The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.
Rear Admiral Philip E. Sobeck, commander of Military Sealift Command.
MSC ships are identified by the blue and gold stripes on their stacks.
An Oiler conducts a replenishment-at-sea with USCGC Stratton, 2012
A Fleet Oiler (formerly the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force) ship, USNS Kanawha, bearing the blue-and-gold stripes on its stack
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the world's most powerful navy and the largest by tonnage, at 4.5 million tons in 2021 and in 2009 an estimated battle fleet tonnage that exceeded the next 13 navies combined. It has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with 11 in service, 1 undergoing trials, two new carriers under construction, and six other carriers planned as of 2024. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 299 deployable combat vessels and about 4,012 operational aircraft as of July 18, 2023.
USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812
The Great White Fleet demonstrating U.S. naval power in 1907; it was proof that the U.S. Navy had blue-water capability.
Battleship USS Idaho shelling Okinawa on 1 April 1945
On Navy Day, October 27, 1945, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp in honor of the Navy and the end of WW2.
