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MSC Oiler Completes Marathon Deployment in Support of 5th Fleet

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS030520-17

Release Date: 5/21/2003 1:01:00 AM

By Master Chief Operations Specialist (SW) Greg Setzer, Military Sealift Command Public Affairs

ABOARD USNS JOHN ERICSSON, At Sea (NNS) -- When Military Sealift Command (MSC) oiler USNS John Ericsson (T-OA 194) arrived in Singapore in early April, it marked the end of a near record-setting deployment of 200 days for the ship and her crew in support of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

During the assignment that began in September 2002, Ericsson conducted 195 underway replenishments while operating in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. This included pumping more than 38 million gallons of fuel and transferring 3,700 pallets of cargo to a variety of U.S. and coalition warships.

Ericsson is no stranger to long deployments. This seven-month mission is believed to be the second longest for any MSC underway replenishment ship assigned to 5th Fleet in recent history. One of the longest assignments, 205 days, was set last year by none other than Ericsson.

"The ship's strongest asset was the crew's performance and effectiveness," said Ericsson's master, Capt. Bob Wiley. "They were absolutely superb, from the military detachment's planning and communicating and the deck force's execution of replenishments, to supply department's management of fuel and cargo."

In the past three years, Ericsson has twice supported 5th Fleet. The oiler also played a key role in re-supplying three carrier battle groups operating in the North Arabian Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Ericsson's crew found themselves in midst of the action, as the buildup for Operation Iraqi Freedom got underway, and naval forces surged into the Arabian Gulf region. The ship's support mission doubled and eventually tripled, as an ever-growing number of fuel-thirsty warships arrived in theater. The ship was in the Northern Arabian Gulf supporting amphibious forces when combat in Iraq commenced March 20.

Ericsson is one of 14 fleet oilers operated by the Navy's MSC, the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense.

MSC normally operates about 120 civilian-crewed, noncombatant active ships for a variety of missions around the world. That number expanded to about 214, as additional ships were activated from reduced operating status or chartered for the command's support of U.S. forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

MSC ship missions vary from underway replenishment and other fleet support like that provided by Ericsson, to the transport and afloat prepositioning of defense cargo, to at-sea data collection for the U.S. military and other U.S. government agencies.