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Civilian-crewed cargo ships return I MEF gear to Southern California

Military Sealift Command

Release Date: 9/15/2003

PORT HUENEME, Calif.- The Navy's Military Sealift Command-operated roll-on/roll-off ship MV Cape Henry returned from Kuwait today carrying more than 150,000 square feet of battle-worn gear belonging to the First Marine Expeditionary Force and used in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The cargo returning on the civilian-crewed Cape Henry is in addition to the more than 1.6 million square feet of I MEF gear that has returned on MSC-operated or -owned ships since early July.

MSC is a Navy command that acts as the ocean-going cargo carrier for the Department of Defense.

Beginning in June, I MEF ground forces, which were a critical part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, have been departing Iraq and are being replaced by a Polish-led multinational military division.

Thousands of the I MEF's trucks, humvees, tanks and helicopters have also been returning to Port Hueneme and Long Beach, Calif., aboard five noncombatant MSC-operated ships.

Roll-on/roll-off ships MV Cape Horn and MV Cape Hudson loaded I MEF gear in Kuwait and unloaded it in Port Hueneme in early July. Both Cape ships and MV Cape Henry are Ready Reserve Force ships and belong to the Maritime Administration. They come under the operational control of MSC when activated.

The 68-ship RRF is a mobilization resource -- ready when needed to provide additional transport capacity for U.S. combat equipment in times of war or other contingencies.

Two of MSC's newest and largest ships, the 950-foot, large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships USNS Sisler and USNS Shughart, transported I MEF gear in early August from Kuwait to Long Beach, Calif.

Three hundred and forty-three thousand square feet of the I MEF's gear must still be transported back to Southern California.

MSC ships have been the primary movers of U.S. military equipment for OIF. From January to April, the command's ships delivered 21 million square feet of cargo, 261 million gallons of fuel and 95,000 tons of ammunition to the Middle East. Much of this cargo belonged to the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry and 101st Airborne Divisions, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps' I and II Marine Expeditionary Forces.

MSC's role in OIF is still not done, though. Today, approximately 40 of the command's ships continue to take combat cargo to the Middle East and are also returning the unneeded or damaged gear back to the United States.

Cape Henry has been a key ship through the entire process. The ship made five trips to and from Kuwait from January through July, carrying a total of nearly 625,000 square feet of gear for the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry and 10th Mountain Divisions and other Army support equipment. During the recent trip to Port Hueneme, Cape Henry also transported 20,000 square feet of U.S. Army cargo destined for Fort Lewis, Wash.

"All of the off-loads on the West Coast have gone very smoothly," said Cmdr. Steve Fulton, USN, director of operations for MSC Pacific. "This was due in no small part to the efforts of the personnel who provided oversight in the cleaning, preparation and loading of the equipment in the Persian Gulf, and the efforts of the people here on the West Coast who ensured the ships were efficiently and safely off-loaded."

Cmdr. Fulton also said the biggest challenge turned out to be getting the gear back to the I MEF base in Camp Pendleton, Calif. While most of the tracked vehicles, such as tanks, were sent by train, the trucks and humvees were driven south in convoys that went through Los Angeles traffic, which Fulton says "can be a daunting challenge."

MSC normally operates more than 120 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships, which increased to more than 210 ships during the height of OIF in mid-March. Additional transport ships were chartered from private industry or activated from reduced operating status to carry the heavy volume of equipment for war fighters supporting OIF.

MSC supports all branches of the military by transporting combat equipment and supplies; providing underway fuel and supply replenishment for the Navy fleets and providing at-sea platforms for undersea surveillance and oceanographic missions. From strategic locations around the globe, MSC also operates prepositioning ships laden with military cargo that can be rapidly deployed during a contingency.