1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
United States Navy
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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, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
3.
Sealift
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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. It complements other means of transport, such as strategic airlifters, Sealift shipping falls into three broad categories, dry cargo freighters, liquid tankers, and passenger or troop ships. Sealift can also be divided into strategic and tactical sealift, strategic sealift is the transportation of vehicles and equipment to a staging area equipped with port facilities, with personnel arriving by other methods. Tactical sealift occurs when a ship is carrying personnel along with vehicles and equipment, some smaller navies have built multi-role vessels that combine sealift with other capabilities, such as those of a patrol frigate or a command-and-control vessel. The Royal Danish Navys Absalon-class and the Royal New Zealand Navys multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury being two examples, Sealift refers to the re-supply of isolated communities with fuel, building materials, foodstuffs, vehicles and other goods. This is the most common used for the coastal communities of northern Canada due to the lower cost. An annual occurrence in the Arctic, the sealift is usually performed between July and October, when the sea is ice free, typically two types of ships are used, the older, less-seen cargo ship and the more usual tugboat. While both types also haul barges, the ship also carries cargo on deck. Most Arctic communities do not have a port and cranes to unload the supplies, where the community does not have a dock, the ship either must ground itself or the barges. Supplies are then removed by forklift truck which is carried on board. The interior of the barges are used to fuel and other supplies are carried in containers on deck. Power projection United States Navy Military Sealift Command Royal Navys Royal Fleet Auxiliary Littoral warfare Loss of Strength Gradient Seabasing Over-the-beach capability U. S, merchant Marine Academy This article incorporates public domain text from the United States Department of Defense Joint Publication 4-01
4.
United States Department of Defense
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The Department is the largest employer in the world, with nearly 1.3 million active duty servicemen and women as of 2016. Adding to its employees are over 801,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists from the four services and it is headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D. C. The Department of Defense is headed by the Secretary of Defense, Military operations are managed by nine regional or functional Unified Combatant Commands. The Department of Defense also operates several joint services schools, including the National Defense University, the history of the defense of the United States started with the Continental Congress in 1775. The creation of the United States Army was enacted on 14 June 1775 and this coincides with the American holiday Flag Day. The Second Continental Congress would charter the United States Navy, on 13 October 1775, today, both the Navy and the Marine Corps are separate military services subordinate to the Department of the Navy. The Preamble of the United States Constitution gave the authority to federal government, to defend its citizens and this first Congress had a huge agenda, that of creating legislation to build a government for the ages. Legislation to create a military defense force stagnated, two separate times, President George Washington went to Congress to remind them of their duty to establish a military. In a special message to Congress on 19 December 1945, the President cited both wasteful military spending and inter-departmental conflicts, deliberations in Congress went on for months focusing heavily on the role of the military in society and the threat of granting too much military power to the executive. The act placed the National Military Establishment under the control of a single Secretary of Defense, the National Military Establishment formally began operations on 18 September, the day after the Senate confirmed James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. The National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense on 10 August 1949, under the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958, channels of authority within the department were streamlined, while still maintaining the authority of the Military Departments. Also provided in this legislation was a centralized authority, the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Act moved decision-making authority from the Military Departments to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and it also strengthened the command channel of the military over U. S. forces from the President to the Secretary of Defense. Written and promoted by the Eisenhower administration, it was signed into law 6 August 1958, because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the President, the statutory authority of the Secretary of Defense is derived from their constitutional authorities. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 describes the relationships within the Department. The latest version, signed by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in December 2010, is the first major re-write since 1987, the Office of the Secretary of Defense is the Secretary and Deputy Secretarys civilian staff. S. Government departments and agencies, foreign governments, and international organizations, OSD also performs oversight and management of the Defense Agencies and Department of Defense Field Activities. OSD also supervises the following Defense Agencies, Several defense agencies are members of the United States Intelligence Community and these are national-level intelligence services that operate under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense but simultaneously fall under the authorities of the Director of National Intelligence
5.
Ship commissioning
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Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its countrys military forces, the ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries old naval tradition. Ship naming and launching endow a ship hull with her identity, the engineering plant, weapon and electronic systems, galley, and multitudinous other equipment required to transform the new hull into an operating and habitable warship are installed and tested. The prospective commanding officer, ships officers, the petty officers, prior to commissioning, the new ship undergoes sea trials to identify any deficiencies needing correction. USS Monitor, of American Civil War fame, was commissioned less than three weeks after launch, regardless of the type of ship in question, a vessels journey towards commissioning in its nations navy begins with process known as sea trials. Sea trials begin when the ship in question is floated out of its dry dock, after a ship has successfully cleared its sea trial period, it will officially be accepted into service with its nations navy. At this point, the ship in question will undergo a process of degaussing and/or deperming, once a ships sea trials are successfully completed plans for the actual commissioning ceremony will take shape. If the ships ceremony is an affair the Captain may make a speech to the audience. Religious ceremonies, such as blessing the ship or the singing of hymns or songs. Once a ship has been commissioned its final step toward becoming a unit of the navy it now serves is to report to its home port. To decommission a ship is to terminate its career in service in the forces of a nation. Decommissioning of the vessel may also occur due to treaty agreements or for safety reasons, vessels preserved in this manner typically do not relinquish their names to other, more modern ships that may be in the design, planning, or construction phase of the parent nations navy. Prior to its decommissioning, the ship in question will begin the process of decommissioning by going through a preliminary step called inactivation or deactivation. The removed material from a ship usually ends up either rotating to another ship in the class with similar weapons and/or capabilities, or in storage pending a decision on equipments fate. During this time a crew may be thinned out via transfers. When a ship finishes its inactivation, it is then formally decommissioned, often, but not always, ships that are decommissioned end up spending the next few years in a reserve fleet before their ultimate fate is decided. Commissioning in the early United States Navy under sail was attended by no ceremony, thus, the ship was placed in commission. Commissionings were not public affairs, and unlike christening-and-launching ceremonies, were not recorded by newspapers, the first specific reference to commissioning located in naval records is a letter of November 6,1863, from Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles to all navy yards and stations
6.
United States Merchant Marine
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The United States Merchant Marine refers to either United States civilian mariners, or to U. S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Merchant Marine officers may also be commissioned as officers by the Department of Defense. This is commonly achieved by commissioning unlimited tonnage Merchant Marine officers as Strategic Sealift Officers in the Naval Reserves. As of 31 December 2016, the United States merchant fleet had 175 privately owned, oceangoing, self-propelled vessels of 1,000 gross register tons, nearly 800 American-owned ships are flagged in other nations. In 2004, the government employed approximately 5% of all American water transportation workers. In the 19th and 20th centuries, various laws fundamentally changed the course of American merchant shipping and these laws put an end to common practices such as flogging and shanghaiing, and increased shipboard safety and living standards. The United States Merchant Marine is also governed by more than 25 international conventions to promote safety, the Court held that the Secretary of the Air Force abused its discretion in denying active military service recognition to American merchant seamen who participated in World War II. Captains, mates, and pilots supervise ship operations on domestic waterways, a captain is in overall command of a vessel, and supervises the work of other officers and crew. A captain has the ability to take the conn from a mate or pilot at any time he feels the need, on smaller vessels the captain may be a regular watch-stander, similar to a mate, directly controlling the vessels position. Captains directly communicate with the company or command, and are responsible for cargo, various logs, ships documents, credentials, efforts at controlling pollution. Mates direct a ships routine operation for the captain during work shifts, mates stand watch for specified periods, usually in three duty sections, with 4 hours on watch and 8 hours off. When on a watch, mates direct a bridge team by conning, directing courses through the helmsman. When more than one mate is necessary aboard a ship, they typically are designated chief mate or first mate, second mate, in addition to watch standers, mates directly supervise the ships crew, and are assigned other tasks. The chief mate is usually in charge of cargo, stability and the crew, the second mate in charge of navigation plans and updates. Harbor pilots guide ships in and out of confined waterways, such as harbors, harbor pilots are generally independent contractors who accompany vessels while they enter or leave port, and may pilot many ships in a single day. Ships engineers operate, maintain, and repair engines, boilers, generators, pumps, Merchant marine vessels usually have four engineering officers, a chief engineer and a first, second, and third assistant engineer. On many ships, Assistant Engineers stand periodic watches, overseeing the operation of engines. However, most modern ships sailing today utilize Unmanned Machinery Space automation technology, at night and during meals and breaks, the engine room is unmanned and machinery alarms are answered by the Duty Engineer
7.
United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
8.
