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71-529: The ESD and ESB are part of a new ship class added in 2015 with an E as a new designator, similar to the L-class amphibious ships, S-class submarines, A-class auxiliaries and more. These three E-class ships were previously listed as seabasing ships in the Naval Vessel Register . In May 2011, General Dynamics NASSCO received a $ 744 million contract modification to fully fund the construction of

142-531: A United States Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment on board. On 17 March 1993, Ponce departed on a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit in support of Operations "Deny Flight" and "Provide Promise". She was accompanied by USS Saipan and USS  Pensacola . During the deployment, she operated bilaterally with Greek units in exercise "Alexandros '93" and conducted amphibious landing exercises with

213-453: A 52,000 sq ft (4,800 m) flight deck with landing spots for two heavy-lift transport CH-53 helicopters, as well as additional deck space for two more CH-53s. Lewis B. Puller will also have a helicopter hangar, an ordnance storage magazine , underway replenishment facilities, and deck space for mission-related equipment storage. The addition of a flight deck makes the ship more top-heavy, and so less stable in heavy seas. The deck

284-572: A US$ 498M contract to General Dynamics NASSCO for the construction of second ESB variant, the as-yet unnamed T-ESB-4. This vessel will be built at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, California, with a scheduled completion date of 2018. On 15 January 2021, Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite announced that ESB-7 will be named USS Robert Simanek in honor of PFC Simanek , a Marine who

355-415: A bid request to retrofit USS Ponce on a rush-order basis. MSC issued requests for proposal to upgrade and refit the ship. The work included upgrading the ship's navigation systems, bringing habitability up to MSC standards and general refurbishment. The ship was expected to be completely transformed in an estimated four to five months, and the target date for re-deployment to her new role was met. Ponce

426-552: A cheap alternative to traditional amphibious ships. On 19 December 2014, U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command announced the construction of the second ESB variant, the then-unnamed T-ESB-4. This vessel would be built at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, California, with a scheduled completion date of 2018. It was anticipated that T-ESB-4 would be assigned to the Pacific Ocean, and like the other ESD ships, will be operated by

497-671: A count of 272 as of October 2016. USS Ponce (LPD-15) USS Ponce (AFSB(I)-15) ( formerly LPD-15) ( / ˈ p ɒ n s eɪ / PON -say ), was an Austin -class amphibious transport dock , formerly in service with the United States Navy . She has been the only ship of the Navy named for Ponce in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , which in turn was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León ,

568-654: A fourth (ESB-6) ordered in FY2018, a fifth (ESB-7) ordered in FY2019, and the sixth and final ship (ESB-8) with an order date yet to be determined. In mid-2022, the Marine Corps announced its intention to retire both ESD ships after less than a decade of active service, but this was rejected by Congress in December 2022. The ships were subsequently placed in reduced operating status. The Expeditionary Transfer Dock concept

639-538: A loaded weapon during a security alert, which endangered some of her ship's crew. The relief of the executive officer (XO), Lieutenant Commander Kurt Boenisch, was attributed to his failure to provide support to the command and to his commanding officer. On 26 October 2011, Ponce began a three-week tour that would take her to Port Canaveral , Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands , and her namesake city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. On her return to Norfolk, in December 2011, she

710-537: A proposed variant of the ESD with increased accommodation, a hangar and large flight deck on piers above the semi-submersible deck, This was first proposed in January 2012, around the time of the sudden announcement that USS  Ponce would be converted as an interim AFSB(I) (ESB). The ESD-ESB could be used to support special forces and intelligence gathering as a base for helicopters, MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors and even

781-405: A result, they will be crewed by a mix of Navy sailors and civilian mariners from Military Sealift Command. Navy spokesman Lieutenant Tim Pietrack told USNI News: "This re-designation provides combatant commanders greater operational flexibility to employ this platform in accordance with the laws of armed conflict. The Secretary of the Navy approved the commissioning of all ESBs following feedback from

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852-745: A third MLP, USS  Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3), was added to the contract and reconfigured as an Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB), or formerly known as an MLP Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB). All three ships have been delivered to the U.S. Navy. In September 2015, the Navy decided to redesignate the MLP as the Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD) and the AFSB as the Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB). The Navy plans to procure six Expeditionary Mobile Bases (ESBs) in total, with

