USNS Pecos (T-AO-197) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy, and the third such ship to be named after the Pecos River.

USNS Pecos (T-AO-197)
History
United States
NameUSNS Pecos
NamesakeThe Pecos River in New Mexico and Texas
Ordered12 February 1987
BuilderAvondale Shipyard, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
Laid down17 February 1988
Launched23 September 1989
In service6 July 1990-present
Identification
Honors and
awards
StatusIn active Military Sealift Command service
General characteristics
Class and typeHenry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler
TypeFleet replenishment oiler
Tonnage31,200 deadweight tons
Displacement
  • 9,500 tons light
  • Full load variously reported as 42,382 tons and 40,700 long tons (41,400 metric tons)
Length677 ft (206 m)
Beam97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft35 ft (11 m) maximum
Installed power
  • 16,000 hp (11.9 MW) per shaft
  • 34,442 hp (25.7 MW) total sustained
PropulsionTwo medium-speed Colt-Pielstick PC4-2/2 10V-570 diesel engines, two shafts, controllable-pitch propellers
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity
Complementapprox. 88 (18 civilian officers, 1 U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, 64 merchant mariners, ~5 U.S. Navy enlisted personnel)
Armament
  • Peacetime: usually none
  • Wartime: crew-served machine guns via embarked security detachment
Aircraft carriedNone
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter landing platform
Notes
  • Five refueling stations
  • Two dry cargo transfer rigs

Pecos, the eleventh Henry J. Kaiser-class ship, was laid down on 17 February 1988 at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana, and launched on 23 September 1989. She was delivered to the Navy and placed in non-commissioned service with a primarily civilian crew under the control of the Military Sealift Command on 6 July 1990. The ship is equipped with a helicopter platform to allow for at-sea transfer of personnel and supplies.

Pecos is part of the MSC Naval Auxiliary Force, MSC Pacific, in the United States Pacific Fleet, and has received the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal twice, and the Southwest Asia Service Medal.

History

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In May 1994, Pecos collided with USS Reuben James during a replenishment operation in the Persian Gulf.[1]

On 9 December 1999 a United States Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed into Pecos and sank while participating in a training mission. Seven of the 18 personnel on board the helicopter were killed in the accident.[2][3]

During Operation Tomodachi, Pecos rendezvoused with United States Seventh Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge near Kyushu, Japan. Blue Ridge transferred 96 pallets of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material to Pecos for delivery to the Essex Amphibious Group and Carrier Strike Group 5. Weighing as much as 1,000 pounds (450 kg) each, the pallets contained water containers and water purification tablets, first-aid products, tarpaulins, blankets, and other supplies. The ship arrived off Sendai on 25 March for more underway replenishment operations. During her support effort to Operation Tomodachi, Pecos completed nine underway replenishments and delivered more than 2.3 million U.S. gallons (8.7 million liters) of fuel to other supporting ships.[4] Pecos helped refuel USS Harry S. Truman and HMS Defender in 2016.[5]

 
Pecos (T-AO-197) attempting to replenish the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG-71).

On 28 November 2018, the United States Navy sent Pecos and USS Stockdale through the Taiwan Strait as a demonstration of the "U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," according to a U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman. The transit took place only a few days before a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[6][7]

Fate

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On 9 October 2024, Pecos departed from San Diego enroute to be deactivated and taken out of service on the US East Coast.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "U.S. Navy Collision in Persian Gulf". Chicago Tribune. 4 May 1994. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  2. ^ AP (17 December 1999). "Survivors recount deadly Marine copter crash". Sun Journal. Lewiston, ME. p. B6.
  3. ^ "Search intensifies for 7 Marines after helicopter crash". CNN. Archived from the original on 2010-03-10. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  4. ^ "Sealift -- Operation Tomodachi...Friends to the rescue". Archived from the original on 2013-02-24. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  5. ^ "Navy News".
  6. ^ Pickrell, Ryan (28 November 2018). "US Navy warships just rocked the Taiwan Strait in a power play ahead of Trump's meeting with the Chinese president". businessinsider.com. Business Insider. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  7. ^ Sabga, Patricia (29 November 2018). "Breakthrough, escalation or pause? Trump, Xi set to meet at G20". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  8. ^ Cannon, From Sarah (9 October 2024). "MSCPAC Bids Farewell to USNS Pecos". United States Navy. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
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