USNS ''Soderman'' (T-AKR-317) is a Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ship (LMSR) and is part of the

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 ...

. The USNS Soderman is in the Preposition Program which stations ships across the world with military equipment. The ''Soderman'' is ''Watson''-class vehicle cargo ship built by

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with three shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk and Mayport. It is a division of General Dynamics. The San Diego shipyard specializes ...

. The ship was launched on April 26, 2002 and put into service on the 24 of September 2002. The ship was named after Private First Class William A. Soderman, 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 val ...

Recipient for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Naming

The USNS ''Soderman'' (T-AKR-317) is the second ship to be named after the Medal of Honor recipient William A. Soderman. The first ship has been renamed USNS ''GySgt. Fred W. Stockham'' (T-AK-3017) which is a ''Shughart''-class container & roll-on roll-off. William A. Soderman was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during World War II’s Battle of the Bulge. William Soderman received the

from President Harry S. Truman on the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

lawn, October 12, 1945. The wife of William Soderman, Virginia Soderman was there for the christening of the ship. Names for Navy ships traditionally have been chosen and announced by the

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 se ...

, under the direction of the President and in accordance with rules prescribed by Congress. For most of the 19th century, U.S. law included language explicitly assigning the Secretary of the Navy the task of naming new Navy ships.

Construction

The USNS ''Soderman'' is a ''Watson''-class Large Medium-Speed Roll on, Roll off ship. The ship was designed and built by Nation Steel and Shipbuilding Company. The ship was laid down October 31, 2000 at NASCCO’s San Diego shipyard. The ship was launched on April 26, 2002 with fireworks and fanfare.

Hull Arrangement

The ship has berthing, recreation and office spaces for a crew of 30 people as well as room for more if a surge is required.

Propulsion Plant

The ''Soderman'' has two

General Electric LM2500 The General Electric LM2500 is an industrial and marine gas turbine produced by GE Aviation. The LM2500 is a derivative of the General Electric CF6 aircraft engine. As of 2004, the U.S. Navy and at least 29 other navies had used a total of more ...

gas turbines that make 64,000BHP and drive two 24’ controllable pitch propellers that turn at 95 RPM at full power. The ship has the capability of making 12,500 KW of electrical power for shipboard use. The emergency generator has a 2,000 KW capacity. The design speed of the ship is 24 knots with a range of 13,800 miles. The ship has bow thruster units.

Cargo System

The ''Soderman'' has a centerline stern slewing ramp as well as port and starboard side port ramps systems which can be used with the new Mobile Landing Platform or (MLP ships) that have just been built. The ship also has two single pedestal twin cranes. The Roll On / Roll Off decks are fixed to the ship as well as fixed and hinged ramps inside the cargo hold. The cargo holds also has environment control as well as foam firefighting and dewatering systems.

Mission and Operations

The mission of the USNS ''Soderman'' as part of the Combat Prepositioning Ships is to support the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. The CPS program prepositions enough ammunition, food, water, fuel, equipment, and other supplies to sustain elements of two U.S. Army Heavy divisions which may have up to 24,000 personnel for up to 30 days. The crew of the ''Soderman'' are civilian mariners and the ship is operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. On October 4, 2012 the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

used a

MH-65C Dolphin The Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin is a twin-engined helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for medevac-capable search and rescue (SAR) and armed Airborne Use of Force missions. It is a variant of the French-built Eurocopter A ...

helicopter to do a medical evacuation of a contractor aboard the USNS ''Soderman'' which was operating off the coast of Hawaii. In October 2013 the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

has awarded the crewing contract to Patriot Contract Services LLC. The contract is for all 8 ''Watson''-class ships in the MSC inventory and is for a little over $63,000,000 a year. The contract includes four one year options which could bring the total amount of the contract to 330,000,000 by the end of September 2018.Unitited States. Department of Defense. Press Operations. Contracts for Tuesday, October 22, 2013. N.p., 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 201

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References

External links

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Photo gallery
at navsource.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Soderman Watson-class vehicle cargo ships Ships built in San Diego 2002 ships