923-435: A towing exercise while en route to Portsmouth , England, Ponce collided with USS  Fort Snelling , causing minor damage to Ponce ' s port side, mainly to the accommodation ladder and flight deck catwalk. On 14 February 1984, while attempting to bring an assault craft into the welldeck, near Morehead City , North Carolina , Ponce suffered major damage when her stern gate was damaged and eventually lost. She

994-513: Is 785 feet (239 m) long, with a beam of 164 feet (50 m), a top speed of over 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), and a maximum range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi). Converteam supplies an integrated power system and vessel automation system for the ESD. In March 2013 Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert showed PowerPoint of the ESD- Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESD-ESB),

1065-527: Is a large auxiliary support ship to facilitate the ' seabasing ' of an amphibious landing force by acting as a floating base or transfer station that can be prepositioned off the target area. Troops, equipment, and cargo would be transferred to the ESD by large- draft ships, from where they can be moved ashore by shallower-draft vessels, landing craft like the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), or helicopters. For transferring vehicles from

1136-501: Is made with two operating spots and two parking spots, plus room to store two in the hangar. The mission deck's ability to submerge to launch landing craft was disabled and instead a crane, capable of carrying 11 metric tons (12 short tons) and moving a 41 ft (12 m) boat in up to sea state 3, carries watercraft, towed arrays, and unmanned vehicles into the water. The United States Navy ordered T-ESB-3 in February 2012 as part of

1207-901: The F-35B stealth fighter, but the main role of the Ponce will be operating minesweeping MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters. As of March 2013 "a number of variations" of the ESD were being considered; the ESB can fulfill many of the roles of a $ 2.5 billion "big deck" amphibious ship at a quarter of the price. Unlike the first two Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD), the Lewis B. Puller -class, or sub-variant, of Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB) vessels serve to support special forces missions , counter-piracy/smuggling operations , maritime security operations , and mine clearance , as well as humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions. In order to support these extended roles,

1278-851: The Fiscal Year 2013 appropriation for the U.S. Department of Defense via the National Defense Sealift Fund (NDSF). The keel-laying ceremony for MKP-3 took place at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego , California, on 5 November 2013. On 16 January 2014, at the Surface Naval Association's national symposium, the head of NAVSEA 's Strategic and Theater Sealift program, Captain Henry Stevens, announced that

1349-604: The Military Sealift Command . In January 2016, it was announced that T-ESB-4 would be named USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams , after a World War II Marine Corps infantryman who earned a Medal of Honor in the Battle of Iwo Jima . Construction of the ship began in October 2015. It was christened on 21 October 2017 and delivered to Military Sealift Command on 22 February 2018 and entered service the same day. ESB-5,

1420-489: The Military Sealift Command . Ship class, fleet assignment, name, age, home port, planning yard, custodian, hull and machinery characteristics, builder, key construction dates, battle forces, local defense and miscellaneous support forces, and status conditions are some of the data elements provided. In March 2014, the Navy started counting self-deployable support ships for the fleet such as minesweepers, surveillance craft, and tugs as part of its "battle fleet" in order to reach

1491-661: The Montford Point was 48% complete. The Montford Point was christened in San Diego on March 2, 2013. Montford Point completed final contract trials on 13 September 2013; John Glenn was floated off on 15 September and construction began on Lewis B. Puller on 19 September 2013. In March 2012, the USN requested a fourth ship in the FY14 budget of the National Defense Sealift Fund, and proposed that both T-ESB-3 and T-ESB-4 would be ESD-ESB variants. Congress rejected both requests on

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1562-610: The National Defense Reserve Fleet . Some continue limited operation in the Ready Reserve Fleet . The NVR is updated weekly and as of the 2010s is only available in electronic form online. Over 6,500 separate record transactions are processed annually with each being supported by official documentation. The NVR includes a list of ships and service craft on hand, under construction, converted, loaned/leased, or to be loaned, and those assigned to

1633-571: The Persian Gulf . Following the conversion, Ponce had been used to test other initiatives and technologies, such as the Laser Weapon System and operating US Army attack helicopters at sea. After the arrival of USS  Lewis B. Puller as a permanent AFSB (now designated as Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB)), Ponce was decommissioned in October 2017 after 46 years of service and 27 deployments. On 2 February 1982, during

1704-905: The President of the United States , or when the Chief of Naval Operations requests instatement or reinstatement of vessels as approved by the Secretary of the Navy . Once listed, the ship or service craft remains in the NVR throughout its life as a Navy asset. Afterwards, its final disposition is recorded. Many vessels struck from the NVR are transferred to the Navy Inactive Fleet or to the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) to become part of

