is organized around four programs:

Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force

The Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force is the part of the MSC most associated with directly supporting the Navy. In 1972, a study concluded that it would be cheaper for civilians to man USN support vessels such as tankers and stores ships. The NFAF is the American equivalent of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the United Kingdom Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment...

. These MSC ships are painted haze gray (except for the hospital ships USNS Mercy (T-AH-19)

USNS Mercy (T-AH-19)

The third USNS Mercy is the lead ship of her class of hospital ships in the United States Navy. Her sister ship is the USNS Comfort . She was named for the virtue of compassion. In accordance with the Geneva Conventions, USNS Mercy and her crew do not carry any offensive weapons, though...

and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20)

USNS Comfort (T-AH-20)

USNS Comfort is the third United States Navy ship to bear the name Comfort, and the second to join the navy fleet. The USNS prefix identifies the Comfort as a non-commissioned ship owned by the U.S. Navy and crewed by civilians. In accordance with the Geneva Conventions, USNS Comfort and her...

which are painted white) and can be easily identified by the blue and gold horizontal bands around the top of their central smokestack.

NFAF Ship Types

Special Missions Program

Military Sealift Command's Special Mission Program controls 24 ships that provide operating platforms and services for unique US Military and federal government missions. Oceanographic and hydrographic surveys, underwater surveillance, missile flight data collection and tracking, acoustic research and submarine support are among the specialized services this program supports. Special mission ships work for several different US Navy customers, including the Naval Sea Systems Command

Naval Sea Systems Command

The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the U.S. Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel organizations...

and the Oceanographer of the Navy.

Special Mission Ship Types

Cable Laying/Repair Ship (T-ARC)
Command Ship (LCC)
Missile Range Instrumentation Ships (T-AGM)
Navigation Test Support Ship (T-AGS)
Ocean Surveillance Ships (T-AGOS)
Oceanographic Survey Ships (T-AGS)
Submarine and Special Warfare Support Ships
Submarine Tender (AS)

Prepositioning Program

Military Sealift Command's Prepositioning Program is an element in the US's triad of power projection

Power projection

Power projection is a term used in military and political science to refer to the capacity of a state to conduct expeditionary warfare, i.e. to intimidate other nations and implement policy by means of force, or the threat thereof, in an area distant from its own territory.This ability is a...

into the 21st century - sea shield, sea strike and sea basing. As a key element of sea basing, afloat prepositioning provides the military equipment and supplies for a contingency forward deployed in key ocean areas before need. The MSC Prepositioning Program supports the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and the Defense Logistics Agency

Defense Logistics Agency

The Defense Logistics Agency is an agency in the United States Department of Defense, with more than 26,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world...

. Prepositioning ships remain at sea, ready to deploy on short-notice the vital equipment, fuel and supplies to initially support military forces in the event of a contingency. The Prepositioning Program consists of 34 at-sea ships plus 2 aviation support ships kept in reduced operating status.

Prepositioning Program Ship Types

Air Force Container Ships (T-AK)
Army Container Ships (T-AK)
Aviation Logistics Support Ships (T-AVB)
Break-Bulk Ships (T-AK)
High-Speed Vessels (HSV)
Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-On/Roll-Off Ships (T-AKR)
Marine Corps Container and Roll-On/Roll-Off Ships (T-AK/T-AKR)

Sealift Program

The mission of the Sealift Program is to provide ocean transportation to the Department of Defense by meeting its sealift requirements in peace, contingency, and war with quality, efficient cost effective assets and centralized management. This is achieved through the use of commercial charter vessels, large medium-speed roll-on/roll-off ships, fast sealift ships

Fast Sealift Ship

The Algol class vehicle cargo ships, also known as Fast Sealift Ships or SL-7s, are currently the fastest cargo ships in the world, capable of speeds in excess of . Originally built in 1972 and 1973 as high-speed container ships known as SL-7's for Sea-Land Services, Inc., the ships' high...

, and the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force. Sealift is divided into three separate project offices: Tanker Project Office, Dry Cargo Project Office and the Surge Project Office.

Sealift Program Ship Types

Dry Cargo Ships (T-AK)
Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-On/Roll-Off Ships (T-AKR)
Tankers (T-AOT)

Military Sealift Fleet Support Command

Military Sealift Fleet Support Command, or MSFSC, is a subordinate command of Military Sealift Command and is a single Type Commander execution command having worldwide responsibility to crew, train, equip and maintain MSC government-owned, government-operated ships.

Structure

MSFSC is also responsible for providing support to other MSC assets as directed. MSFSC has ship support units, or SSUs, in Naples, Bahrain, Singapore, Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

, Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

and San Diego. The SSUs (except for Guam and Yokohama) are collocated with their respective numbered fleet operational logistics task force commanders and Sealift Logistics Commands, but are not within that chain of command. SSUs provide local TYCOM support to ships in their area of operations and report directly to MSFSC.

MSFSC was formed from the following MSC elements:

Portions of Sealift Logistics Command Atlantic and the former Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force East.
Portions of Sealift Logistics Command Pacific.
Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force West (except those positions remaining in SSU San Diego).
The Afloat Personnel Management Center.

Operational functions previously performed by MSC area commands continue, but Type Commander functions were removed. The restructuring included integration with the Navy fleet logistics task force in each location.

Sealift Logistics Command Atlantic in Norfolk, Va.
Sealift Logistics Command Pacific in San Diego, Ca.
Sealift Logistics Command Europe (dual hatted as Commander, Task Force 63) in Naples, Italy.
Sealift Logistics Command Central (dual hatted as Commander, Task Force 53) in Manama, Bahrain.
Sealift Logistics Command Far East (reporting to Commander, MSC, with additional reporting responsibilities to Commander, Task Force 73) now in Singapore.

History

MSFSC officially stood up on 13 November 2005.

Stand up of the Ship Support Units (SSU) followed establishment of MSFSC, their parent command. SSU San Diego stood up in conjunction with MSFSC. By late 2008, all subordinate SSUs were fully operational.

Location

MSFSC headquarters is located in a three building campus (SP64, SP47, and SP48) at
Breezy Point, Naval Operational Base, Norfolk. Numerous functions are sited at various locations around NOB, Norfolk. Some functions continue in their current locations at Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach, VA and Point Loma in San Diego, Ca.

Mission

Military Sea Transportation prior to 1949

Military Sea Transportation Service