USNS ''John Glenn'' (T-ESD-2), (formerly MLP-2) is a United States Navy Expeditionary Transfer Dock ship named in honor of

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...

, a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

, retired United States Marine Corps colonel, veteran of World War II and the Korean War,

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

, and United States senator.

Design

The Expeditionary Transfer Dock is a new concept, part of the Maritime Prepositioning Force of the future. To control costs, the ships will not be built to combat vessel standards and are designed primarily to support three military

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

(such as the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC)), vehicle staging with a sideport ramp and large mooring fenders. A decision was made to eliminate helicopter capability and ship-to-ship transfer of heavy equipment. The propulsion motors are of British design and build. Power conversion company Converteam was selected as the supplier of Integrated Power Systems with the award of an additional contract to design and supply the electric power, propulsion and vessel automation system. As an auxiliary support ship, her role would be a seagoing pier for friendly forces in case accessibility to onshore bases is denied. Such flexibility would be useful following

natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...

s and for supporting US Marines once they are ashore.

Construction

JohnGlennSeanStackleyMLP2ChristeningFeb2014

The ship's keel was laid down on 17 April 2012 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) shipyard in San Diego, California. She was christened on 2 February 2014 and was attended by John Glenn and his family. Other Navy and Marine guest speakers that attended the ceremony include

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

Sean Stackley,

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

Jonathan Greenert, and Lieutenant General

John A. Toolan John A. Toolan Jr. (born January 28, 1954) is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general, whose final post was as the Commanding General, United States Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. Marine Corps career Toolan joined the United State ...

. ''John Glenn'' was delivered in 2014 to the Military Sealift Command's Maritime Prepositioning Force. As an ESD, the ship is under the command of the United States Navy's

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

, and thus will not be commissioned into the US Navy (hence her designation prefix, " USNS"). The ship will undergo further construction additions at the Vigor Shipyard in Portland, Oregon.

Ship re-designation

Effective 4 September 2015,

U.S. Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the sec ...

Ray Mabus officially announced the creation of a new ship designation, "E" for expeditionary support.

Joint High Speed Vessel The ''Spearhead''-class expeditionary fast transport (EPF) is a United States Navy–led shipbuilding program to provide a high-speed, shallow draft vessel intended for rapid intra-theater transport of medium-sized cargo payloads. The EPFs can r ...

(JHSV) will be called Expeditionary Fast Transport, or EPF; the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) will be called Expeditionary Transfer Dock, or ESD; and the Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) variant of the MLP will be called Expeditionary Mobile Base, or ESB. The new designation was pursuant to a memorandum sent to Secretary Mabus from

Admiral Jonathan Greenert dated 31 August 2015.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:John Glenn Montford Point-class mobile landing platforms Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy Ships built in San Diego 2013 ships John Glenn