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Military Sealift Command USNS MSC MSTS


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Salvage Sailor

USNS SATURN (T-AFS-10) Sirius class combat stores ship in service 1983 to 2009

Military Sealift Command - Swiss Tex patch

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USNS T AFS 10 USNS SATURN 001.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USS PAWCATUCK (AO-108) T3 Ashtabula class replenishment oiler that served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1975, then transferred to the Military Sealift Command to continue in non-commissioned service with a civilian crew as United States Naval Ship USNS Pawcatuck (T-AO-108) until 1991

 

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AO 108 USS PAWCATUCK 002.jpg

 

USNS T AO 108 USNS PAWCATUCK 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USS NEPTUNE (ARC-2) Class leader in USN service 1953 to 1973.

Cable Laying and Repair ship previously named USACS William H. G. Bullard (1946 - 1953)

In USNS Service 1973 to 1991 as USNS NEPTUNE (T-ARC-2)

 

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In USNS Service 1973 to 1991 as USNS NEPTUNE (T-ARC-2)

 

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USNS T ARC 2 USNS NEPTUNE 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USNS BARTLETT (T-AGOR-13)

Robert D. Conrad class oceanographic research ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1969, in service until 1993

 

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Bartlett was placed in service, but the record of her history is not summarized by Navy (i.e. Cold War snooper - You don't have a "need to know"). The ship is mentioned in oceanographic reports and literature. For example, the ship's use in planting two acoustic sources onto the top of Cobb Seamount between 25 and 30 July 1973 for an experiment is covered in a report of the Naval Research Laboratory. In 1990 the ship spent some time in the North West Atlantic Ocean according to a data set of temperature and salinity measurements collected using CTD/XBT. Bartlett was one of two AGOR ships, the other was De Steiguer (T-AGOR 12), assigned as pool vessels for west coast Naval laboratory use according to a 1970 report. Bartlett and De Steiguer were assigned to the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office for operations

 

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T-AGOR-13 USNS BARTLETT 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USNS JOHN LENTHALL (T-AO-189)

Henry J. Kaiser class fleet replenishment oiler of the United States Navy

Her motto is Shaft of the Spear. In USNS service since 1987

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USNS JOHN LENTHALL T AO 189 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USS GEORGE M. RANDALL (T-AP-113) MSTS ATLANTIC - General John Pope class troop transport in service 1944 to 1961

WWII, China Service, Magic Carpet, Korean War, Inchon, Hungnam, 1958 Lebanon Crisis. She was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (now the Military Sealift Command) in October 1949.

 

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As an MSTS ship, General George M. Randall made scheduled runs between the West coast of the United States and the Orient until fighting erupted in Korea in the summer of 1950. She participated in the amphibious assault at Inchon which routed the North Korean Army and forced Communist evacuation of South Korea. After hordes of People's Liberation Army troops poured into Korea and trapped American forces, she served in the evacuation of Hungnam, which saved the embattled G.I.'s enabling them to return to the fight.
 
She moored at New York, New York, on 26 May 1951, and made four voyages from New York to Bremerhaven and Southampton before returning to the Pacific. On 11 March 1951, General George M. Randall departed Yokohama, Japan, with the bodies of 52 men, the first Korean War dead to be returned to the United States, including Major General Bryant E. Moore, who had commanded the IX Corps. Armed Services honor guards were in attendance at the departure, as was an Army Band, and was heavily covered by the press. The ship arrived at San Francisco, also carrying 1500 officers and men of the 1st Marine Division being rotated home for 30 day leave. She then returned to Yokohama on 24 October.
 
