USNS Pecos

USNS Pecos (T-AO-197) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy, and the third such ship to be named after the Pecos River.

USNS Pecos (T-AO-197)
History
United States
Name	USNS Pecos
Namesake	The Pecos River in New Mexico and Texas
Ordered	12 February 1987
Builder	Avondale Shipyard, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
Laid down	17 February 1988
Launched	23 September 1989
In service	6 July 1990-present
Identification	IMO number: 8706686 MMSI number: 367220000 Callsign: NPEC
Honors and awards	The National Defense Service Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (twice) The Southwest Asia Service Medal.
Status	In active Military Sealift Command service
General characteristics
Class and type	Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler
Type	Fleet replenishment oiler
Tonnage	31,200 deadweight tons
Displacement	9,500 tons light Full load variously reported as 42,382 tons and 40,700 long tons (41,400 metric tons)
Length	677 ft (206 m)
Beam	97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft	35 ft (11 m) maximum
Installed power	16,000 hp (11.9 MW) per shaft 34,442 hp (25.7 MW) total sustained
Propulsion	Two medium-speed Colt-Pielstick PC4-2/2 10V-570 diesel engines, two shafts, controllable-pitch propellers
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity	178,000 to 180,000 barrels (28,300 to 28,600 m3) of fuel oil and jet fuel 7,400 square feet (690 m2) dry cargo space; eight 20-foot (6.1 m) refrigerated containers with room for 128 pallets
Complement	approx. 88 (18 civilian officers, 1 U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, 64 merchant mariners, ~5 U.S. Navy enlisted personnel)
Armament	Peacetime: usually none Wartime: crew-served machine guns via embarked security detachment
Aircraft carried	None
Aviation facilities	Helicopter landing platform
Notes	Five refueling stations Two dry cargo transfer rigs

Pecos, the eleventh Henry J. Kaiser-class ship, was laid down on 17 February 1988 at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana, and launched on 23 September 1989. She was delivered to the Navy and placed in non-commissioned service with a primarily civilian crew under the control of the Military Sealift Command on 6 July 1990. The ship is equipped with a helicopter platform to allow for at-sea transfer of personnel and supplies.

Pecos is part of the MSC Naval Auxiliary Force, MSC Pacific, in the United States Pacific Fleet, and has received the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal twice, and the Southwest Asia Service Medal.

On 9 December 1999 a United States Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed into Pecos and sank while participating in a training mission. Seven of the 18 personnel on board the helicopter were killed in the accident. As routine procedure following an accident, members of the crew were subjected to drug testing. Captain Mark LaRochelle, the ship's Master, failed the initial and secondary drug tests and was subsequently relieved of command and fired from the Military Sealift Command. Following his dismissal from MSC, his US Coast Guard license was revoked.

During Operation Tomodachi, Pecos rendezvoused with United States Seventh Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge near Kyushu, Japan. Blue Ridge transferred 96 pallets of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material to Pecos for delivery to the Essex Amphibious Group and Carrier Strike Group 5. Weighing as much as 1,000 pounds (450 kg) each, the pallets contained water containers and water purification tablets, first-aid products, tarpaulins, blankets, and other supplies. The ship arrived off Sendai on 25 March for more underway replenishment operations. During her support effort to Operation Tomodachi, Pecos completed nine underway replenishments and delivered more than 2.3 million U.S. gallons (8.7 million liters) of fuel to other supporting ships.[1] Pecos helped refuel USS Harry S. Truman and HMS Defender in 2016.[2]

Pecos (T-AO-197) attempting to replenish the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG-71).

On 28 November 2018, the United States Navy sent Pecos and USS Stockdale through the Taiwan Strait as a demonstration of the "U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," according to a U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman. The transit took place only a few days before a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[3][4]