1775-566: The Suez Canal in response to the 2011 Libyan civil war . On 23 April 2011, Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet (C6F) relieved Ponce ' s commanding and executive officers, as a result of a hazing inquiry . Vice Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr. , relieved commanding officer (CO) Commander Etta Jones, due to a demonstration of poor leadership and failure to appropriately investigate, report, and hold accountable sailors found involved in hazing incidents. Additionally, she failed to properly handle

1846-706: The United Kingdom has expressed concern that said purchase would give Argentina a way to invade the Falkland Islands once again, and if purchased, the Royal Navy would have to increase its presence in the Falkland Islands. The Navy has since announced that Ponce will be dismantled following her decommissioning, likely negating any possibility of a sale. Ponce was decommissioned at Naval Station Norfolk on 14 October 2017 and moved to

1917-593: The coastal mine hunters Cardinal and Raven , mine countermeasure ships Ardent and Dextrous , and dock landing ship Gunston Hall . After breaking the Squadron's pennant at her yardarm , the crews of Ponce and Gunston Hall enjoyed liberty ashore in Manama, Bahrain , from 28 February to 5 March. She then served as Task Group flagship for a weeks-long minesweeping operation in Iraq, as humanitarian aid

1988-602: The 1880s, having evolved from several previous publications. In 1911, the Bureau of Construction and Repair published Ships Data US Naval Vessels , which subsequently became the Ships Data Book in 1952 under the Bureau of Ships . The Bureau of Ordnance 's Vessel Register , first published in 1942 and retitled Naval Vessel Register , was combined with the Ships Data Book under the Bureau of Ships in 1959. Since 1962,

2059-526: 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 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert dated 31 August 2015. In January 2020, the Navy announced that it will commission all ESBs as warships, meaning they will carry the prefix USS, following the 2017 commissioning of Lewis B. Puller . As

2130-636: The Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, serving in Operation Desert Shield and supporting US operations in the 2011 Libyan Civil War . It was intended that the ship would be decommissioned in 2012, but she gained a reprieve to be converted at short notice into a testbed for the Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) concept, in which she would act as a base for mine-sweeping MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters in

2201-516: The ESBs will have military detachments in addition to the civil service mariners. ESB vessels are designed to support low-intensity missions, allowing more expensive, high-value amphibious warfare ships and surface combatant warships to be re-tasked for more demanding operational missions for the U.S. Navy. These ESB variants are slated to operate in the Middle East and the Pacific Ocean. Like

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2272-539: The Gulf of Mexico. During these, personnel and a wide range of vehicles, from Humvees to M1 Abrams tanks, were transferred to, then launched from Mighty Servant 3 , in conditions up to Sea State 4. The transferring cargo was later reduced to Sea State 3 conditions, after some design changes. In August 2010, the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego was awarded a US$ 115 million contract to design

2343-707: The MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft would be evaluated for potential operations on board the Expeditionary Mobile Base ESD variant. The testing and certification of MH-53E helicopters for minesweeping operations from ESB support ships was slated to begin during fiscal year 2016. Additionally, Captain Stevens noted that the F-35B STOVL strike fighter was not then being considered for ESB operations because of exhaust heat from F-35B damaging

2414-531: The Mediterranean, returning to Norfolk on 15 October. On 29 August 2001, Ponce crewmembers boarded two derelict Italian boats, a 19-foot (5.8 m) motorboat and a 12-foot (3.7 m) sailboat, in the Straits of Messina between Sicily and Calabria . The civilian vessels were adrift, creating a navigational hazard. A boarding party in a rigid hull inflatable boat found both derelicts unmanned, though

2485-671: The Mobile Landing Platform, and build the first ship. Construction on the first vessel began in July 2011. By January 2016, the names for the four ships were announced: The name for the fifth ship was announced in November 2017 Orders for the second and third vessels were made in the 2013 and 2015 fiscal years. The keel for the first Montford Point -class Expeditionary Transfer Dock was laid on 19 January 2012. Construction of John Glenn begin on 17 April 2012, by which time

2556-636: The NVR has been maintained and published by the NAVSEA Shipbuilding Support Office (NAVSHIPSO) of the Naval Sea Systems Command . Referred to by Congress in the statutes of 10 U.S.C.   §§ 8674 – 8678 , the NVR is maintained as directed by U.S. Navy Regulations , Article 0406, of September 14, 1990. The vessels are listed in the NVR when the classification and hull number (s) are assigned to ships and service craft authorized to be built by