In 1958, the General George M. Randall was the ship that carried then-Private Elvis Presley to his first assignment in Germany; in the voyage, Elvis performed in the ship's variety show as a piano player

 

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General George M. Randall received the following awards for her service: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp), National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Lebanon), Philippine Liberation Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

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Salvage Sailor
USNS GENERAL D.E. AULTMAN (T-AP-156)
Military Sea Transportation Service Pacific Area 1950-1958
 

USS General D. E. Aultman (AP-156), a General G. O. Squier Class Transport, was maned by the US Coast Guard during WWII

Laid down. date unknown, as a Maritime Commission type (C4-S-A1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 713) at Kaiser Shipbuilding Inc., Yard No. 3, Richmond, CA.and launched, 18 February 1945.  Acquired by the US Navy and commissioned, USS General D. E. Aultman (AP-156), 20 May 1945, CAPT. Stephen P. Swicegood, USCG, in command

 

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During World War II USS General D. E. Aultman (AP-156) transported passengers in both the Asiatic-Pacific and Europe-Africa-Middle East Theaters.  Following World War II USS General E. E. Aultman was assigned to Occupation service in the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater from 20 to 27 September 1945

 

Decommissioned, 15 March 1946, at Oakland, CA. and Struck from the Naval Register, 28 March 1946

 

Delivered to the Maritime Commission - Transfered, 30 August 1946, to the US Army Transportation Service and Commissioned, USAT General D. E. Aultman

 

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MSTS Service

 

Reacquired by the US Navy, 1 March 1950 and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and placed in service as USNS General D. E. Aultman (T-AP-156).  Placed out of service, and returned to the Maritime Administration, 4 June 1958, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.  Struck from the Naval Register, 1 December 1959

 

 

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Salvage Sailor

USNS KANAWHA (T-AO-196)

Henry J. Kaiser class Fleet Replenishment Oiler in MSC service since 1991 with the Atlantic Fleet

USNS T AO 196 USNS KANAWHA 001.jpg

 

USNS T AO 196 USNS KANAWHA 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USNS KELLAR (T-AGS-25) Survey ship finally placed into service in 1969.

 

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She was a hard luck ship with a reputation for disaster. Put out to bid for conversion in 1960, she was tied up in contract disputes and shipyard strikes for so long that the government cancelled the contracts and towed her uncompleted hull to New Orleans where she was then put out for rebidding and reconstruction. On September 9th, 1965 she was directly in the path of Hurricane Betsy while tied up at the Naval Station. She was rammed, holed and torn loose from her moorings after being struck by a crane barge and several merchantmen. Set adrift in the Mississippi, she rolled over and sank in the channel necessitating a major salvage recovery project and major remediation to repair her hull and equipment.

 

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Resurrection of the Small Surveying Ship USS KELLAR (TAGS-25) https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/SUPSALV/SalvageReports/Resurrection%20of%20the%20Surveying%20Ship%20USS%20KELLAR%20(TAGS%2025).pdf

 

Finally re-re-re-built, she was put into service in 1969 to prowl the Pacific and specifically the Korean coastline in the aftermath of the Pueblo seizure.

 

USNS T AGS 25 USNS KELLAR 002.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor

USNS JUPITER (T-AKR-11)

Cape I Class Roll-on/Roll-off Ship 1976 to 1986.

 

LIGHTNING RO/RO TASK FORCE- Diego Garcia. Was assigned to the Military Sealift Command Near Term Prepositioning Force (NTPF) in support of the equipment of the 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade.

 

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The Near Term Prepositioning Force (NTPF) was established in April 1980 as an interim means of providing strategic sealift access in the Indian Ocean for the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (now USCINCCENT). Military Sealift Command formed the NTPF with seven ships. MSC chartered the SS Illinois and SS Lipscomb Lykes and renamed these State-class Roll-on/Roll-off ships USNS Mercury and Jupiter. Along with USNS Meteor, they supported the equipment of the 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade. MSC extended charters for SS American Champion and SS American Courier with United States Lines to transport Air Force and Army ammunition, medical supplies, and other material. The tanker USNS Sealift Pacific carried fuel, and MV Patriot was chartered to carry potable water. In July 1980 the ships sailed from Wilmington, NC for Diego Garcia, under the command of MSC Office Indian Ocean, redesignated in 1983 Prepositioning Group One

