USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3)

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USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3)
USNS Lewis B. Puller departs Naval Station Norfolk. (35725832041).jpg
Lewis B. Puller departing for its first operational deployment in 2017
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
Namesake Lewis B. Puller, Sr. [1] [2]
AwardedFebruary 2012 [3]
Builder NASSCO – San Diego, California [1]
Cost$650 million [4]
Laid down5 November 2013 [1] [5]
Launched6 November 2014 [6]
Sponsored byMartha Puller Downs [7]
Christened7 February 2015 [7]
Acquired12 June 2015 [8] [9]
Commissioned17 August 2017 [10]
Identification
MottoCourage, Leadership, Duty
Statusin active service [10]
Badge USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3) Crest.png
General characteristics
DisplacementApprox. 90,000 long tons (100,000 short tons) fully loaded [11]
Length764 ft (233 m) [12] [Note 1]
Beam164 ft (50 m) [13]
Draft25.5 ft (7.8 m) [13]
Installed power Diesel-electric [13]
Propulsion
Speed15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) [1] [13]
Range9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) [1]
Boats & landing
craft carried		Accommodation barge (298 mission-related personnel max.) [3]
Complement19 officers, 231 enlisted [15]
Armament12 x .50 caliber machine gun stations [16]
Aircraft carriedUp to 4 CH-53 heavy-lift transport helicopters [Note 2]
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter landing deck and hangar [3]
NotesAfloat forward staging base variant [3]

USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3), (formerly USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3), and (T-MLP-3/T-AFSB-1) prior to that) [17] [18] is the first purpose-built expeditionary mobile base vessel (previously classified as a mobile landing platform, and then as an afloat forward staging base) for the United States Navy, and the second ship to be named in honor of Chesty Puller. The lead ship in her class of expeditionary mobile bases, she is also a sub-variant of the Montford Point-class expeditionary transfer docks. [19] Lewis B. Puller replaced USS Ponce with the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf in late 2017. [1] [5]

Contents

Lewis B. Puller was commissioned on 17 August 2017 in Bahrain, with her prefix changing from USNS to USS and her hull designation changing from T-ESB-3 to ESB-3. [10]

Background

The Lewis B. Puller class of expeditionary mobile base ships differ from the U.S. Navy's first two expeditionary transfer dock support vessels, Montford Point and John Glenn. These two ships act as floating bases or transfer stations that can be positioned off the target area. [20] Lewis B. Puller and Hershel "Woody" Williams serve as expeditionary mobile bases to support low-intensity missions. This allows 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. [3] These ESB variants operate in the Middle East and the Pacific Ocean. [12]

Lewis B. Puller was initially operated by the Military Sealift Command with the prefix "USNS" and a crew of Department of the Navy civilian mariners. [20] She replaced USS Ponce, the U.S. Navy's interim AFSB support ship. [3]

Namesake

Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3) is the second ship named after Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller. The first was USS Lewis B. Puller (FFG-23), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate. A distinguished combat veteran of the Banana Wars, World War II and the Korean War, Puller is the most decorated individual in the history of the United States Marine Corps. [1] [2]

Ship re-designation

On 4 September 2015, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced a new ship designator: "E" for expeditionary support. Mobile Landing Platforms (MLPs) will be designated Expeditionary Transfer Docks, or ESDs; and the Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) variant of the MLP will be called Expeditionary Mobile Bases, or ESBs. The new designation followed a 31 August 2015 memorandum sent to Mabus by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert. [17]

Design features

A Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter lands on Lewis B. Puller's flight deck in June 2016 MH-53E of HM-15 lands on USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3) on 16 June 2016.JPG
A Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter lands on Lewis B. Puller's flight deck in June 2016

The design of Lewis B. Puller is based on the hull of the civilian Alaska-class oil tanker. [12] Lewis B. Puller can be outfitted with support facilities for her minesweeping, special operations, and other expeditionary missions. An accommodation barge can be carried to support up to 298 more people, including special-operations teams. [3] [5]