Merchant vessel
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A merchant vessel or trading vessel is a boat or ship that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This excludes pleasure craft that do not carry passengers for hire, most countries of the world operate fleets of merchant ships. However, due to the costs of operations, today these fleets are in many cases sailing under the flags of nations that specialize in providing manpower. Such flags are known as flags of convenience, currently, Liberia and Panama are particularly favoured. Ownership of the vessels can be by any country, however, the Greek-owned fleet is the largest in the world. Today, the Greek fleet accounts for some 16 per cent of the world’s tonnage, during wars, merchant ships may be used as auxiliaries to the navies of their respective countries, and are called upon to deliver military personnel and materiel. The term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in trade or that carries passengers for hire. In English, Merchant Navy without further clarification is used to refer to the British Merchant Navy, general cargo ships include multi-purpose and project vessels and roll-on/roll-off cargo. A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, thousands of cargo carriers ply the worlds seas and oceans each year, they handle the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload. Dry cargo ships today are mainly bulk carriers and container ships, bulk carriers or bulkers are used for the transportation of homogeneous cargo such as coal, rubber, copra, tin, and wheat. Container ships are used for the carriage of miscellaneous goods, a bulk carrier is an ocean-going vessel used to transport bulk cargo items such as iron ore, bauxite, coal, cement, grain and similar cargo. Bulk carriers can be recognized by large box-like hatches on deck, the dimensions of bulk carriers are often determined by the ports and sea routes that they need to serve, and by the maximum width of the Panama Canal. Most lakes are too small to accommodate bulk carriers, but a large fleet of lake freighters has been plying the Great Lakes, container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial freight transport. A tanker is a designed to transport liquids in bulk. Tankers can range in size from several hundred tons, designed to serve small harbours and coastal settlements, to several hundred thousand tons, gas Carriers such as LNG carriers as they are typically known, are a relatively rare tanker designed to carry liquefied natural gas. It has a deadweight of 565 thousand metric tons and length of about 458 meters, the use of such large ships is in fact very unprofitable, due to the inability to operate them at full cargo capacity, hence, the production of supertankers has currently ceased
9.
Steamship
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A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically drive propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into usage during the early 1800s, however. Steamships usually use the designations of PS for paddle steamer or SS for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, SS is assumed by many to stand for steam ship, Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as MV for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use SS for most modern vessels. The steamship was preceded by smaller vessels designed for insular transportation, once the technology of steam was mastered at this level, steam engines were mounted on larger, and eventually, ocean-going vessels. Becoming reliable, and propelled by screw rather than paddlewheels, the changed the design of ships for faster. Paddlewheels as the main motive source became standard on these early vessels and it was an effective means of propulsion under ideal conditions but otherwise had serious drawbacks. Within a few decades of the development of the river and canal steamboat, the first sea-going steamboat was Richard Wrights first steamboat Experiment, an ex-French lugger, she steamed from Leeds to Yarmouth in July 1813. She carried passengers and freight to Paris in 1822 at an speed of 8 knots. The American ship SS Savannah first crossed the Atlantic Ocean, another claimant is the Canadian ship SS Royal William in 1833. The SS Archimedes, built in Britain in 1839 by Francis Pettit Smith, was the worlds first steamship to be driven by a screw propeller. It had considerable influence on development, encouraging the adoption of screw propulsion by the Royal Navy. The key innovation that made ocean-going steamers viable was the change from the paddle-wheel to the screw-propeller as the mechanism of propulsion and these steamships quickly became more popular, because the propellers efficiency was consistent regardless of the depth at which it operated. Being smaller in size and mass and being submerged, it was also far less prone to damage. The development of screw propulsion relied on the technological innovations. Steam engines had to be designed with the power delivered at the bottom of the machinery, a paddle steamers engines drive a shaft that is positioned above the waterline, with the cylinders positioned below the shaft. SS Great Britain used chain drive to power from a paddlers engine to the propeller shaft - the result of a late design change to propeller propulsion. An effective stern tube and associated bearings were required, the stern tube contains the propeller shaft where it passes through the hull structure
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Gas turbine
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A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a turbine. The basic operation of the gas turbine is similar to that of the power plant except that the working fluid is air instead of water. Fresh atmospheric air flows through a compressor that brings it to higher pressure, energy is then added by spraying fuel into the air and igniting it so the combustion generates a high-temperature flow. This high-temperature high-pressure gas enters a turbine, where it expands down to the exhaust pressure, the turbine shaft work is used to drive the compressor and other devices such as an electric generator that may be coupled to the shaft. The energy that is not used for shaft work comes out in the exhaust gases, the purpose of the gas turbine determines the design so that the most desirable energy form is maximized. Gas turbines are used to power aircraft, trains, ships, electrical generators,50, Heros Engine — Apparently, Heros steam engine was taken to be no more than a toy, and thus its full potential not realized for centuries. 1000, The Trotting Horse Lamp was used by the Chinese at lantern fairs as early as the Northern Song dynasty. When the lamp is lit, the heated airflow rises and drives an impeller with horse-riding figures attached on it,1629, Jets of steam rotated an impulse turbine that then drove a working stamping mill by means of a bevel gear, developed by Giovanni Branca. 1678, Ferdinand Verbiest built a model carriage relying on a jet for power. 1791, A patent was given to John Barber, an Englishman and his invention had most of the elements present in the modern day gas turbines. The turbine was designed to power a horseless carriage,1861, British patent no.1633 was granted to Marc Antoine Francois Mennons for a Caloric engine. The patent shows that it was a gas turbine and the show it applied to a locomotive. Also named in the patent was Nicolas de Telescheff, a Russian aviation pioneer,1872, A gas turbine engine was designed by Franz Stolze, but the engine never ran under its own power. 1894, Sir Charles Parsons patented the idea of propelling a ship with a turbine, and built a demonstration vessel. This principle of propulsion is still of some use,1895, Three 4-ton 100 kW Parsons radial flow generators were installed in Cambridge Power Station, and used to power the first electric street lighting scheme in the city. 1899, Charles Gordon Curtis patented the first gas engine in the USA. 1900, Sanford Alexander Moss submitted a thesis on gas turbines, in 1903, Moss became an engineer for General Electrics Steam Turbine Department in Lynn, Massachusetts
11.
United States Transportation Command
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The United States Transportation Command is one of nine unified commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, was established in 1987, USTRANSCOM is a syllabic abbreviation formed from United + States + TRANSportation + COMmand. This command is the manager of the United States global defense transportation system. USTRANSCOM is tasked with the coordination of people and transportation assets to allow the US to project and sustain forces, whenever, wherever, and for as long as they are needed. The commander of USTRANSCOM is General Darren W. McDew, formerly head of the Air Mobility Command, the air component of TRANSCOM, USTRANSCOM provides full-spectrum global mobility solutions and related enabling capabilities for supported customers requirements in peace and war. USTRANSCOM coordinates missions worldwide using both military and commercial transportation resources and it is composed of three service component commands, The Air Forces Air Mobility Command, the Navys Military Sealift Command and the Armys Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. The Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, which was part of the former U. S, Joint Forces Command, is now part of the U. S. Air Mobility Command, the air component of USTRANSCOM, is located at Scott AFB. The AMC fleet provides refueling and cargo and personnel transport capability, aircraft of the command include, C-17 Globemaster III, C-5 Galaxy, C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, and KC-10 Extender. Military Sealift Command USTRANSCOMs sealift component, provides sea transportation worldwide for DoD in peace, MSC assets include Fast Sealift and Ready Reserve Force ships. In addition, MSC charters and books space on commercial ships, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the commercial surface lift component and primary surface distribution manager for USTRANSCOM. SDDCs provides global surface deployment command and control and distribution operations, SDDC has a presence in 24 water ports worldwide. SDDC assets include 10,000 containers and 1,350 railroad cars, within the United States, the SDDC works with the Federal Highway Administration to designate the Strategic Highway Network. Joint Operational Support Airlift Center specializes in the airlift of senior officials within the continental United States. JOSAC is located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command provides mission-tailored, ready joint capability packages to combatant commanders. JECC is located at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia and is divided into three subordinate joint commands that provide capabilities across seven unique functional areas and it aims to bring tailored, mission-specific forces to a joint force commander within hours of notification. JPSE is co-located with the JECC headquarters at Naval Station Norfolk, JCSE is located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. JPASE is located in Suffolk, Virginia, World War II, the Berlin blockade, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War all demonstrated that the United States needed to maintain a capable and ready transportation system for national security
12.
United States Fleet Forces Command
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The United States Fleet Forces Command is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U. S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United States Northern Command under the authority of the Secretary of Defense. Originally formed as United States Atlantic Fleet in 1906, it has been a part of the defense of the United States of America for most of the 20th century. The command is based at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Northern Command and is a supporting command under the U. S. Strategic Command. The Fleet was a combination of the North Atlantic Fleet and the South Atlantic Squadron, the first commander of the fleet was Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, who hoisted his flag in the battleship USS Maine on 1 January 1906. In January 1913 the fleet consisted of six divisions, a torpedo flotilla, submarines. The fleet was under the command of Rear Admiral Hugo Osterhaus, the First Division, under Rear Admiral Bradley A. Fiske, consisted of USS Florida, USS Delaware, and USS North Dakota. The Second Division, under Rear Admiral Nathaniel R. Usher with his flag aboard the USS Vermont, consisted of USS Louisiana, USS Michigan, USS New Hampshire, the Third Division, under Rear Admiral Cameron McR. Winslow, comprised USS Virginia, USS Georgia, USS New Jersey, USS Rhode Island, the Fourth Division, under Rear Admiral Frank F. Fletcher, consisted of the USS Minnesota, USS Connecticut, USS Ohio, USS Idaho, and USS Kansas. Fifth and Sixth Divisions were made up of protected cruisers, USS St. Louis, USS Tennessee, USS Washington, and USS Cleveland, USS Denver, USS Des Moines, and USS Tacoma. The Cruiser and Transport Force, under Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves served in Atlantic waters during World War I moving the American Expeditionary Forces to Europe, United States Battleship Division Nine joined the Grand Fleet in the UK. The Atlantic Fleet was reorganized into the Scouting Force in 1923, in January 1939 the Atlantic Squadron, United States Fleet, was formed. The aircraft carrier USS Ranger was transferred to the Atlantic Ocean, Vice Admiral Alfred Wilkinson Johnson commanded the squadron. On 1 November 1940 the Atlantic Squadron was renamed the Patrol Force, the Patrol Force was organized into type commands, Battleships, Patrol Force, Cruisers, Patrol Force, Destroyers, Patrol Force, and, Train, Patrol Force. On 1 February 1941, the Atlantic Fleet was resurrected and organized from the Patrol Force. Along with the Pacific Fleet and Asiatic Fleet, the fleet was to be under the command of a full Admiral, which jumped the fleets commander Ernest J. King from a two-star to a four-star. Subsequently, the headquarters was in an odd assortment of ships, the USS Augusta, then the old wooden ship USS Constellation, USS Vixen. In 1948, the HQ moved into the naval hospital at Norfolk, Virginia
13.