2627-518: The Persian Gulf as the Pentagon 's first floating staging base for military operations or humanitarian assistance. It was later reported that, despite the capability to do so, Ponce would not be a mothership for special operations, but rather a "lilypad" for MH-53E helicopters in a mine-clearance role, as well as for patrol and mine-clearance craft. As Admiral John Harvey stated, "The topic

2698-692: The Persian Gulf in August 2005. On 19 August, Ponce was in the Gulf of Aqaba awaiting the underway movement of USS  Ashland to allow Ponce to dock pier side. While Ashland was in the process, the Katyusha rocket attack occurred on USS Kearsarge and Ashland . Ponce remained in the Gulf of Aqaba for over a week in response to the attack. She then conducted port visits to Malta and Rota, Spain , before returning to Norfolk on 27 September. On 2 March 2011, Ponce , along with Kearsarge , traveled through

2769-789: The Ponce supported all 11 of the LF6F 2-97 tasking, including conducting embassy reinforcements during Operation Silver Wake in Albania, following unrest in the capital. Supporting 4 CH-46E Sea Knight and 2 UH-1 helicopters during the entire deployment, the Ponce entered the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait and conducted Exercise Cooperative Partner in Bulgaria, marking the first time a combined Navy-Marine Corps task force had operated in

2840-583: The Tunisians in "Phiblex '93". In April, 1996, operating with elements of the 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit - Special Operations Capable [MEU (SOC)] and the USS Carter Hall (LSD-50), the Ponce sailed from North Carolina independent of the "big deck" (USS Kearsarge, LHD-3), that was operating off the west coast of Africa, in support of a Non-Combatant Operation (NEO). Along with the Carter Hall,

2911-563: The United States Maritime Prepositioning Force . The first part of the trial consisted of the two ships transferring cargo between themselves while anchored in Puget Sound . After successfully completing this, the vessels sailed to San Diego , where cargo was transferred from Watkins to Mighty Servant 1 , then taken ashore by LCACs; slightly submerging the deck of the heavy lift ship allowed

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2982-508: The capabilities her "stop-gap" role was intended to fill. On 29 October 2012, Ponce rescued seven Bahraini fishermen whose vessel was foundering in a hailstorm. In 2013, Ponce functioned as the operational center and HQ for the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise in the Persian Gulf, using the berthing designed for transporting marines in order to function as a floating "hotel" for

3053-430: The channel. On 25 March 2005, Ponce again departed Norfolk, deploying with the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) for six months. Following a port visit to Augusta Bay, Sicily, Ponce spent three months in the Persian Gulf conducting operations in support of the global War on Terrorism . While in the Persian Gulf, she made port visits to Bahrain and Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. Ponce departed

3124-406: The civil war in Liberia , Ponce , together with Saipan , Sumter , and Peterson , inserted a United States Marine Corps reinforced rifle company into the U.S. Embassy compound in Monrovia for increased security. From June to December 1991, Ponce completed a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, and was part of Operation Desert Shield and supported Operation Desert Storm . In

3195-423: The decision to retire the ships to prioritize other vessels, such as the more successful ESBs. The proposed retirement of the two ESDs was rejected by Congress in December 2022. Naval Vessel Register The Naval Vessel Register ( NVR ) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy . It contains information on ships and service craft that make up

3266-681: The employment of ESB-3 and expected employment of subsequent ships of the class. Prior to commissioning, the ESB class was limited to defensive actions during times governed by the laws of armed conflict. Post-commissioning, these ships have greater mission flexibility throughout the [range of military operations]. In mid-2022, the Marine Corps announced its intent to retire the two ESD ships. Although they were cheap to buy compared to amphibious assault ships and demonstrated seabasing concepts, they are limited to connecting with sealift vessels at wave heights below three feet, and payload, fuel capacity and accommodation space were reduced to cut costs. This led to

3337-429: The end of February, she became the flagship of the Commander of Mine Countermeasure Squadron Three, designated as Commander, Task Group 55.4. The Task Group included a US Navy special clearance team, two explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units, a detachment of MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fourteen (HM-14), a British unit and an Australian team. The ships involved included

3408-443: The fifth vessel in the class, and the third ESB variant, began construction in January 2017 at NASSCO. Effective 4 September 2015, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus officially announced the creation of a new ship designation, "E" for expeditionary support. Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) will be called Expeditionary Fast Transport, or EPF; the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) will be called Expeditionary Transfer Dock, or ESD; and

