AMO Currents - MSC vessels USNS Button, S/S Curtiss support military training exercise

AMO Currents - Posted: March 17, 2011

MSC vessels USNS Button, S/S Curtiss support military training exercise

The Military Sealift Command ship USNS SGT William R. Button and the Ready Reserve Force Ship S/S Curtiss - both manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers - participated in a Navy and Marine Corps training exercise off the coast of Camp Pendleton, Calif., from March 1 to 13, MSC reported.

During Exercise Pacific Horizon 2011, 2,500 sailors and Marines and the 64 U.S. contract civilian mariners working aboard the vessels offloaded approximately 200 pieces of Marine Corps field equipment without the use of port facilities. The discharge was accomplished with the Improved Navy Lighterage System (INLS), which consists of a group of motorized and non-motorized barges that can move cargo directly from a vessel to the shore. The equipment was returned to the vessels during the end phase of the exercise.

"These kinds of training exercises are always valuable to us," said Capt. David Eddy, master of the USNS Button. "They help us iron out wrinkles, to learn how to move around on decks with different kinds of cargo and to best figure out where things should go to make the mission move forward smoothly."

The USNS Button is operated by General Dynamics American Overseas Marine in the Maritime Prepositioning Program. The S/S Curtiss is operated by Crowley Liner Services in the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force. Vessels in the Ready Reserve Force fleet come under the operational control of MSC when activated.