USNS Choctaw County

USNS Choctaw County in Mayport on 7 October 2014
History
United States
Name	USNS Choctaw County
Namesake	Choctaw County, Alabama Choctaw County, Mississippi Choctaw County, Oklahoma
Operator	Military Sealift Command
Awarded	28 January 2010 [1]
Builder	Austal USA
Laid down	8 November 2011 [1]
Launched	1 October 2012 [1]
In service	6 June 2013 [1] [2]
Renamed	from Vigilant
Reclassified	T-EPF-2, 2015
Identification	IMO number:  9648001 MMSI number: 369461000 Callsign: NCHC Hull number: JHSV-2
Motto	Harvet Peace, Prepare For War
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class & type	Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport
Length	103.0 m (337 ft 11 in)
Beam	28.5 m (93 ft 6 in)
Draft	3.83 m (12 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	4 × MTU 20V8000 M71L diesel engines 4 × ZF 60000NR2H reduction gears
Speed	43 knots (80 km/h; 49 mph)
Troops	312
Crew	41
Aircraft carried	Medium helicopter
Aviation facilities	Helipad

USNS Choctaw County (JHSV-2/T-EPF-2), (ex-Vigilant) was the second Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport, ^[1] . She was operated by the United States Navy 's Military Sealift Command and was built by Austal USA at their yard in Mobile, Alabama. ^{[3] [4]}

Capabilities

The Spearhead EPFs can transport US Army and US Marine Corps company-sized units with their vehicles, or reconfigure to become a troop transport for an infantry battalion. ^[3]

They are equipped with a flight deck for helicopter operations and a folding ramp on the starboard side at the stern for quick loading of vehicles. The ramp is suitable for the types of austere piers and quay walls common in developing countries. EPF has a shallow draft (3.83 metres (12.6 ft)). ^{[5] [3]}

Construction and career

On 06 October 2011, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced in Ackerman, Mississippi that the second Expeditionary Fast Transport, previously having been named Vigilant by the United States Army before the transfer of the EPF program to the Navy, ^[1] would be named USNS Choctaw County. ^[6] Since the ship was operated by the Military Sealift Command and not the United States Navy itself, it carried the USNS designation and not USS. The ship is named for three U.S. counties, located in Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, ^[7] all three of which are named for the Choctaw tribe of American Indians.

The ship was laid down on 8 November 2011 and launched on 01 October 2012 by Austal USA. She was commissioned on 06 June 2013. On 07 July 2025 Choctaw County was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and marked as "transferred to the Maritime Administration in preparation for disposal." ^[8] The ship was filmed under tow on the Delaware River on 06 September 2025, reportedly on its way to Brownsville, Texas for scrapping, by way of Norfolk, VA. ^[9]

References

1. "USNS Choctaw County". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
2. "Navy Accepts Delivery of USNS Choctaw County" (Press release). PEO Ships Public Affairs, U.S. Navy. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
3. Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) ^{[ dead link ]}, USN. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
4. Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
5. Austal USA. "Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
6. "Navy Names New Joint High Speed Vessel" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 6 October 2011. 859-11. Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
7. "Navy to Christen Second Joint High Speed Vessel" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 13 September 2012. 744-12. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
8. USN/NAVSEA. "Ship Details - CHOCTAW COUNTY (EPF 2)". Archived from the original on 29 August 2025.
9. Nighthawk784. "USNS Choctaw County Ex 2 09 06 2025".

External links

 Media related to IMO 9648001 at Wikimedia Commons