3479-419: The first governor of Puerto Rico and the European discoverer of Florida . Her keel was laid down on 31 October 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle , Washington . She was launched on 20 May 1970 sponsored by Florence W. Hyland, the wife of Admiral John J. Hyland , and commissioned on 10 July 1971. She spent most of her career based on the East Coast and operating in

3550-401: The first half of 1992, Ponce completed a four-month maintenance availability in Norfolk, Virginia . In June, she took on midshipmen for a training cruise off the Virginia Capes , which earned her the " CORTRAMID '92 Surface Warrior of the Week". In September, she arrived in Miami for Hurricane Andrew relief efforts. In October, she commenced counter drug operations in the Caribbean with

3621-430: The first two Expeditionary Transfer Dock, the overall design of the T-ESB-3 and T-ESB-4 is based on the hull of the civilian Alaska -class oil tanker . Both ESB variants will be outfitted with support facilities for its mine-sweeping, special operations, and other expeditionary missions. An accommodation barge will also be carried to support up to 298 additional mission-related personnel. Their aviation facilities include

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3692-401: The first two ships of the class, USNS  Montford Point (ESD-1) and USNS  John Glenn (ESD-2). Additional funding of $ 115 million for long lead time material and advanced design was awarded in August 2011. The first ship of the ESD program, USNS Montford Point (ESD-1) was delivered in May 2013, and the second ship, USNS John Glenn (ESD-2), was delivered March 12, 2014. In 2012,

3763-412: The flight decks of U.S. Navy amphibious assault ships. Some outfitting and specialized equipment specific to the V-22 was needed to support it, but little engineering work or modifications to the ship needed to be done; upon Lewis B. Puller ' s deployment, it had been upgraded to support V-22 operations by Special Operations Forces. On 19 December 2014, U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command awarded

3834-408: The former Soviet Bloc country. A second trip to the Black Sea saw the Ponce participate in Exercise Rescue Eagle in Romania and Exercise Sea Breeze in Ukraine. Following Exercise Dynamic Mix in Greece, Ponce and Carter Hall returned to the East Coast in October, 1996, concluding the entire deployment as a two-ship Amphibious Ready Group. On 27 April 2001, Ponce commenced a six-month deployment to

3905-400: The grounds that Ponce could do the job and ESBs should in any case be funded out of the main Navy account. As of March 2013 the Chief of Naval Operations was still planning to buy two ESD and two ESD-ESB variants despite the uncertainty caused by the sequester , in fact the late-2012 "Vision for the 2025 Surface Fleet" by the head of Naval Surface Forces envisages buying more MLP variants as

3976-432: The hovercraft to "'fly' aboard". A second series of tests was conducted off Norfolk, Virginia in September and October 2006, with USNS  Red Cloud and MV Mighty Servant 3 . This time, the ships were moored together while underway, during which vehicles drove from Red Cloud onto Mighty Servant 3 , then embarked aboard LCACs. In February 2010, Mighty Servant 3 joined USNS  Soderman for further trials in

4047-409: The larger ships to the ESD, the vessels were originally to be fitted with a Vehicle Transfer System: a ramp connecting the two ships alongside and able to compensate for the movements of both vessels while underway. A preliminary design by General Dynamics envisioned a ship that carried six LCACs, with the ability to turn around (dock, unload or load, then launch) two landing craft simultaneously from

4118-440: The motorboat was well stocked. They towed both boats back to Ponce , which flooded her welldeck, brought the boats aboard, carried them into Catania , and turned them over to the Guardia Costiera (Italian Coast Guard). On 10 January 2003, Ponce received orders to depart Norfolk, Virginia and take on Marines from Camp Lejeune , North Carolina, for the 2003 invasion of Iraq . That duty kept Ponce at sea through February. At

4189-450: The official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and disposal. It also includes ships that have been removed from the register (often termed stricken or struck ), but not disposed of by sale, transfer to another government, or other means. Ships and service craft disposed of prior to 1987 are not included, but are gradually being added along with other updates. The NVR traces its origin back to

4260-401: The operating power is unknown, it is estimated to be in the range of 15–50  Kilowatt (kW) for engaging drones , small aircraft and high-speed boats. Ponce was deployed to the Persian Gulf with the laser in late August 2014, and the LaWS remained in use until 2017; at which point, Ponce was decommissioned and the LaWS was moved to USS  Portland  (LPD-27) . In 2017, it

