MV ''TSgt John A. Chapman'' (T-AK-323) was a ''Buffalo Soldier''-class

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

. She was one of Military Sealift Command's

Prepositioning Program Strategic sealift ships are part of the United States Military Sealift Command's (MSC) prepositioning program. There are currently 17 ships in the program, strategically positioned around the world to support the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corp ...

. Built in 1978 by Chantier naval de La Ciotat in

la Ciotat La Ciotat (; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, La Ciutat ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. It is the southeasternmost ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, she was originally named ''Merlin''. On 8 April 2005, she was renamed for

Pope Air Force Base Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...

combat controller United States Air Force Combat Control Teams, singular Combat Controller (CCT) ( AFSC 1Z2X1), are an elite American special operations force (specifically known as "special tactics operators") who specialize in all aspects of air-ground communi ...

Technical Sergeant Technical sergeant is the name of two current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces, as well as in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Outside the United States, it is used only by the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force and the ...

John A. Chapman, a posthumous Air Force Cross recipient. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions during the

Battle of Takur Ghar The Battle of Takur Ghar was a short but intense military engagement between United States special operations forces and al-Qaeda insurgents fought in March 2002, atop Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan. For the U.S. side, the battle proved ...

. In 2018, Chapman's Air Force Cross was upgraded to the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

. ''TSgt John A. Chapman'' carried

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

. She featured climate-controlled cocoons on her

weather deck Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the tr ...

s which protect additional

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

from the marine environment. She was owned and operated by

Sealift Incorporated Sealift Incorporated is an American Ship transport, shipping company based in Oyster Bay (town), New York, Oyster Bay, New York.Sealift Inc 2008, ''Home Page''. The privately held corporation was founded in 1975 by the four owners who remain the ...

under charter to MSC. She was scrapped on 4 September 2014 at Alang.

References

External links

* Container ships of the United States Navy Ships built in France 1977 ships Merchant ships of France Merchant ships of the United States {{Merchantship-stub

See also

References

External links