MV Virginian, formerly named the MV Strong Virginian (T-AKR-9205), is a combination container, heavy lift, and roll-on/roll-off ship. Owned and operated by Sealift Incorporated of Oyster Bay, New York, the ship is one of seventeen container—roll-on/roll-off ships in use by the Military Sealift Command, and one of 28 ships assigned to that organization's Sealift Program Office. The ship was previously known as the MV Saint Magnus and the MV Jolly Indaco.
MV Buffalo Soldier (T-AK-9301) is a roll-on/roll-off ship, formerly of the French Government Line. She was sold and reflagged U.S., renamed to honor Buffalo Soldiers, and chartered by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command as a Maritime Prepositioning ship serving at Diego Garcia laden with U.S. Air Force munitions. She is self-sustaining, that is, she can unload herself, an asset in harbors with little or no infrastructure. Her 120-long-ton-capacity roll-on/roll-off ramp accommodates tracked and wheeled vehicles of every description. While she is not currently in service with MSC, ships with her general characteristics are designated Buffalo Soldier class, fleet designation AK 2222.
Strategic sealift ships are part of the United States Military Sealift Command's (MSC) prepositioning program. There are currently 17 ships in the program, strategically positioned around the world to support the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Defense Logistics Agency. Most are named after Medal of Honor recipients from the service they support. The ships are assigned to two Military Prepositioning Ship (MPS) squadrons located in the Indian Ocean at Diego Garcia and in the Western Pacific Ocean at Guam and Saipan.
The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.
Bernard Francis "Bernie" Fisher was a United States Air Force officer and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. He was the first Air Force member to receive the medal in the Vietnam War.
MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett (T-AK-4296) was a container ship and lead ship of her class. Originally named TNT Express, she was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in Koje, South Korea in 1984. She was named after United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient Captain Steven L. Bennett. The ship was a Logistics Prepositioning Ship sponsored by the U.S. Air Force. The ship returned to commercial service after the MSC contract ended in October 2012.
As the hub of the Marine Corps' prepositioning programs, Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island(MCSF-BI), located in Jacksonville, Florida, serves as the home of Blount Island Command(BICmd) and its worldwide mission of supporting the Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) who are Forward deployed and forward engaged.
MV Maria Reina is a Panamanian container ship. The 100-metre (330 ft) long ship was built at Wuhu Shipyard in Wuhu, China in 1997 as Steamers Future. Originally owned by Singapore's Keppel Corporation, she has had three owners, been registered under three flags, and been renamed ten times.
Sealift Incorporated is an American shipping company based in Oyster Bay, New York. The privately held corporation was founded in 1975 by the four owners who remain the principal executives. Sealift Inc. is one of the largest ocean contractors for transporting U.S. food aid and participates in the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement. Between the start of fiscal 2000 and the first quarter of 2008, Sealift Inc. was awarded US$402,151,046 in contracts.
USNS GySgt Fred W. Stockham (T-AK-3017) is a Shughart-class container & roll-on roll-off support vessel in the United States Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC). The vessel is the second Navy ship named after Marine Gunnery Sergeant Fred W. Stockham (1881–1918), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I.
USNS PFC Dewayne T. Williams (T-AK-3009), , is the second ship of the 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo-class cargo ship and one of the maritime prepositioning ships of the US Navy. She is named after Medal of Honor recipient and US Marine Dewayne T. Williams.
USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo, formally MV 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (AK-3008) is a strategic sealift ship currently in service with the United States Navy since its original charter in 1985. The ship is named after US Marine Medal of Honor recipient 2nd Lieutenant John P. Bobo. She is the only US Navy ship to bear the name.
USNS Sgt. William R. Button (T-AK-3012),, is the fifth ship of the 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo-class cargo ship built in 1986. The ship is named after Sergeant William Robert Button, an American Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor during United States occupation of Haiti.
USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat (T-AK-3016), the only ship of its class, is a cargo ship built in 1987. She became one of the only Soviet ships to enter United States service. The ship is named after Lance Corporal Roy M. Wheat, an American Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor during Vietnam War.
SS Sgt. Matej Kocak (T-AK-3005),, is the lead ship of the Sgt. Matej Kocak-class cargo ship built in 1981. The ship is named after Sergeant Matej Kocak, an American Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I.
SS PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK-3006),, is the second ship of the Sgt. Matej Kocak-class cargo ship built in 1982. The ship is named after Private First Class Eugene A. Obregon, an American Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Korean War.
USNS Maj. Stephen W. Pless (T-AK-3007),, is the third ship of the Sgt. Matej Kocak-class cargo ship built in 1983. The ship is named after Major Stephen W. Pless, an American Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.
MV Capt. David I. Lyon (T-AK-5362) is an Air Force prepositioning vessel operated by the US Military Sealift Command named in honor of Capt. David I. Lyon, an Air Force logistics readiness officer and 2008 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate who was killed in action on December 27th, 2013, in Afghanistan. The vessel is a civilian-owned and operated container ship under contract to deliver pre-positioned supplies and equipment under the Military Sealift Command's Prepositioning Program. The Fisher is one of thirteen container ships that support Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, Air Force, Marine Corps and US Army operations as part of Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three.
United States