4331-399: The operation. In October 2016, Ponce was subjected to missile fire ostensibly launched from Yemen by Houthi rebels. In August 2017, Ponce was replaced in the AFSB role by Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3), and in mid-2017, both ships briefly operated together. With the role of AFSB permanently taken over, the ship returned to port at Norfolk, Virginia on 27 September 2017. Ponce became

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4402-444: The stern. The ESDs were to host a brigade -size force, sail at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), and have a maximum range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi). Each ship was to cost US$ 1.5 billion to build, but cutbacks to defense spending planned for the fiscal year 2011 budget forced the downscaling of the design in mid-2009. General Dynamics identified the civilian Alaska -class oil tanker (built by

4473-405: The subsidiary National Steel and Shipbuilding Company ) as a suitable basis for an "ESD 'Lite'", with the design modified into a float-on/float-off vessel that could be built for US$ 500 million per ship. As part of the cost trade-off, the Vehicle Transfer System was scrapped in favor of skin-to-skin mooring of a host ship alongside the ESD, and the LCAC complement was reduced to three. The new design

4544-399: The testbed platform for the AN/SEQ-3 Laser Weapon System (LaWS), with installation of a prototype weapon system for field testing in August 2014. In December 2014 the Navy reported the LaWS system worked perfectly, and that the commander of Ponce was authorized to use the system as a defensive weapon. On 9 December 2014, the Navy released video footage of the LaWS in operation, and while

4615-478: Was a hot one, and people read these [documents] we generate very closely. I think they put two and two together and got 22." On 1 June 2012, Ponce , in her new role as AFSB, deployed to the Fifth Fleet area in the Middle East, and on 22 June 2012 she passed through the Suez Canal on her way to Bahrain, arriving there on 5 July. She then participated in International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2012 (IMCMEX 2012) between 16 and 27 September 2012, demonstrating

4686-405: Was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Korean War . In September 2005, the United States Navy approved trials of the ESD concept, to test the feasibility of seabasing for an amphibious operation . The heavy lift ship MV Mighty Servant 1 served as the substitute for the ESD, while the roll-on/roll-off vessel USNS  Watkins played the role of a planned type of transport ship for

4757-538: Was being blocked by naval mines in the Khawr Abd Allah river and the port of Umm Qasr . The Group used a variety of methods, including MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters towing magnetic minesweeping sleds, trained marine mammals, unmanned underwater vehicles and EOD divers. On 28 March 2003, a 200-yard (180 m)-wide channel was declared safe, and the British auxiliary vessel RFA  Sir Galahad docked at Umm Qasr Port and began offloading hundreds of tons of food and water. Work continued for weeks after that, widening

4828-485: Was later repaired in Philadelphia . Following the stern gate repairs, Ponce resumed her deployment, successfully loading the Marines and equipment off North Carolina's shores and heading for the Mediterranean, where she served as part of a multinational peacekeeping force, patrolling the shore off Beirut , Lebanon in the wake of the attack on the Marine barracks the previous October. On 5 August 1990, as part of Operation Sharp Edge to remove US citizens caught up in

4899-484: Was re-designated from LPD-15 to AFSB(I)-15 (Afloat Forward Staging Base and "I" for "interim", until purpose-built vessels came on line in 2015), and she was modified to support mine-sweeping MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopters and small mine-clearance vessels. The ship was operated jointly by active-duty Navy officers and sailors, as well as being crewed by government civilian mariners from Military Sealift Command, some of whom were more than 60 years old. The ship served in

4970-491: Was reported that Argentina was interested in acquiring Ponce as an addition to their Navy . It was reported that talks of purchase began while US Vice President Mike Pence was on a state visit to Argentina and met with Argentine President, Mauricio Macri . Such a purchase would restore amphibious assault capability to the Argentine Navy, which it has not had since 1997, with the decommissioning of tank landing ship, ARA  Cabo San Antonio . In response to these reports,

5041-544: Was to begin the process of decommissioning. On 2 December 2011, Ponce came home to await decommissioning, scheduled for 30 March 2012, when she would be towed to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard , and put in reserve status. In January 2012, in response to requests from United States Central Command , it was decided that she would be retrofitted and re-deployed as the first of a planned series of mine-countermeasures warships for use in keeping open strategic sea lanes . On 24 January 2012, Military Sealift Command (MSC) posted

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