Rear admiral (United States)
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Rear admiral in the United States refers to two different ranks of commissioned officers — one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most nations, the rear admiral refers to an officer of two-star rank. The abbreviation for personnel from the USN, USCG, and NOAA is RDML, whereas for the USPHS, Rear admiral ranks above captain and below rear admiral. Rear admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. In the United States uniformed services, rear admiral replaced the rank of commodore in 1985, Rear admiral ranks above rear admiral and below vice admiral. Rear admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. It is the highest permanent rank during peacetime in the uniformed services, all higher ranks are temporary ranks and linked to their specific commands or office and expire with the expiration of their term of command or office. Before the American Civil War, the American Navy had resisted creating the rank of admiral, instead, they preferred the term flag officer, in order to distinguish the rank from the traditions of the European navies. During the American Civil War, The US Congress honored David Glasgow Farraguts successful assault on the city of New Orleans by creating the rank of admiral on July 16,1862. During World War II, the U. S. Navy, by the end of the war, all incumbents had been advanced to the rank of two-star rear admiral and the commodore rank was eliminated in both services. Lower-half rear admirals were promoted to full rear admirals, or upper half status. However, both categories of rear admiral wore two-star insignia, an issue that was a source of consternation to the other services. Although not flag officers, these officers were entitled to a blue and white command pennant containing the initials. 97–86 expanded commodore from a title to a permanent grade by creating the one-star rank of commodore admiral. After only 11 months, the rank was reverted to just commodore, however, this caused issues with the Navy due to the difficulty in discriminating those commodores who were flag officers from commodores who were senior captains in certain command positions. 99–145 renamed commodore to the current grade of rear admiral effective on November 8,1985, up until 1981, all rear admirals wore two stars on their shoulder bars and rank insignia. Since then, rear admirals wear one star while rear admirals wear two, verbal address remains rear admiral for both ranks, on correspondence, where the rear admirals rank is spelled out, the acronym and follows the rear admirals rank title to distinguish between one and two stars. The flags of restricted line officers and staff officers have blue stars on a white field
14.
Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force
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The Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force is a division of the US Navy. The 42 ships of the Military Sealift Commands Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force are the lines to U. S. Navy ships at sea. These ships provide virtually everything that Navy ships need, including fuel, food, ordnance, spare parts, mail, NFAF ships enable the Navy fleet to remain at sea, on station and combat ready for extended periods of time. NFAF ships also conduct towing, rescue and salvage operations or serve as floating medical facilities, all NFAF ships are government owned and crewed by civil service mariners. Some of the ships also have a contingent of Navy personnel aboard for operations support, supply coordination. As a result of a 2012 reorganization, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force was renamed Combat Logistics Force, fifteen fleet replenishment oilers, the largest subset of Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships, provide fuel to deployed Navy ships at sea, as well as to their assigned aircraft. Oilers and the ships they refuel sail side by side as fuel hoses are extended across guide wires, underway replenishment of fuel dramatically extends the time a Navy battle group can remain at sea. The fifteen ships of the fleet are as follows, USNS Henry J. Kaiser USNS Joshua Humphreys USNS John Lenthall USNS Walter S. The ammunition ships of the Auxiliary Fleet are, USNS Flint MSCs four fast combat support ships provide one-stop shopping to the fleet for fuel, ammunition, food and other cargo. These ships are especially valuable because of their speed and ability to carry all the essentials to replenish Navy ships at sea, MSCs fast combat support ships, formerly sailor-operated, transferred to MSC for civil service crewing beginning in 2001. These ships are able to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navys carrier strike groups, all the Lewis and Clark-class ships are named after great American pioneers. These ships are listed as follows, USNS Lewis and Clark USNS Sacagawea USNS Alan Shepard USNS Richard E. Byrd USNS Robert E, when augmented by Navy divers, fleet ocean tugs assist in the recovery of downed ships and aircraft. In addition, when carrying specialized equipment, the fleet ocean tugs can also perform submarine rescue operations and these ships, like fleet ocean tugs, are able to lift objects as heavy as downed ships and aircraft. The key advantage of these ships is their ability to rapidly deploy divers to conduct rescue, Military Sealift Command Defense Industry Daily
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Washington Navy Yard
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The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D. C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U. S. Navy, the Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrative center for the U. S. S. Navy Judge Advocate Generals Corps, Marine Corps Institute, the United States Navy Band, in 1998, the yard was listed as a Superfund site due to environmental contamination. The history of the yard can be divided into its history and cultural. The land was purchased under an Act of Congress on July 23,1799, the Washington Navy Yard was established on October 2,1799, the date the property was transferred to the Navy. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U. S. Navy, the original boundaries that were established in 1800, along 9th and M Street SE, are still marked by a white brick wall that surrounds the Yard on the north and east sides. The next year, two lots were purchased. The north wall of the Yard was built in 1809 along with a guardhouse, after the Burning of Washington in 1814, Tingey recommended that the height of the eastern wall be increased to ten feet because of the fire and subsequent looting. The southern boundary of the Yard was formed by the Anacostia River, the west side was undeveloped marsh. The land located along the Anacostia was added to by landfill over the years as it became necessary to increase the size of the Yard, the USS Constitution came to the Yard in 1812 to refit and prepare for combat action. For the first thirty years of the century, the Navy Yard was the Districts principal employer of enslaved African Americans. Their numbers rose rapidly and by 1808, the muster lists, the number of enslaved workers gradually declined during the next thirty years. While the total number of enslaved workers declined, free African Americans remained a presence on the shipyard. Sailors of Navy Yard were part of the hastily assembled American army, the Navy Yard sailors, and Marines of nearby Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. were in the third and last line of defense at Bladensburg. Together, they fought hand to hand with cutlasses and pikes against the British regulars before being overwhelmed, as the British marched into Washington, holding the Yard became impossible. Tingey, seeing the smoke from the burning Capitol, ordered the Yard burned to prevent its capture by the enemy, both structures are now individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Following the War of 1812, the Washington Navy Yard never regained its prominence as a shipbuilding facility, the waters of the Anacostia River were too shallow to accommodate larger vessels, and the Yard was deemed too inaccessible to the open sea. Thus came a shift to what was to be the character of the Yard for more than a century, ordnance, the Yard possessed one of the earliest steam engines in the United States
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Naval Station Norfolk
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Naval Station Norfolk, is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia. It supports naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, the installation occupies about 4 miles of waterfront space and 11 miles of pier and wharf space of the Hampton Roads peninsula known as Sewells Point. Over 150,000 passengers and 264,000 tons of mail and cargo depart annually on Air Mobility Command aircraft, the area where the base is located was the site of the original 1907 Jamestown Exposition. In April 1917, not long after the United States entered World War I, a bill was passed for the purchase of the land, and money was set aside in the amount of $1.6 million for the development of the base. The Fifth Naval Headquarters was established along with the Naval Operating Base, by 1918, there were 34,000 enlisted men at the base. However, by the end, the base was reduced in personnel. New facilities were built including new runways for aircraft, part of NAS Norfolk and it also had ramps built to be used by seaplanes to be operated by the navy during the war. About 400 acres was acquired and by 1943, the air station had become an airfield for operations. Due to the expansion, it contributed to ending the war due to the training it provided to air units. On 1 January 1953, the name of the base was changed to Naval Station Norfolk after being known as the NOB. In 1968, the Naval Air Station was given a role in John F. Kennedys vision of putting a man on the moon. The air station became Recovery Control Center Atlantic, which provided command, control, due to the end of the Cold War. A drawdown began in the 1990s, and the navy began reducing shore installations to help with operating cost. Due to this, the navy merged the separate Naval Station and Naval Air Station into an installation to be called Naval Station Norfolk. Following the attack on the USS Cole and September 11,2001 terrorist attacks, the base had some major upgrades to its security gates costing more than $12.5 million. On 26 January 2017, NS Norfolk celebrated its centennial at the Pennsylvania House, Naval Station Norfolk is homeport for the USS Cole, which was the victim of an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack in October 2000 while it was harbored and being refueled in the port of Aden, Yemen. 17 American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured in the attack, the USS Cole remains in active service and remains homeported at Norfolk. On March 24,2014, a shooting at NS Norfolk resulted in the death of a sailor, the shooting occurred around 11,20 p. m. EST aboard the USS Mahan
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USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196)
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United States Naval Ship USNS Kanawha is a Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler of the United States Navy in non-commissioned service in the Military Sealift Command. USNS Kanawha, the tenth Henry J. Kaiser-class ship, was laid down by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Chester, Pennsylvania, on 13 July 1989. She was launched on 22 September 1990 and delivered to the U. S. Navy, Kanawha is in active service today with the Military Sealift Command Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force and is assigned to the U. S. The Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers were preceded by the shorter Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oilers, Kanawha has an overall length of 206.5 metres. It has a beam of 29.7 metres and a draft of 11 metres, the oiler has a displacement of 41,353 tonnes at full load. It has a capacity of 180,000 imperial barrels of fuel or fuel oil. It can carry a dry load of 690 square metres and can refrigerate 128 pallets of food, the ship is powered by two 10 PC4.2 V570 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines that drive two shafts, this gives a power of 25.6 megawatts. The Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers have maximum speeds of 20 knots and they were built without armaments but can be fitted with close-in weapon systems. The ship has a platform but not any maintenance facilities. It is fitted with five fuelling stations, these can fill two ships at the time and the ship is capable of pumping 900,000 US gallons of diesel or 540,000 US gallons of jet fuel per hour. It has a complement of eighty-nine civilians, twenty-nine spare crew, on November 18,2010, USNS Kanawha “briefly came into contact” with HMCS Fredericton of the Royal Canadian Navy during a replenishment-at-sea manoeuvre off the coast of Florida. There were no injuries, but both ships suffered “superficial” damage consisting of scrapes and dents on both hulls and this article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here, navSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive T-AO-196 Kanawha USNS Kanawha Wildenberg, Thomas. Gray Steel and Black Oil, Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U. S. Navy, 1912-1995
