USNS ''Red Cloud'' (T-AKR 313) is one of

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 ...

's nineteen

Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) refers to several classes of Military Sealift Command (MSC) roll-on/roll-off type cargo ships. Some are purpose-built for military cargo, while others were converted. Bob Hope Class The Bob Hope class v ...

(LMSR) Ships and is one of the 49 ships in the

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 ...

. She is a ''Watson''-class vehicle cargo ship named for Corporal

Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr. Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. (2 July 1925 – 5 November 1950) was a United States Army corporal who was killed in action while serving in the Korean War. Corporal Red Cloud posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions "above and be ...

, a

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 valor. ...

recipient, after whom

Camp Red Cloud Camp Red Cloud (CRC, ko, 캠프 레드 클라우드) was a United States Army camp located in the city of Uijeongbu, between Seoul and the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). CRC is being returned to the South Korean government. The installation w ...

in Korea is also named. Laid down on 29 June 1998 and launched on 7 August 1999, ''Red Cloud'' was put into service on 18 January 2000. In 2003 ''Red Cloud'' was deployed to transport U.S. Army vehicles to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

to support

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. On 12 August 2015, an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed on the deck of the ''Red Cloud'' when demonstrating capabilities to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. The ''Red Cloud'' was operating approximately eight miles east of Ukibaru Island. Of the seventeen service members on board the helicopter, only seven suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

References

Gallery

External links

Photo gallery
at navsource.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Red Cloud Watson-class vehicle cargo ships Ships built in San Diego 1999 ships