Military


Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an echelon II Navy operating force under the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). The mission of Commander, Military Sealift Command (COMSC) is to provide ship operating services to DOD components; provide strategic sealift in support of National Command objectives and to provide ocean transportation for DOD activities. MSC operates and maintains government owned ships, and is responsible for shipping DOD cargo on commercially operated and chartered ships. To accomplish the assigned mission and responsibilities, MSC is designated as the "Single Manager for Ocean Transportation" by the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and CNO. The mission of the Military Sealift Command is to provide ocean transportation of equipment, fuel, supplies and ammunition to sustain U.S. forces worldwide during peacetime and in war for as long as operational requirements dictate. During a war, it can be expected that more than 95 percent of all equipment and supplies needed to sustain the U.S. military will be carried by sea.

Military Sealift Command operates about 120 ships worldwide with about 100 more ships in reserve status. What sets MSC ships apart from other Navy ships is that all MSC ships are crewed by civil service or contract merchant mariners instead of active duty Navy people. Using civilian crews frees active duty Navy personnel for more traditional war-fighting assignments. MSC exercises operational control over ships activated from the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Ready Reserve ships are activated in the case of a national emergency within a 5, 10 or 20-day time frame. In addition to rserve ships, MSC exercises control over T-AH 19 Class Hospital Ships, Fast Sealift Ships (FSSs) and Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPSs) which are prepared to respond immediately in the event of war or national emergency. Hospital ships provide mobile, flexible, rapid response afloat capabilities for acute medical and surgical care in support of deployed elements of the Armed Force. FSS transport mechanized armored equipment to strategic locations throughout the world in minimal time (e.g., to Europe within 5 days and the Persian Gulf within 2 weeks). MPS are prepositioned at various strategic locations overseas and contain ammunition, supplies and armored equipment to support U.S. troops.

In peacetime MSC operates three separate forces: the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, the Special Mission Support Force and the Strategic Sealift Force.

  • The Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, or NFAF, provides direct support for Navy combatant ships, allowing them to remain at sea for extended periods. NFAF ships replenish supplies, including food, fuel and ammunition for forces afloat. Other NFAF ships conduct underwater surveillance and provide towing services to Navy ships at sea. These ships are crewed by civilian mariners and also carry Navy departments ranging in size from four to 67 people. Civilian crews operate the ships, and military personnel provide communications support, coordinate supply operations and conduct helicopter operations.
  • The Special Mission Support Force -- the smallest component of MSC's three forces -- carries out a variety of highly specialized missions. MSC Special Mission ships provide specialized services for the Navy and the federal government including surveying the world's oceans and performing counter-drug operations. MSC Special Mission ships work with scientific and military commands to combat drug smuggling, monitor international compliance with strategic arms treaties and lay submarine cable. All of these ships are Navy-owned and are operated by civil service mariners or contractor employed mariners. Military and civilian scientists and technicians carry out the specializes missions of various types of ships.
  • The Strategic Sealift Force is MSC's third and largest force of ships. The mission of this force is to deploy and sustain U.S. military forces, wherever needed, through delivery of equipment, petroleum products and other supplies. In peacetime, more than 95 percent of DoD's dry cargo is transported on regularly scheduled, commercial U.S.-flag liners. MSC operates a privately owned fleet of more than 35 dry cargo ships and tankers under long-term contract to support this peacetime sealift mission. The Strategic Sealift Force has various types of ships to support an operational contingency: Afloat Prepositioning Force, which consists of Maritime Prepositioning Ships and other prepositioning ships; two hospital ships; two aviation logistics support ships; Fast Sealift Ships and the Ready Reserve Force.

MSC’s five area commands are each headed by a US Navy captain. The area commands maintain operational control of MSC ships that are assigned to, or pass through, their areas of responsibility.

  • COMSCLANT - MSC Atlantic - Norfolk, Va.
  • COMSCPAC - MSC Pacific - San Diego, Calif.
  • COMSCEUR - MSC Europe - Naples, Italy
  • COMSCFE - MSC Far East - Yokohama, Japan
  • COMSCCENT - MSC Central - Manama, Bahrain

Area commanders are the focal points for MSC customers in their areas. As personal representatives of Commander, Military Sealift Command, they are the "face of MSC" for the command’s customers. The area commands also are the direct links to MSC ships, providing maintenance, logistics, and other needed services. Area commanders and their staffs are responsible for exzecuting the plans and policies that result from business decisions made at MSC headquarters, effectively translating headquarters vision into field action.

The commanders of MSC Atlantic and MSC Pacific also are assigned additional duty as the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force East and West Project Officers, respectively. Duties include management of the NFAF ships assigned to them as well as administrative support to other MSC programs and activities.

Ships in reduced operating status have small cadre crews aboard to assure the readiness of propulsion and other primary systems if the need arises to activate the ship. The cadre crews vary in size based on the type of ship and the length of reduced operating status. ROS-4 indicates it will take four days to make the ship ready to sail, fully crewed and operational. ROS-90 indicates ninety days to full operations status from time of notification to activate.

Today's MSC is an outgrowth of four different agencies that provided ocean transportation for the US military through World War II -- the Naval Transportation Service, the Army Transport Service, the US Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration and the Navy's Fleet Support Services.

Following World War II, U.S. military leaders sought a better system. Military Sea Transportation Service, MSC's name prior to 1970, was established on 01 October 1949 to be the US military's ocean transportation provider. MSTS faced its first challenge almost immediately with the onset of the Korean War in June 1950. The command moved thousands of troops and millions of tons of cargo to Korea, operating more than 450 ships at the height of the hostilities. The MSTS mission expanded in 1958 to include the operation of scientific support ships -- vessels involved in oceanographic research, missile tracking, communications and other special missions.

MSTS continued to define its role within the Navy and DOD in the 1960s. MSTS ships transported people and supplies to and from Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. MSTS ships also supported the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. MSTS began the 1970s changing its name to Military Sealift Command. In 1972, MSC began operating its first Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ship, civilian mariner-crewed fleet replenishment oiler USNS Taluga. Today MSC operates about 30 NFAF ships working side-by-side with the U.S. Navy combatant fleet worldwide.

The Ready Reserve Force, owned and maintained by the Maritime Administration in reduced operating status but under MSC control when activated, was established in 1976. The RRF ships fill ocean transportation needs that the commercial maritime industry may be unable to fill for the U.S. military during contingencies.

In 1984 Secretary of the Navy John Lehman formally added strategic sealift to the U.S. Navy’s other three primary functions of strategic deterrence, sea control and power projection. This ensured that sealift programs would be considered on a balanced basis with other US Navy programs, bringing them under one strategic, tactical and operational purview during overall planning. In the 1980s, MSC introduced afloat prepositioning ships -- vessels laden with combat equipment and supplies and prepositioned at sea within several days sailing time of potential contingency areas. The seven initial Near Term Prepositioning Ships, operating near Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, were the forerunners to the Maritime Prepositioning Ships operated by MSC for the U.S. Marine Corps and which began service in 1984.

The fastest large cargo ships in the world joined the MSC fleet beginning in 1984 when fast sealift ships were purchased and converted by the Navy. The eight FSS, capable of speeds of more than 30 knots, together can carry nearly a full U.S. Army mechanized division from the U.S. East Coast to northern Europe in just five days. The first Navy Combat Logistics Force ships built specifically for MSC operation, the Kaiser class fleet replenishment oilers, also began delivery in the 1980s. In addition, the Sirius class combat stores ships, purchased from the United Kingdom, joined the MSC force.

MSC showcased its sealift and prepositioning capabilities in Operation Desert Shield in 1990-91. At the peak of strategic sealift activity, MSC operated 212 dry cargo ships and 22 tankers. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Frank B. Kelso II, USN, awarded MSC a Navy Unit Commendation, MSC's first, for its execution of strategic sealift in support of the war. As a result of lessons learned from the Persian Gulf war and changing world dynamics after the fall of the Berlin Wall, DOD expanded afloat prepositioning and surge capabilities, building 19 large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships for MSC operation.