The Military Sealift Command (MSC) has operational
control of MSC chartered commercial ships and MARAD
Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ships stationed at
Diego Garcia and Guam/Saipan for the support of US Army, Air Force, and
Navy Requirements.
Army Prepositioning Afloat (APA)
Currently there are 12 Army PREPO ships deployed to USCINCPAC AOR as part
of the Afloat Prepositioning Force (APF). These ships carry Army War
Reserve Stocks No. 3 (ARW-3) cargo and consist of seven RO/ROs carrying
Army unit equipment. One Auxiliary Crane Ship (ACS), three LASH ships
carrying ammunition, rations, and other non-ammunition cargo, and one Flo-Flo/Semisubmersible ship which carries Army port support equipment. AWR-3 ships carry a US Army Brigade Afloat along with Combat Service Support and Humanitarian Assistance cargo.
Eventually constructed or converted Large Medium Speed RO/ROs (LMSR)
will replace the RRF ships supporting the APA program.
US Air Force (USAF) Sponsored PREPO Ships
Two PREPO ships, one LASH and one breakbulk, carry USAF munitions.
US Navy (USN) Sponsored PREPO Ships
One heavy lift/breakbulk ship carries a 500-bed combat tactical zone US Navy fleet hospital. This cargo is stored in ISO units within controlled temperature/humidity limits.
Defense Fuel Supply Center (DFSC)
There are three PREPO tankers carrying petroleum (POL) products for use by service components as part of the prepositioned war reserve program of the DFSC.
Two of these tankers are equipped with Offshore Petroleum Discharge System (OPDS) and are capable of in-stream discharge of POL.
The third PREPO tanker is the USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187) and is capable of console operations with additional manning and rig activation.
