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To enhance the ability of the U.S. Marine Corps to respond to a crisis, U.S. Marines have pre-located the equipment they would need to fight and win in several locations around the world. The equipment is prepositioned aboard 13 ships which comprise the Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF). These Military Sealift Command prepositioning ships are especially configured to transport supplies for the U.S. Marine Corps. Known as the Maritime Prepositioning Force, the 13 ships were built or modified in the mid-1980s, and are on location in the western Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The 13 Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS) contain nearly everything the Marines need for initial military operations--from tanks and ammunition, to food and fuel, to spare parts and engine oil. The MPS are organized into three squadrons, each commanded by a U.S. Navy captain. MPS Squadron One, usually located in the Atlantic Ocean or Mediterranean Sea, has four ships; MPS Squadron Two, usually located at Diego Garcia, has five ships; and MPS Squadron Three, normally in the Guam/Saipan area, has four ships. The ships are crewed by civilians under contract to the U.S. Military Sealift Command. Each MPS squadron carries sufficient equipment and supplies to sustain 17,000 Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force personnel for up to 30 days. Each ship can discharge cargo either pierside or while anchored offshore using lighterage carried aboard each vessel. This capability gives the Marine Corps the ability to operate in both developed ports and areas with no port facilities whatsoever.
Inside an MPS Each ship carries a portion of the supplies and equipment necessary for Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force operations ashore. Each ship has a helicopter landing deck, capable of landing CH-53E Super Sea Stallion helicopters. Additionally, each ship is configured with equipment repair and maintenance shops to permit maintenance support for embarked equipment. Cargo is stored in environmentally-controlled holds and containers. Each ship provides berthing for the ship's crew (25 to 30), a contracted cargo maintenance team and a contracted security guard team. One of the MPSRON ships also acts as the flag ship, embarking the squadron commander and his staff of five officers and 15 enlisted. When conducting an operation, the off-load preparation party and/or naval support element of Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and civilian personnel are also aboard--adding approximately 100 personnel. For pierside operations using a huge roll-on/roll-off stern ramp, a ship can discharge all its cargo in three days. If no port facilities are available, the ship can use its in-stream off-load capabilities to discharge all cargo from offshore within five days. The in-stream off-load equipment includes several small water craft, causeway sections, and a side-loading warping tug. The ships can also pump fuel or water to troops from up to two miles off shore, and can launch amphibious assault vehicles directly from the stern ramp into the sea.
MPS Squadron Three Mission As part of the Navy's strategic sealift capability, Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three (MPSRON Three) is responsible for the operation and administrative support to non-combatant ships of the Military Sealift Command Prepositioning Program in the western Pacific Ocean. It is an operational asset of the U.S. Seventh Fleet. These time-chartered ships carry afloat prepositioned U.S. military cargo for the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army. The squadron's mission is to provide swift and effective sea transportation of vital equipment and supplies to a designated area of operations. MPSRON Three has an afloat staff of 20 military personnel under the command of a U.S. Navy captain. The staff is embarked on one of the squadron's four Maritime Prepositioning Ships. There are about 180 permanently assigned civilian and military personnel aboard the four ships. More than 400 additional personnel can come aboard the ships when conducting a Maritime Prepositioning Force operation. Staff members serve one-year tours in a continuously underway, forward-deployed status. MPSRON Three ships operate out of Guam and Saipan without a permanent homeport in that area.
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