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Royal Fleet Auxiliary
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The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence, whose purpose is to support the Royal Navy. The RFA enables ships of the Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world and its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea. It also transports Army and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises, the RFA counts an Aviation Training ship/Hospital Ship and landing vessels amongst its assets. Royal Navy personnel are also needed to operate weapons, such as the Phalanx. Since the Royal Navy of that era possessed the largest network of bases around the world of any fleet, World War II also saw naval ships staying at sea for much longer periods than had been the case since the days of sail. Techniques of Replenishment at Sea were developed, the auxiliary fleet comprised a diverse collection, with not only RFA ships, but also commissioned warships and merchantmen as well. The need for the fleet to be maintained was unambiguously demonstrated by World War II, after 1945, the RFA became the Royal Navys main source of support in the many conflicts that the Navy was involved in. The RFA performed important service to the Far East Fleet off Korea from 1950 until 1953, during the extended operations of the Konfrontasi in the 1960s, the RFA was also heavily involved. As the network of British bases overseas shrank during the end of the Empire, the Navy increasingly relied on the RFA to supply its ships during routine deployments. The RFA played an important role in the largest naval war since 1945, the Falklands War in 1982, and also the Gulf War, Kosovo War, Afghanistan Campaign and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In July 2008, the RFA was presented with a Queens Colour, Ships in RFA service carry the ship prefix RFA, standing for Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and fly the Blue Ensign defaced with an upright gold killick anchor. All Royal Fleet Auxiliaries are built and maintained to Lloyds Register, the most important role provided by the RFA is replenishment at sea, therefore the mainstay of the current RFA fleet are the replenishment ships. The Wave-class and Rover-class are Fleet Tankers, which primarily provide under way refuelling to Royal Navy ships, the remaining Rover-class will be replaced by the new Tide-class Fast Fleet Tankers that were ordered in February 2012. The four new tankers have been ordered from DSME, South Korea with design support from Britains BMT Defence Services, the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review has confirmed that three Fleet Solid Support Ships will be built and bidding for the contract will start in late 2016. Fort Victoria is a replenishment ship, capable of providing under way refuelling. The older Fort Rosalie-class ships provide only dry cargoes, the Wave-class, Fort Victoria and the Fort Rosalie-class have generous aviation facilities, providing aviation support and training facilities and significant vertical replenishment capabilities. They are capable of operating and supporting several Merlin and Lynx Wildcat helicopters, the presence of aviation facilities on RFA ships allows for them to be used as force multipliers for the task groups they support in line with Royal Navy doctrine. The RFA is tasked with the role of supporting Royal Navy amphibious operations through ts three Bay-class dock landing ships, typically one Bay-class is also assigned as a permanent mothership for Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels in the Persian Gulf
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Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler
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The Henry J. Kaiser class is an American class of eighteen fleet replenishment oilers which began construction in August 1984. There are stations on both sides of each ship for underway replenishment of fuel and stores, the ships in this class have a small capacity to carry and transfer fresh and frozen foods as well as other materials, and have two dry cargo transfer rigs. Patuxent, Laramie, and Rappahannock differ from the other 15 ships in having double hulls to meet the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Hull separation is 6 feet at the sides and 6 feet 6 inches on the bottom, the circumstances of the construction program were convoluted and it is worthwhile to spell them out here. A second-source contract, for T-AOs 191 and 192, was awarded to Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Company, the Navy then determined that the ships were no longer needed as oilers, and undertook a study of the feasibility of converting them to ammunition ships. This study concluded that such a conversion was cost-prohibitive and the ships were placed in storage in an incomplete condition. They were sold for recycling in 2011, the class is named for its lead unit, Henry J. Kaiser, which in turn is named for the American industrialist and shipbuilder Henry J. Kaiser. The tenth through eighteenth ships were named after American rivers, which is a traditional naming convention for U. S. Navy oilers. In U. S. Navy service, the serve in a non-commissioned status in the Military Sealift Command. After joining the fleet, the 16 completed ships all saw service between 1986 and 1996, when Andrew J. Higgins became the first unit of the class to be laid up. Since then, some of the others have also spent periods out of service in reserve or in an operational status. Andrew J. Higgins never re-entered U. S. service after being laid up in 1996 and she was sold to Chile in 2009 and was commissioned into the Chilean Navy in 2010 as Almirate Montt
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Naval Sea Systems Command
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The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the United States Navys five systems commands, or materiel organizations. NAVSEA consists of four shipyards, nine warfare centers, four major shipbuilding locations, nAVSEAs primary objective is to engineer, build, and support the U. S. Navys fleet of ships and its combat systems. NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navys entire budget, with more than 150 acquisition programs under its oversight, since then various organizations were established and succeeded them to oversee design, construction and repair of ships and ordnance. These bureaus traced their origins back to earlier organizations, the Naval Ship Systems Command was established in 1966 replacing BuShips. The Naval Sea Systems Command was established on July 1,1974 with the merger of the Naval Ship Systems Command with the Naval Ordnance Systems Command, NAVORD was the successor to the Bureau of Naval Weapons and the earlier Bureau of Ordnance. C. PEOs report to the NAVSEA commander for planning and execution of in-service support, and to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for acquisition-related matters. Tom Moore, June 2016- Vice Adm. William H. Hilarides, June 2013 - June 2016 Vice Adm. Kevin M. McCoy, June 2008 - June 2013 Vice Adm. Paul E. Sullivan, July 2005 - August 2008 Vice Adm. Earl B. Fowler, Jr. March 1980-June 1985 On Monday, September 16,2013, alexis was killed after engaging in a shootout with responding police. Official website National Archives – Records of the Bureau of Ships
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Tracking ship
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A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ships or range ships, is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for safety reasons, in the United States the initial tracking ships were constructed by the US Army and then US Air Force to support their missile programs. They were generally built on a surplus Liberty ship or Victory ship hull, by 1964 the US Navy took over all the range ships and introduced more. The Chinese ships were purpose built vessels for their role in the navy, — ex-Italian oil tanker Active Monge, 1992–present — purpose-built The Soviet and later Russian ships were purpose built vessels for their role. The latter was delivered in January 2012 to replace USNS Observation Island in 2014, most of the USN and USAF tracking ships were converted into their role. Some ships were in service with NASA, USNS Range Tracker, 1961–1969 - built as Victory ship USNS Range Recoverer, 1960–1972 - built for US Army USNS Longview, 1959–19. H. Arnold, 1961–1982 - built as C4 class troop ship USNS General Hoyt S. - built as Type T2-SE-A2 tanker/supplies ship USNS Mercury, lorenzen, 2012-present - purpose built to replace Observation Island. Pathfinder-class survey ships Eastern Range List of ships of the United States Air Force Sea-Based X-Band Radar Western Launch and Test Range
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USNS Waters (T-AGS-45)
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USNS Waters is a United States Navy vessel tasked with supporting submarine navigation-system testing and providing ballistic missile flight test support services. In 2011, it was homeported in Port Canaveral, Florida, Waters is operated by Military Sealift Command to provide an operating platform and services for unique U. S. military and federal government missions. Special missions ships work for several different U. S. Navy customers, including Naval Sea Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Waters was originally an oceanographic survey ship, built by the Avondale Shipyard and delivered to the US Navy in 1993. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, the entry can be found here
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Submarine
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A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability, the term most commonly refers to a large, crewed vessel. It is also used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine. The noun submarine evolved as a form of submarine boat, by naval tradition, submarines are usually referred to as boats rather than as ships. Although experimental submarines had been built before, submarine design took off during the 19th century, Submarines were first widely used during World War I, and now figure in many navies large and small. Civilian uses for submarines include marine science, salvage, exploration and facility inspection, Submarines can also be modified to perform more specialized functions such as search-and-rescue missions or undersea cable repair. Submarines are also used in tourism, and for undersea archaeology, most large submarines consist of a cylindrical body with hemispherical ends and a vertical structure, usually located amidships, which houses communications and sensing devices as well as periscopes. In modern submarines, this structure is the sail in American usage, a conning tower was a feature of earlier designs, a separate pressure hull above the main body of the boat that allowed the use of shorter periscopes. There is a propeller at the rear, and various hydrodynamic control fins, smaller, deep-diving and specialty submarines may deviate significantly from this traditional layout. Submarines use diving planes and also change the amount of water, Submarines have one of the widest ranges of types and capabilities of any vessel. Submarines can work at greater depths than are survivable or practical for human divers, modern deep-diving submarines derive from the bathyscaphe, which in turn evolved from the diving bell. In 1578, the English mathematician William Bourne recorded in his book Inventions or Devises one of the first plans for an underwater navigation vehicle and its unclear whether he ever carried out his idea. The first submersible of whose construction there exists reliable information was designed and built in 1620 by Cornelis Drebbel and it was propelled by means of oars. By the mid-18th century, over a dozen patents for submarines/submersible boats had been granted in England, in 1747, Nathaniel Symons patented and built the first known working example of the use of a ballast tank for submersion. His design used leather bags that could fill with water to submerge the craft, a mechanism was used to twist the water out of the bags and cause the boat to resurface. In 1749, the Gentlemens Magazine reported that a design had initially been proposed by Giovanni Borelli in 1680. By this point of development, further improvement in design stagnated for over a century, until new industrial technologies for propulsion. The first military submarine was the Turtle, a hand-powered acorn-shaped device designed by the American David Bushnell to accommodate a single person and it was the first verified submarine capable of independent underwater operation and movement, and the first to use screws for propulsion
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Special forces
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Special forces and special operations forces are military or police units trained to conduct special operations. The term special forces in the United States refers to the U. S. Armys forces, in Russian-speaking countries special forces are typically called spetsnaz, an acronym for special purpose. Likewise, Russian speakers refer to special forces of nations as spetsnaz, for example. Special Forces would be referred to as amerikanski spetsnaz in Russian, other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing essential intelligence from near or among the enemy and increasingly in combating irregular forces, their infrastructure and activities. Hamilcar Barca in Sicily had specialized troops trained to launch several offensives per day, in the late Roman or early Byzantine period, Roman fleets used small, fast, camouflaged ships crewed by selected men for scouting and commando missions. In Japan, ninjas were used for reconnaissance, espionage and as assassins, bodyguards or fortress guards, during the Napoleonic wars, rifle and sapper units were formed that held specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing and were not committed to the formal battle lines. The British Indian Army deployed two special forces during their wars, the Corps of Guides formed in 1846 and the Gurkha Scouts. During the Second Boer War the British Army felt the need for specialised units became most apparent. This unit was formed in 1900 by Lord Lovat and early on reported to an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, after the war, Lovats Scouts went on to formally become the British Armys first sniper unit. Additionally, the Bushveldt Carbineers, formed in 1901, can be seen as an unconventional warfare unit. Modern special forces emerged during the Second World War, in 1940, the British Commandos were formed following Winston Churchills call for specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast. A staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke, had already submitted such a proposal to General Sir John Dill, Dill, aware of Churchills intentions, approved Clarkes proposal and on 23 June 1940, the first Commando raid took place. The Special Service Brigade was quickly expanded to 12 units which became known as Commandos, each Commando had a lieutenant colonel as the commanding officer and numbered around 450 men. In December 1940 a Middle East Commando depot was formed with the responsibility of training and supplying reinforcements for the Commando units in that theatre, in February 1942 the Commando training depot at Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands was established by Brigadier Charles Haydon. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Vaughan, the Commando depot was responsible for training complete units, the training regime was for the time innovative and physically demanding, and far in advance of normal British Army training. The depot staff were all hand picked, with the ability to any of the volunteers. Training and assessment started immediately on arrival, with the volunteers having to complete an 8-mile march with all their equipment from the Spean Bridge railway station to the commando depot, exercises were conducted using live ammunition and explosives to make training as realistic as possible. Physical fitness was a prerequisite, with cross country runs and boxing matches to improve fitness, speed and endurance marches were conducted up and down the nearby mountain ranges and over assault courses that included a zip-line over Loch Arkaig, all while carrying arms and full equipment
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Sea-based X-band Radar
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The Sea-Based X-Band Radar is a floating, self-propelled, mobile active electronically scanned array early-warning radar station designed to operate in high winds and heavy seas. It was developed as part of the Missile Defense Agencys Ballistic Missile Defense System, the radar is mounted on a fifth generation CS-50 twin-hulled semi-submersible drilling rig. Conversion of the vessel was carried out at the AmFELS yard in Brownsville, Texas and it is nominally based at Adak Island in Alaska. It has spent significant time at Pearl Harbor in test status, the decision to place the system on a mobile sea-based platform was intended to allow the vessel to be moved to areas where it is needed for enhanced missile defense. Fixed radars provide coverage for a limited area due to the curvature of the Earth. However, the same applies to the SBX. SBXs primary task is discrimination of enemy warheads from decoys, followed by precision tracking of the identified warheads, testing has raised doubts about the systems ability to perform these tasks, to deal with multiple targets, and to report accurately to command authorities. The vessel has many small radomes for various tasks and a large central dome that encloses a phased-array,1,800 tonne X band radar antenna. The small radomes are rigid, but the dome is not - the flexible cover is supported by positive air pressure amounting to a few inches of water. The amount of air pressure is variable depending on weather conditions, the radar antenna itself is described as being 384 m2. It has a number of solid-state transmit-receive modules mounted on an octagonal flat base which can move ±270 degrees in azimuth and 0 to 85 degrees elevation. The maximum azimuth and elevation velocities are approximately 5-8 degrees per second, in addition to the physical motion of the base, the beam can be electronically steered off bore-sight. There are currently 22,000 modules installed on the base, each module has one transmit-receive feed horn and one auxiliary receive feed horn for a second polarization, totaling 44,000 feedhorns. The base is roughly 2/3 populated, with space for installation of additional modules, the current modules are concentrated toward the center to minimize grating lobes. This configuration allows it to support the very-long-range target discrimination and tracking that GMDs midcourse segment requires, the array requires over a megawatt of power. In addition to the power consumed by the radar, the thrusters which propel the vessel are electric, the maximum speed is approximately 8 knots. To support this and all electrical equipment, the vessel currently has six 3. 6-megawatt generators. The generators are in two compartments, one port and one starboard, one important difference from Aegis is the use of X band in the SBX
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Strategic sealift ships
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Strategic sealift ships are part of the United States Military Sealift Commands prepositioning program. There are currently 49 ships in the program, strategically positioned around the globe to support the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, most are named after Medal of Honor recipients from the service they support. The ships are assigned to two Military Prepositioning Ship squadrons located in the Indian Ocean at Diego Garcia and the Western Pacific Ocean at Guam, the MPS ships in each squadron have sufficient equipment, supplies and ammunition to support a Marine Air-Ground Task Force for 30 days. The MPS ships are self-sustaining, with cranes to unload at sea or pierside, MSC chartered the first two ship classes in the MPS role from civilian shipping lines and converted them. The Sergeant Matej Kocak Class, the class of MPS ships chartered by MSC, also gained 157 feet amidships. These ships, delivered to MSC in the mid-1980s, built at Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co, chester, Pennsylvania and converted at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego. They were previously owned by Waterman Steamship Corporation but recently sold to MSC, builder, Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. They were owned by American Overseas Marine but have recently sold to MSC and are now operated by Crowley Technical Management. John P. Bobo USNS PFC Dewayne T. Williams USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus USNS Sgt. William R. Button Crew,38 civilians,10 technicians Length,687 feet Beam,100 feet Draft,38 feet,1 inch Displacement,52,878 long tons Speed,18.3 knots Civilian,24 contract mariners MV Capt. Length,565 feet Beam,76 feet Draft,31 feet Displacement,22,929 long tons Speed,17.0 knots Civilian,38 contract mariners SS Cape Jacob Dedicated to USMC aviation logistics support. Hauge Jr. USMC, the Corporal Louis J. Hauge Jr. class is the class of MPS ships chartered by Military Sealift Command. The five ships are Maersk Line ships converted by Bethlehem Steel, during conversion, the ships gained an additional 157 feet amidships and a helicopter landing pad, among other things. They have since returned to Maersk for commercial use and are no longer part of the MPS program. Baugh MV PFC James Anderson Jr. MV 1st Lt. Alex Bonnyman MV Pvt, MPS Squadron Two ships operate out of Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory
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Power projection
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This ability is a crucial element of a states power in international relations. Even states with sizable hard power assets may only be able to exert limited regional influence so long as they lack the means of projecting their power on a global scale. Generally, only a few states are able to overcome the logistical difficulties inherent in the deployment and direction of a modern. Assets for power projection can often serve dual uses, as the deployment of various countries militaries during the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake illustrates. Early examples of power projection includes Roman dominance of Europe, the ability to power is tied to the ability to innovate. Roman engineering innovations such as machines, concrete, aqueducts and modern roads provided the footing for an engine that powered a military that was unmatched in its day. Although Rome is far from the center of modern-power, its influence can be seen in the architecture of modern capitols around the world, the demonstration of an extraordinary innovative military capability will signal power and when properly applied terminate conflicts summarily. The first such industrial-technological power was the British Empire in the 19th century, as a maritime power, its strength and ability to project power to further its interests lay in the Royal Navy. The era of gunboat diplomacy that this inaugurated was an exercise in Western power projection and it was the first campaign to use modern technology, including steam-powered warships and telegraph communications. The expeditionary force sent was a logistical and technological challenge at the time. A road was built for the artillery to be moved along with the help of elephants. After three months of trekking, the British force repelled an Ethiopian attack and bombarded the fortress of Magdala into submission, in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, the Japanese destruction of the Imperial Russian Navys Pacific Fleet demonstrated Imperial Russias inability to project force in the East. This immediately diminished Russias diplomatic sway in that region, at the same time, Russias western armies became less credible, as mobilization exposed organizational flaws and threw the western armies into chaos. Many other actions can be considered projections of force, the 19th century is full of incidents such as the 1864 Bombardment of Kagoshima and the Boxer Rebellion. More recently, the Falklands War provided an example of the United Kingdoms ability to project force far from home, other recent examples of power projection include the U. S. -led Invasion of Iraq and the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The ability of the U. S. Navy, the British Royal Navy, as distance between a fighting force and its headquarters increases, command and control inevitably becomes more difficult. Modern-day power projection often employs high-tech communications and information technology to overcome these difficulties, the aircraft carrier strike group, strategic bomber, ballistic missile submarine, and strategic airlifter are all examples of power projection platforms. Military units designed to be light and mobile, such as airborne forces, scholars have disaggregated military power projection into nine different categories based on political goals and level of force
