US MSC Contracts to Operate 11 Prepositioning Ships

USNS Sgt. Matej Kocak

The USA’s Maritime Prepositioning Ships serve as vast, floating stocks of equipment, ammunition, and supplies that can be sailed into friendly ports to meet up with flown-in Marines. This critical but often-unrecognized force includes a combination of U.S. government-owned ships and chartered U.S.-flagged ships, and can also include ships activated from the Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force. They are not crewed by US Navy personnel, but use U.S. civilian mariners (“CIVMARs”), who work for ship operating companies under contract to the federal government.

Most of Military Sealift Command’s prepositioning ships are able to discharge cargo pierside, or use shallow-draft barges (lighterage), that are carried aboard in case ports are non-existent or in poor condition. In May 2010, US MSC made one of the largest buys in its history – which, of course, led to a GAO protest and accompanying delays. Those are all resolved now…

Rapid Fire 2011-11-29: No Progress on Tejas Alternate Engine

• Still no progress in India’s long negotiations with France’s SNECMA, to develop a Kaveri jet engine successor as an alternate engine for India’s Tejas LCA Mk.2 fighter. GE’s F404 equips the Mk.1 variant, and their F414 has been picked for future versions.

• US Senators Carl Levin and John McCain (Chairman and Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, respectively) cowrote a defense of their position on how to handle detained terrorist suspects. This is the sticking point between the Senate and the Obama administration that has been delaying the FY12 defense authorization bill – the latter threatens a veto.

• Since the US Senate has been unable to vote on regular spending bills in a timely fashion, majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wants to lump everything into a $1T “omnibus” appropriations bill next month instead of passing another continuing resolution.

• USMC Sgt. and Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer sues his former employer BAE Systems in a Texas state court, reports the WSJ.

• It is recommended to post Sole Source Justifications on FedBizOps prior to contract awards rather than after the fact.

• The transfer of munitions squadrons responsible within the US Air Force for nuclear mission support from Air Force Materiel Command to Air Force Global Strike Command should be complete next month.

• Thales intends to increase its share in DCNS from 25% to 35%, according to La Tribune [in French]. Thales acquired this option back in 2009 and must exercise or lose it by next March.

• The British Royal Navy is deploying HMS Protector, its new ice patrol ship, to to the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship has been leased by Norway to the UK for 3 years.

• The video below shows what a supply air drop using JPADS looks like: