MSC PAO 97-47
August 15, 1997
For more information, contact:
Marge Holtz or Lisa Gates
(202) 685-5055

Shughart passes through
Straits of Hormuz

There's a new sight off the horizon in the Arabian Gulf. It's the massive superstructure of one of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command's large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships, also called an LMSR. The outlines belongs to USNS Shughart which arrived at the Arabian Gulf, passing through the Straits of Hormuz in late July. She became the second LMSR to pass through the straits and joins her sister ship, USNS Gordon, as part of the Afloat Prepositioning Squadron Four.

Shughart continues the process started by Gorden to replace the original seven smaller Ready Reserve Force ships of Afloat Prepositioning Squadron Four with five LMSRs. They will be joined by three more LMSRs--USNS Yano, USNS Gilliland and USNS Soderman--within the next year. Together these ships carry enough equipment, fuel, food, supplies and spare parts to keep an Army mechanized heavy brigade operating for 15 days.

MSC operates a total of 34 prepositioning ships that support all branches of the U.S. military. These ships preposition U.S. military warfighting equipment at sea close to potential theaters of operation.

Capt. John A. Johnson, USNR, is the commander of Afloat Prepositioning Squadron Four. Gordon is currently acting as the flag ship of the squadron.