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United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
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Defense Logistics Agency
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The Defense Logistics Agency is a combat support agency in the United States Department of Defense, with more than 26,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world. Located in 48 states and 28 countries, DLA provides supplies to the services and supports their acquisition of weapons, repair parts. Since its founding in 1961, DLA has been a part of the nations military defense. It has also provided relief to victims of natural disasters. The origins of the Defense Logistics Agency date back to World War II, the main offices of the Army and Navy for each commodity were collocated. After the war, the call grew louder for more complete coordination throughout the field of supply—including storage, distribution, transportation. In 1947, there were seven supply systems in the Army, plus an Air Technical Service Command, the act created the Munitions Board, which began to reorganize these major supply categories into joint procurement agencies. The Munitions Board was not as successful as hoped in eliminating duplication among the services in the supply area, Congress became disenchanted with the board, and in the Defense Cataloging and Standardization Act of 1952, transferred the board’s functions to a new Defense Supply Management Agency. The Eisenhower Reorganization Plan Number 6 abolished both this agency and the Munitions Board, replacing them with an executive, an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Supply. Meanwhile, the Korean War led to investigations by Congress of military supply management. Integrated management of supplies and services began in 1952 with the establishment of a joint Army-Navy-Air Force Support Center to control identification of supply items, for the first time, all the military services bought, stored, and issued items using a common nomenclature. The Defense Department and the services defined the material that would be managed on a basis as consumables. Consumable items, also called commodities were assigned to one service to manage for all the services. In July 1955, the second Hoover Commission recommended centralizing management of military logistics support. It also recommended that a separate and completely civilian-managed agency be created with the Defense Department to administer all military common supply, the military services feared that such an agency would be less responsive to military requirements and jeopardize the success of military operations. Congress, however, remained concerned about the Hoover Commission’s indictment of waste, to avoid having Congress take the matter away from the military entirely, DoD reversed its position. The solution proposed and approved by the Secretary of Defense was to appoint single managers for a group of common supply. The Army managed food and clothing, the Navy managed medical supplies, petroleum, and industrial parts, and the Air Force managed electronic items
30.
Watson-class vehicle cargo ship
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The Watson class vehicle cargo ship is a class of vehicle cargo ships, used by the United States for prepositioning of ground vehicles. The class comprises eight of Military Sealift Commands nineteen Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ships and is one part of the 33 ships involved in the Prepositioning Program, the lead ship of this class is USNS Watson. The class, as with the ship, was named for Private George Watson. The lead ship of the class was laid down on 23 May 1996, launched on 26 July 1997, and put into service in the Pacific Ocean on 23 June 1998. The most recent ship of the class is the USNS Soderman, laid down on 31 October 2000, launched on 26 April 2002, USNS Watson USNS Sisler USNS Dahl USNS Red Cloud USNS Charlton USNS Watkins USNS Pomeroy USNS Soderman AKR Vehicle Cargo Ships at Navy Site
31.
Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship
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The Lewis and Clark class of dry cargo ship is a class of 14 Combat Logistics Force underway replenishment vessels operated by the United States Navys Military Sealift Command. The ships in the class are named after famous American explorers and pioneers, Lewis and Clark-class ships replaced the existing fifteen Mars- and Sirius-class combat store ships and the Kilauea-class ammunition ships. When operating in concert with a Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler the Lewis, the first of the fourteen ships, USNS Lewis and Clark, was placed in service with the Military Sealift Command in June 2006. The ships were built to commercial rather than military standards and this was done to minimize costs and to demonstrate the ability to competitively build ships on the civilian market. The ships in the class are named after famous American explorers and pioneers, NASSCO was awarded a detailed design and construction contract in October 2001. The fourteenth ship of the class was delivered on 24 October 2012, as the class entered serial production, NASSCO has increased learning and production efficiencies to make substantial reductions in labor hours, from hull to hull. For example, T-AKE-7 was produced with fewer than 50 percent of the man-hours it took to produce T-AKE-1, T-AKEs 1 and 2 were assigned to one of the two active Maritime Prepositioning Ship squadrons, which are permanently forward deployed to the Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. While identical in configuration to T-AKEs 3–14, the mission of these ships in the class are to provide selective offload of cargo for resupply, in their primary mission role, the T-AKEs provide logistic lift to deliver cargo to U. S. and allied ships at sea. The ship successfully completed a tour to the U. S. Central Command area of operations to resupply U. S. Navy ships — providing logistics support in the Persian Gulf, around the Horn of Africa, along the length of Somalia and beyond the equator. USNS Sacagawea got underway for its first deployment 11 December 2008 in the U. S. Navys 5th Fleet area of operations and this article includes information collected from the Naval Sea Systems Command Web site navsea. mil and that of the contractor NASSCO
32.
SS Wright (T-AVB-3)
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SS Wright is one of two Aviation Logistics Support Container Ships converted for the United States Navy in 1986. The ship honors the aviation pioneer Wright brothers, the lead ship of her class, she was originally laid down 1 June 1968 at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. In 1978 the ship was again to Farrell Lines without name change. In 1981 the ship was turned over to MARAD, converted and renamed SS Wright on 14 May 1986, the ship was assigned to MARAD Ready Reserve Force, MSC PM-5 Sealift Program Office, Logistics Prepositioning Force. Wright provides support for Marine Corps helicopters, SS Wright is outfitted with both a stern ramp and side ports. Their roll-on/roll-off deck runs the length of the ship. When outfitted with mobile facilities, the ships can service aircraft while anchored offshore, currently SS Wright is maintained in reduced status ROS-5 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On 27 August 1990, MALS-14 FWD deployed aboard the SS Wright to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield, the deployments compliment of Marines included aircraft maintenance and supply specialists from several Marine Corps bases located on the east coast of the United States. MALS-14 FWD debarked from the SS Wright in December 1990 to continue operations ashore, the SS Wright was to remain in port to provide support for other operations in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. There were approximately 20 to 40 civilian contractors crewing the ship, in December 2002, the SS Wright left Baltimore, Maryland and in January ported in Morehead City, North Carolina. Marines and contractors loaded the ship and departed in January for the Persian Gulf, in November 2012 the SS Wright was mobilized to support relief operations after Hurricane Sandy caused damage to the New York/New Jersey region. The ship shared a dock near the St George ferry on Staten Island, NY with the TS Kennedy which served as lodging for FEMA staff and contractors
33.
Break bulk cargo
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In shipping, break bulk cargo or general cargo are goods that must be loaded individually, and not in intermodal containers nor in bulk as with oil or grain. Ships that carry this sort of cargo are often called general cargo ships, the term break bulk derives from the phrase breaking bulk—the extraction of a portion of the cargo of a ship or the beginning of the unloading process from the ships holds. These goods may not be in shipping containers, break bulk cargo is transported in bags, boxes, crates, drums, or barrels. Unit loads of items secured to a pallet or skid are also used, a break-in-bulk point is a place where goods are transferred from one mode of transport to another, for example the docks where goods transfer from ship to truck. Break bulk was the most common form of cargo for most of the history of shipping, since the late 1960s the volume of break bulk cargo has declined dramatically worldwide as containerization has grown. Moving cargo on and off ship in containers is much more efficient, break bulk cargo also suffered from greater theft and damage. When the ship arrives the cargo is then taken from the warehouse to the quay, the discharge of the ship is the reverse of the loading operation. Loading and discharging by break bulk is labour-intensive, the cargo is brought to the quay next to the ship and then each individual item is lifted on board separately. Some items such as sacks or bags can be loaded in batches by using a sling or cargo net, once on board each item must be stowed separately. Before any loading takes place, any signs of the cargo are removed. The holds are swept, washed if necessary and any damage to them repaired, dunnage is laid ready for the cargo or is just put in bundles ready for the stevedores to lay out as the cargo is loaded. There are many sorts of bulk cargo but amongst them are, Bagged cargo is stowed on double dunnage and kept clear of the ships sides. Bags are kept away from pillars and stanchions by covering it with matting or waterproof paper, baled goods are stowed on single dunnage at least 50 mm thick. The bales must be clean with all the bands intact, stained or oily bales are rejected. All fibres can absorb oil and are liable to spontaneous combustion, as a result, they are kept clear of any new paintwork. Bales close to the deckhead are covered to prevent damage by dripping sweat, wooden barrels are stowed on their sides on beds of dunnage which keeps the middle of the side off the deck and they are stowed with the bung at the top. To prevent movement wedges called quoins are put in on top of the beds, barrels should be stowed fore and aft and not athwart ships. Once the first tier has been loaded the next tier of barrels fits into the hollows between the barrels, this is known as stowing bilge and cantline
34.
Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off
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Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off refers to several classes of Military Sealift Command roll-on/roll-off type cargo ships. Some are purpose-built for military cargo, while others were converted, the Bob Hope class are a group of seven Diesel powered vessels built at Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana between 1993 and 2001 for MSC. They are 951 ft 5 in long and 106 ft wide and they are 951.4 ft long and 106 ft wide. USNS Watson USNS Sisler USNS Dahl USNS Red Cloud USNS Charlton USNS Watkins USNS Pomeroy USNS Soderman The Gordon class are group of two LMSRs, Gordon was built in Denmark in 1972 as MV Jutlandia, and entered commercial service on 1 June 1973. After some time spent in service she was lengthened by Hyundai Heavy Industries in 1984. She was converted for the Navy at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and they are diesel powered,954 ft long and 105 ft 9 in wide ships. USNS Gordon USNS Gilliland The Shughart class are group of three LMSRs, Shughart was built as the Laura Maersk in 1980 in Denmark by Lindovaerftet for A. P. Moller-Maersk Group. She was lengthened in 1987 and again in the early 1990s by Hyundai, on May 7,1996 Laura Maersk was delivered to Military Sealift Command and was outfitted at NASSCO. They are diesel powered,908.8 ft long and 105.6 ft wide ships, USNS Shughart USNS Yano USNS GySgt
35.
Expeditionary Transfer Dock
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These ships significantly reduce the dependency on foreign ports and provide support in the absence of port availability. The ESD and ESB and are part of a new class added in 2015 with an E as a new designator, similar to the L-class amphibious ships, S-class submarines, A-class auxiliaries. These three E-class ships were listed as seabasing ships in the Naval Vessel Register. In May 2011, General Dynamics NASSCO received a million contract modification to fully fund the construction of the first two ships of the class, the USNS Montford Point and USNS John Glenn. Additional funding of $115 million for long lead time material and advanced design was awarded in August 2011, the first ship of the ESD program, USNS Montford Point was delivered in May 2013, and the second ship, USNS John Glenn, was delivered May 20,2013. In 2012, a third MLP, the USNS Lewis B, Puller, was added to the contract and reconfigured as an Expeditionary Sea Base, or formerly known as an MLP Afloat Forward Staging Base. All three ships have been delivered to the U. S. Navy, in September 2015, the Navy decided to redesignate the MLP as the Expeditionary Transfer Dock and the AFSB as the Expeditionary Sea Base. A preliminary design by General Dynamics envisioned a ship carried six LCACs. The ESDs were to host a brigade-size force, sail at 20 knots, each ship was to cost US$1.5 billion to build. However, cutbacks to defense spending planned for the fiscal year 2011 budget forced the downscaling of the design in mid-2009. As part of the cost trade-off, the Vehicle Transfer System was scrapped in favor of skin-to-skin mooring of a host ship alongside the ESD, and the LCAC complement was reduced to three. The new design is 785 feet long, with a beam of 164 feet, a top speed of over 15 knots, converteam supply an integrated power system and vessel automation system for the ESD. As of March 2013 a number of variations of the ESD were being considered, in order to support these extended roles, the ESBs will have military detachments in addition to the civil service mariners. S. These ESB variants are slated to operate in the Middle East, like the first two Expeditionary Transfer Dock, the overall design of the T-ESB-3 and T-ESB-4 is based on the hull of the civilian Alaska-class oil tanker. Both ESB variants will be outfitted with support facilities for its mine-sweeping, special operations, an accommodation barge will also be carried to support up to 298 additional mission-related personnel. Their aviation facilities include a deck with landing spots for two heavy-lift transport CH-53 helicopters, as well as additional deck space for two more CH-53s. The Lewis B. Puller will also have a hangar, an ordnance storage magazine, underway replenishment facilities. The addition of a flight deck makes the ship more top-heavy, the deck is made with two operating spots and two parking spots, plus room to store two in the hangar
36.
Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug
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The Powhatan class of fleet ocean tugs consists of seven ships built for the United States Navy, operated by the Military Sealift Command by primarily civilian crews with the USNS designation. As of 2014, four ships are active with the MSC. Sold to Turkey in 2008 as TCG Inebolu, in Inactive Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain
37.
Rescue and salvage ship
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Rescue and salvage ships are a type of military salvage tug. They are tasked with coming to the aid of stricken vessels and their general mission capabilities include combat salvage, lifting, towing, retraction of grounded vessels, off-ship firefighting, and manned diving operations. They were common during World War II, the following ship classes have been designated under the ARS hull classification symbol in United States Navy Service. The earliest designated United States Navy salvage ships were converted Lapwing-class minesweepers, Ships of this type were operated by the United States Navy as salvage ships from June 1941 until USS Viking was decommissioned and scrapped in 1953. Several ships of class were converted to other uses. USS Assistance USS Rescuer USS Accelerate USS Harjurand USS Tackle The United States Navy operated Anchor-class rescue, USS Anchor USS Extractor USS Extricate USS Restorer The United States Navy operated Weight-class rescue and salvage ships from August 1943 until the last example was decommissioned in June 1946. The Weight-class ships were intended for delivery to the Royal Navy under different names. However, they were delivered to and operated by the United States Navy. USS Weight USS Swivel Bolster-class rescue and salvage ships were operated by the United States Navy from July 1944 until the last example was decommissioned in September 1994. They were operated by the United States Navy as commissioned auxiliaries from November 1982 until the last example was decommissioned in September 2007, USNS Safeguard USNS Grasp USNS Salvor USNS Grapple ARS-54 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
38.
Submarine tender
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A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines. The tender carries all these, and either meets up with the submarines at sea to replenish them or provides these services while docked at a port near the area where the submarines are operating. In some navies, the tenders were equipped with workshops for maintenance, unable to operate conventional surface tenders during World War II, Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine used Type XIV submarines for replenishment at sea. With the increased size and automation of modern submarines, plus in some navies the introduction of nuclear power, in the United States Navy, submarine tenders are considered auxiliaries, with hull classification symbol AS. As of 2015, the Navy only maintains two such tenders, USS Emory S, the Russian Navy decommissioned all its Don and Ugra class tenders inherited from the Soviet Navy by 2001. The last remaining ship of class was the INS Amba. She was reportedly decommissioned from service in July 2006, destroyer tender Jonas Pleškys, a Soviet Navy captain who defected with his submarine tender
39.
Mercy-class hospital ship
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The Mercy class of hospital ships are converted San Clemente-class supertankers now used by the United States Navy as naval ambulances. Originally built in the late 1970s by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, they were acquired by the Navy and converted into hospital ships, coming into service in 1986 and 1987. Each ship contain 12 fully equipped operating theaters, a 1, 000-bed hospital facility, radiological services, medical laboratory, pharmacy, optometry lab, CAT scan, two ships of the class were put into service, USNS Mercy USNS Comfort Stationed in San Diego, Calif. Mercy primarily operates in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and her inaugural mission in 1987 was a humanitarian cruise to the Philippines and South Pacific. Her first military mission was serving coalition troops in the First Gulf War, the first disaster relief came in the wake of the 2004 tsunami as Operation Unified Assistance. Her latest was in 2013, when she came to the aid of the Philippines, Comfort operates primarily in the Caribbean and Latin America. Her first mission was a one, serving coalition troops off the coast of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. Her first humanitarian missions both happened in 1994, helping Haitian and Cuban immigrants looking to come to America, in the aftermath of 9/11, Comfort was activated and sent to Manhattan to provide medical and mental services. Comfort headed into combat again for Operation Iraqi Freedom, in 2005 she was back saving American citizens following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Her latest disaster relief mission was in 2010, in response to the Haiti earthquake, in May 2015, Comfort was in Kingston, Jamaica providing medical services including optometry, dentistry, general medical, women’s health, pediatrics, and pharmacy. The Jamaica leg was part of ‘Continuing Promise’, a nearly six-month humanitarian mission across the Caribbean region, the Mercy-class ships are large, with 1,000 beds, and can receive up to 200 patients a day. They are stable platforms suitable for performing most surgical procedures in various sea conditions, however, the main points of criticism of these ships are, They are too slow, with a maximum speed of just over 17 knots. The Mercy class ships are larger than is needed for most military operations. Their size gives them a substantial radar signature that, combined with lack of maneuverability, while the ships are underway or in rough seas patients must be transported by helicopter. However, helicopter capacities are limited, as each ship has only one landing pad, patient movement within the ship is limited. In mid-2004 Vice Admiral Michael L. Cowan, the Surgeon General and chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, said that the Comfort, they’re wonderful ships, but they’re dinosaurs. They were designed in the ’70s, built in the ’80s, few, if any, options are presently being explored to replace them with a platform better suited to the mission at this time
40.
United States Maritime Administration
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The United States Maritime Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. Its programs promote the use of transportation and its seamless integration with other segments of the transportation system. The Maritime Administration works in areas involving ships and shipping, shipbuilding, port operations, vessel operations, national security, environment. On June 4, Deputy Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen was named Acting Maritime Administrator and he will serve in this role until the appointment and confirmation of a new Maritime Administrator. On August 6,1981, MARAD came under control of the Department of Transportation thereby bringing all transportation programs under one cabinet-level department, MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U. S. Maritime Service and the U. S. S. Documented vessels to foreign registries, maintains equipment, shipyard facilities, the Maritime Subsidy Board negotiates contracts for ship construction and grants operating-differential subsidies to shipping companies. The Maritime Security Program authorizes MARAD to enter contracts with U. S. -flag commercial ship owners to provide service during times of war or national emergencies. As of 2007, ten companies have signed contracts providing the MSP with a reserve of sixty cargo vessels, United States Maritime Service, a training organization for the U. S
41.
National Defense Reserve Fleet
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The NDRF is managed by the U. S. Department of Transportations Maritime Administration. It is a different entity from the United States Navy reserve fleets, NDRF vessels are at the fleet sites at James River, Virginia–the James River Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas–the Beaumont Reserve Fleet, and Suisun Bay, California, and at designated outported berths. Former anchorage sites included Stony Point, New York - the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, Mobile, Alabama, Astoria, Oregon, and Olympia, Washington. Through the 2010s, the oldest, most decrepit hulls at Suisun Bay will be stripped of materials, then broken up in Texas. Twenty of the most polluting mothball ships are slated for recycling by 2012, at its peak in 1950, the NDRF had 2,277 ships in lay-up. In July 2007, it held 230 ships, primarily dry cargo ships with some tankers, military auxiliaries, by the end of August,2015, it held 100. The NDRF was established under Section 11 of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 to serve as a reserve of ships for national defense, NDRF vessels were used in seven wars and crises. During the Korean War,540 vessels were out to move military forces. During a worldwide tonnage shortfall in 1951–53, more than 600 ships were reactivated to carry coal to Northern Europe, from 1955 through 1964, another 600 ships were used to store grain for the Department of Agriculture. Another 223 cargo ships and 29 tankers were activated during a tonnage shortfall after the Suez Canal was closed in 1956, during the Berlin crisis of 1961,18 vessels were activated and remained in service until 1970. Another 172 vessels were activated for the Vietnam War and these are crewed with a reduced crew but kept available for activation within four, five, ten or twenty days. An additional 28 ships are held under United States Maritime Administration custody for other Government agencies on a cost-reimbursable basis. Vessels with military utility or logistic value are held in status and are in a preservation program that is designed to keep them in the same condition as when they enter the fleet. The internal spaces are dehumidified to slow the corrosion of metal, DC power is distributed through anodes to the exterior underwater portions of the hull, creating an electric field that suppresses corrosion and preserves the surface of the hull. External painting and other work is generally deferred since it does not affect the ability to activate and operate the vessel. MARAD is authorized as the government’s disposal agent through the NDRF program for merchant type vessels equal to or greater than 1,500 gross tons. A state agency can file an application to request title to a vessel as-is where-is from the NDRF for the purpose of creating an artificial reef, of the 132 non-retention vessels in the NDRF, there are 117 that are being prepared for disposal. The NDRF program can give and lend historic artifacts to maritime-heritage organizations, battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers which have been stricken or those awaiting final disposition may be transferred to MARAD locations for berthing
42.
Algol-class vehicle cargo ship
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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 33 knots. Originally built in 1972 and 1973 as high-speed container ships known as SL-7s for Sea-Land Services, all eight ships were acquired by the US Navy in 1981 and 1982, with the last ship converted, recommissioned and delivered to Military Sealift Command in 1986. The conversion entailed the installation of four cranes, addition of roll on/roll off capability, due largely to their high cost of operation, all fast sealift ships are kept in Reduced Operating Status, but can be activated and ready to sail in 96 hours. All ships are named after stars in the night sky. Fast sealift ships have taken part in Operations Restore Hope, Joint Guardian, Enduring Freedom, on 1 October 2007, the United States Maritime Administration began operating all eight FSS. All eight were transferred to the Ready Reserve on 1 Oct.2008, at this time their USNS designations were replaced with SS designations as they were no longer US Navy Ships. The ship was towed to Rota, Spain by the ocean-going tugboat Apache, some of the cargo was airlifted to Saudi Arabia but most had to be unloaded and reloaded by the soldiers and Seebees aboard the FSS USNS Altaire returning from her initial voyage. This cargo arrived about three weeks later than planned. org Military Sealift Command fact sheet
43.
Fast combat support ship
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The fast combat support ship is the United States Navys largest combat logistics ship, designed as an oiler, ammunition and supply ship. All fast combat support ships currently in service are operated by Military Sealift Command, the AOE has the speed to keep up with carrier battle groups and the capacity to fully support their needs. It receives petroleum products, ammunition and stores from shuttle ships. This greatly reduces the number of ships needed to travel with carrier battle groups. The four ships of the Sacramento class were 53,000 tons at load,796 feet overall length. The Sacramento class was retired in 2005, the Supply class ships displace 48,800 tons full load and operate two Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters
44.
USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20)
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The USS Mount Whitney is a Blue Ridge class command ship of the US Navy, it is the flagship of the Sixth Fleet. She is also the command and control ship for the Commander Joint Command Lisbon and she had previously served for years as the COMSTRIKFLTLANT / Second Fleets command ship. She was classified as the LCC-20 on 1 January 1969, and she was laid down on 8 January by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, Newport News, the ship is named for Mount Whitney, a peak in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet, the Mount Whitney can transmit and receive large amounts of secure data to and from any point on earth through HF, UHF, VHF, and SHF communications channels. This electronic technology enables the Joint Intelligence Center and Joint Operations Center to provide the most timely intelligence, from 1981 to 2005, Mount Whitney served as Flagship for Commander Second Fleet/Commander Striking Fleet Atlantic. The Mount Whitney deployed in 1994 to Haiti with LTG Hugh Shelton, on 12 November 2002, Mount Whitney deployed to the Central Command area of responsibility in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She was acting as the command post for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. In 2004, Military Sealift Command civilian sailors were integrated into her crew and she remains a commissioned warship in the United States Navy, but the size of her crew was reduced from about 600 sailors to about 170 Navy officers and enlisted men and 155 civilians. In February 2005, Mount Whitney left Norfolk for Gaeta, Italy where she was redesignated as the and assumed duties as the 6th Fleet flagship and she also assumed duties as the command ship for the Commander Joint Command Lisbon and the Commander Striking Force NATO. On 6 November 2008, Mount Whitney was unable to enter the port at Sevastopol, city authorities and representatives of the Ukrainian Navy refused to comment on the event. Individuals working for the city reported that the failure was due to issues with the Mount Whitneys border crossing documents - others suggested anti-NATO protests were the cause. Locklear, who had command of the Operation Odyssey Dawn joint taskforce. Command was expected to be transferred to a commander in time though confusion within the coalition was evidenced in early days. In February 2013, Mount Whitney transferred to the San Giorgio del Porto Shipyard in Genoa, Italy for a major 60-day overhaul, the ship returned to active duty in April 2013, at the end of the maintenance window. On 31 January 2014, Mount Whitney left its homeport of Gaeta, Mount Whitney is the first of two U. S. Navy ships that operated in the Black Sea during the Sochi Olympics. On July 31,2015, a fire broke out aboard Mount Whitney while she was in Viktor Lenac Shipyard, Rijeka, there were no reported injuries and the fire was extinguished within 45 minutes by ships force and shipyard fire brigade personnel. The cause of fire and extent of damage are under investigation, Mount Whitney has been in Viktor Lenac Shipyard since January 2015 undergoing a scheduled maintenance overhaul designed to extend the service life of the ship to 2039. On June 30,2016 Mount Whitney visited Klaipėda, Lithuania and in October 2016 it visited Suda Bay, USS Mount Whitney official Site Photos navysite. de, USS Mount Whitney
45.
USNS Zeus (T-ARC-7)
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Capable of laying 1,000 miles of cable at depths of up to 9,000 feet, she is the only ship of her type currently operated by the U. S. Navy. Zeus is equipped with a SIMRAD EM121 sonar, and can also operate towed sidescan sonars and she is fitted with an extensive suite of equipment for the handling and deploying of undersea cable, including five cable tanks, tension machines, and other devices. She can also be fitted with the Heavy Overboarding System, a 72, USNS Zeus is operated by the Military Sealift Command, part of the U. S. Transportation Command and the operator of the majority of the U. S. Navys replenishment, transport, assigned to the MSC Atlantic Special Mission Support Force, she is operated by a majority civilian crew, and is assigned no permanent homeport. Zeus underwent a period at Norfolk, Virginia in 2008. The USNS Zeus was seen in Yorktown, Virginia November 2016, seen exiting Charleston Harbor SC on February 26,2017. United States Navy office of Information,1989, naval Vessel Register, USNS ZEUS Zeus at navysite. de
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