 

Renamed SS Cape Intrepid, 22 November 1993 and assigned to the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force, (RRF) as SS Cape Intrepid (AKR-11) one of the Military Sealift Command's (MSC) 31 Roll-on/Roll-off ships and one of the 63 ships of the Sealift Program Office, SS Cape Intrepid (AKR-11) is laid up as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet in a layberth at Commencement Bay, Tacoma, WA. in ROS-5 status

 

USNS T AKR 11 USNS JUPITER 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

MPSRON ONE - Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One, Military Sealift Command

Established in 1974 and disestablished in 2012

 

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ON STATION AND READY - Hurd Bank, a deep water anchorage 12 to 14 miles off the coast of Malta, in the Central Mediterranean

 

Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One is part of MSC's Maritime Prepositioning Force, a group of ships specially configured to strategically position supplies for the U.S. Marine Corps at sea. These ships are laden with a variety of Marine Corps equipment and supplies, including tanks, ammunition, food, hospital equipment, petroleum products and spare parts - ready for rapid delivery ashore when needed. Each squadron carries sufficient equipment and supplies to sustain more than 15,650 Marine Expeditionary Force personnel for up to 30 days. MPS Squadron One has been home to a number of prepositioning ships in the Mediterranean.

 

MPSRON ONE MSC 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USNS KINGSPORT (T-AG-164) Satellite Communications and Survey vessel in service 1944 to 1984

 

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Previously USAT KINGSPORT VICTORY and USNS KINGSPORT VICTORY (T-AK-239)

converted in 1962 she was the Navy's first Satellite Tracking ship

 

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...and a Snoopy patch too!

 

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Salvage Sailor

USNS TALUGA (T-AO-62) Cimarron class fleet oiler in USN service 1944 to 1972

 

Turned over to MARAD in 1972 - 2000th Underway Replenishment patch

AO 62 USS TALUGA 005.jpg

 

AO 62 USS TALUGA 001.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USNS SPICA (T-AFS-9) was the second SIRIUS - class Combat Stores Ship. All three ships in this class were transferred from the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary to the Military Sealift Command between 1981 and 1983.

 
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In June 2001, the USNS SPICA and USNS CONCORD swapped coasts. Since then, SPICA was an Atlantic asset and CONCORD a Pacific. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on January 25, 2008, the SPICA was subsequently laid-up in Philadelphia, Penn. The ship was sunk as a target on May 6, 2009, off the US East Coast.

 

USNS T AFS 9 USNS SPICA 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

Another "Technical Research Ship" like the Liberty, Pueblo, and USNS Kellar, the Galloping Ghost of the Korean Coast

 

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USNS PRIVATE JOSE F. VALDEZ (T-AG-169) Technical Research Ship (i.e. Spy Ship) in service 1961 to 1969, The Happy Jose The Galloping Ghost of the African Coast

 

Go to the link above for her very interesting service details - She was noted for her years long isolated duty deployments to Africa with rotating crews crypto technicians. She also was in contention with the LIBERTY to be the ship sent to monitor the 1967 Six Day War and we know what happened to her......

 

The USNS designation indicates that the ship was manned by civilians. A crew of approximately 55 civilians operated the ship while a detachment of approximately 100 Navy personnel carried out the research operations. The Navy detachment typically included three officers; almost all enlisted men were Communications Technicians (a rating that has been renamed Cryptologic Technician). An advantage of the USNS designation is that the ship was not required to return to an American port on a regular basis. Thus the first deployment of Private Jose F. Valdez started in 1961 and she did not return to the USA until 1967.

