USNS ''Watson'' (T-AKR-310) 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 ...

Ships and is part of the 33 ships in the Prepositioning Program. She is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of vehicle cargo ships. She was named for Private George Watson, 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. Laid down on 23 May 1996 and launched on 26 July 1997, ''Watson'' was put into service in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

on 23 June 1998.

Notable deployments

USNS Watson 2022-11-29 Honolulu Hawaii dvids

In November 2022, ''Watson'' took onboard part of an Army Prepositioned Stock and then went to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, there delivering more than 500 pieces of equipment, vehicles and containers, in support of its Operation Pathways exercise to be held in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 2023. Unloading was done by soldiers of the

8th Theater Sustainment Command The 8th Theater Sustainment Command (8th TSC), as the senior Army logistics command in the United States Pacific Command's Area of Responsibility (AOR), provides command and control of all assigned and attached and units under its operational co ...

, 25th Infantry Division, 599th Transportation Brigade, and 402nd Army Field Support Brigade. It was the first time ''Watson'' had visited Hawaii. The equipment will be inspected to ensure they're not carrying any pollen, animals or other organisms or material that could threaten ecosystems in Australia, before moving there.Army Moving Equipment Across Pacific for Training
Military.com, 2022-12-05

References

External links

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USNS Watson (T-AKR-310) Current Position NATO WARSHIP at marinevesseltraffic.com

GT WATSON Naval/Naval Auxiliary, IMO 9112727 at vesselfinder.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson Watson-class vehicle cargo ships Ships built in San Diego 1997 ships