The Maritime Prepositioning Force
and the U.S. Marines

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

1. If no port facilities are available, an MPS can discharge all cargo from offshore in five days, using its own small water craft, a side-loading warping tug, and causeway sections. Here, a causeway ferries Marine Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) to shore.

2. An MPS can offload all of its cargo in three days, using a huge roll-on/roll-off stern ramp. Here the MV Sgt. William R. Button unloads U.S. Marine heavy equipment and vehicles for employment in exercise FOAL EAGLE 98.

3. The powerful crane of a side-loading warping tug.

4. The stern ramp can also launch AAVs directly into the sea.

5. THE MPS vessels do not stay in one place. They move around and take part in exercises to constantly test the system. Here, an MPS offloads in Pattaya, Thailand for an exercise.

6. MPS effectiveness is demonstrated when U.S. Marines successfully conduct their mission, as in exercise COBRA GOLD 98 when the MV 1st Lt. Jack Lummus and MV 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez flawlessly offloaded AAVs and support equipment, transferred fuel, and conducted crane operations from ship-to-ship and ship-to-pier.

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The ships that are a regular part of MPSRON Three are: MV 1st Lt. Jack Lummus, MV Sgt. William R. Button, MV 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez and MV Pfc. Dewayne T. Williams (the ships are named for U.S. Marines awarded America's highest decoration for heroism -- the Medal of Honor). MPSRON Three also currently has operational control of three Combat Prepositioning Force ships and one Logistics Prepositioning Ship. Combat Prepositioning Force (CPF) ships provide quick-response delivery of U.S. Army equipment for ground troops. Logistics Prepositioning Ships do the same for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency. On a routine basis, MPSRON Three assumes or relinquishes operational control of these ships to its sister MPS squadrons to ensure that the correct mix of ships is available around the world. At any time, one or all of MPSRON Three's assigned CPF or Logistics Prepositioning Ships may be deployed to missions around the globe.

2 Photo: SSgt. Steve Faulisi, USAF

The MPSRON Three ships move from port to port in many allied nations in the Asia-Pacific throughout the year, rarely traveling together. The ships themselves and the squadron staff form only part of the team needed to deploy cargo. Periodically, various Marine Corps and Navy units work together to conduct an off-load in real-world operations and exercises. The MPSRON Three staff's main job is to maintain command and control as well as keep the MPS vessels and their cargo ready at all times until an order to deploy is given. On 24-hours notice, every MPSRON Three ship can leave port and sail literally anywhere in the world and bring combat support and equipment the U.S. Marine Corps and Army need to accomplish their missions.

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Since its inception, the squadron has operated in support of operations Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf and Restore Hope famine assistance operations in Somalia, as well as other numerous exercises and operations from California to Korea. MPSRON Three generally participates in one major Maritime Prepositioning Force exercise per year.

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The following is a partial list of a sample loadout of an MPS squadron. The fuel, food, and combat arms and equipment carried can support up to 17,000 personnel of a Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force for up to 30 days of sustained combat.

Quantity	Item	Quantity	Item
5.2	Million gallons cargo fuel	7	Tactical airfield fuel dispensing systems
2,174	50,000-pound cargo containers	6	Motorized road graders
76	TOW missile launchers	4	Wheeled scraper trackers
24	Light armored vehicles (LAV)	104	3,000-gallon collapsible fabric tanks
105	Amphibious assault vehicles (AAV)	50	Tractors (various types)
30	Combat tanks (M1A1)	107	Forklift trucks (various types)
30	155mm howitzers	41	Reverse osmosis water purification units
123	Electrical generators	203	Cargo trailers
1	Field hospital (200 beds)	89	Powered trailers (various types)
14	50,000-pound container handlers	282	5-ton cargo trucks
8	25-ton cranes	42	5-ton dump trucks
16	7.5-ton cranes	22	5-ton wrecker trucks
47	Floodlight sets	530	Cargo/troop carriers (HMMWV)

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