 

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Since the "Happy Jose" did not regularly return to the USA, the crew was rotated by flying them to a major port city in Africa, such as Cape Town. This occurred on an annual basis. The old crew would be flown back to the USA. Private Jose F. Valdez was typically at sea for about 30 days and then spent four or five days in port. Some of the sub-Saharan ports of call, from West to East, were Dakar, Senegal; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Monrovia, Liberia; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Lagos, Nigeria; Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; Luanda, Angola; Walvis Bay, Southwest Africa (now Namibia); Cape Town, South Africa; Port Elizabeth, South Africa; Durban, South Africa; Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), Mozambique; and Mombasa, Kenya.

 

USNS T AG 169 PVT JOSE F VALDEZ 002.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor

USS MOSOPELEA (ATF-158)

Three war Abnaki Class Fleet Ocean Tug commissioned 28 July 1945 - Decommissioned 2 July 1973

 

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WWII, Korea, Vietnam and then decommissioned and transferred as USNS MOSOPELEA (T-ATF-158) for towing, diving and salvage service with the MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND

 

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Transferred to Military Sealift Command 2 July 1973.  Placed Out of Service 1981

Struck from Naval Register 21 February 1992
Sunk as target 27 October 1999

 

ATF 158 USS MOSOPELEA USNS MOSOPELEA T-ATF-158 MSC 002.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor

USNS ALBERT J. MYER (T-ARC-6) was the second of only two Maritime Commission type S3-S2-BP1 ships built for the US Army near the end of World War II intended to support Army Signal Corps communications cables. She is named for Brig. Gen. Albert J. Myer, the founder of the Signal Corps. The other ship was the William H. G. Bullard, later USS Neptune (Note: posted above), which Myer later joined in naval service.

 

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In Service 1952 to 1994 - MSC USNS

 

The ship was transferred on 13 June 1966 to the Navy for service as USNS Albert J. Myer (T-ARC-6) assigned to Project Caesar, though supporting other military systems on occasion. Albert J. Myer, along with sister ship Neptune, were the only ships in the Navy designed and built as cable ships. Unlike Neptune, which had been commissioned by the Navy, Albert J. Myer was never commissioned serving entirely as a civil service crewed ship under the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS)/Military Sealift Command (MSC).  Both underwent modifications and a major rebuild in the early 1980s. Albert J. Myer was deactivated in 1994.

 

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Salvage Sailor
On 8/13/2017 at 11:42 AM, Salvage Sailor said:

Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) Department of Commerce, 1949 to 1969

 

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From MSTS to MSC

 

MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND (MSC) - 1970 Swiss-Tex

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Salvage Sailor

Keeping the Boomers supplied with Cold War Missiles and Nukes,  WWII Victory "Sea Cowboy" converted to Fleet Ballistic Missile Cargo Ship

 

USNS NORWALK T-AK-279

MILITARY SEA TRANSPORTATION SERVICE (MSTS)

EX-NORWALK VICTORY

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USNS Norwalk (T-AK-279) alongside USS Simon Lake (AS-33) at Holy Loch, Scotland for a routine replenishment, circa 1966-1970.
US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 93225

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USNS VICTORIA T-AK-281

MILITARY SEA TRANSPORTATION SERVICE (MSTS)

EX-ETHIOPIA VICTORY

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USNS Victoria (T-AK-281) underway, date and location unknown.
US Navy photo from MSTS Mariner Magazine

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Salvage Sailor

USNS ALAN SHEPARD (T-AKE-3)

Lewis and Clark class dry cargo ship in service since 2007

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easterneagle87

Found these at the flea market. I found it interesting the USNS Albert Myers was in both the US Army and US Navy services. 

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Salvage Sailor

USS Concord (AFS-5), was a Mars class combat stores ship, in service with the United States Navy from 1968 to 1992. Concord became the first of five ships of its class to be transferred to Military Sealift Command. The transfer was completed in October 1992 and she was redesignated USNS Concord (T-AFS-5). Concord was stricken in August 2009 and sunk as a target in 2012.

 

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