Lewis B. Puller's flight deck has landing spots for four heavy-lift transport CH-53 helicopters, plus deck space for two more MH-53s. The ship has a helicopter hangar, an ordnance storage magazine, underway replenishment facilities, and deck space for mission-related equipment storage, including up to four Mk 105 minesweeping hydrofoil sleds. [3] [5]

Artist's impression of Lewis B. Puller USNS Lewis B. Puller (MLP-3) artist impression.jpg
Artist's impression of Lewis B. Puller

GE Power Conversion will provide complete electric power, propulsion, and vessel automation systems for all ESB/ESD ships. This integrated power system (IPS) will also involve the ship's tandem propulsion motor powered by variable-frequency drives, harmonic filters, and high-voltage switchboards. [14]

Unlike the ESDs that lower the entire ship until their boat decks are awash, ESBs use cranes to raise and lower small boats of up to 11 metric tons (12 short tons) to the water from their mission deck. [21] [22] [23]

Lewis B. Puller is the first non-combatant ship equipped with the Navy's N-30 class passive fire protection system. [24]

Embarked aircraft

Marines load onto an MV-22 Osprey in the Persian Gulf in 2019 USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) conducts flight operations. (49198912338).jpg
Marines load onto an MV-22 Osprey in the Persian Gulf in 2019

The ship is equipped to support United States Air Force CV-22s on special ops missions. Feasibility tests began in 2014 [25] and the capability was added before the ship's 2017 maiden deployment. [26]

The testing and certification of MH-53E helicopters for minesweeping operations from ESB support ships began in fiscal year 2016.

The F-35B STOVL strike fighter does not fly from ESBs because its exhaust heat might damage the deck, Captain Henry Stevens, the head of NAVSEA's Strategic and Theater Sealift program, said on 16 January 2014. [25]

History

Construction

Post-launch (6 November 2014) USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-MLP-3) MLP3FloatOut5281.jpg
Post-launch (6 November 2014)

The United States Navy ordered T-ESB-3 in February 2012 as part of the Fiscal Year 2013 appropriation for the U.S. Department of Defense via the National Defense Sealift Fund (NDSF). [3]

The keel-laying ceremony for Lewis B. Puller took place at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, California, on 5 November 2013. The keel of Lewis B. Puller was authenticated by Elizabeth Glueck, the wife of Lieutenant General Kenneth J. Glueck, Jr., the commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. [1] [12] [27] Mrs. Glueck welded her initials onto a steel plate that will be permanently affixed to the ship, remaining a part of Lewis B. Puller throughout her service life. [27]

Lewis B. Puller was launched and floated-off at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard on 6 November 2014. The launching dock was slowly flooded with water until she could freely float by herself. [6] The ship was christened on 7 February 2015, and she was delivered on 12 June 2015. [9] [28]

Lewis B. Puller set sail from San Diego to Norfolk via Cape Horn, arriving 13 October 2015 to begin her testing and evaluation phase. The ship is configured for minesweeping support but is also under consideration to support special operations forces (SOF) missions. Lewis B. Puller joined the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf in late 2016 or early 2017. [29]

On 14 January 2016, the Secretary of the Navy announced that Lewis B. Puller's sister-ship would be named Hershel "Woody" Williams during a ceremony in Charleston, West Virginia. [30] Hershel "Woody" Williams was commissioned on 7 March 2020.

Deployment

On 10 July 2017, Lewis B. Puller left from Naval Station Norfolk for her first operational deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations. The ship is permanently deployed overseas; maintenance, repairs and crew swaps will take place in theater. [31]

Commissioning

Lewis B. Puller was commissioned on 17 August 2017 at Khalifa bin Salman Port in Al Hidd, Bahrain, with her prefix changing from USNS to USS, becoming the first U.S.-built ship to be commissioned outside the United States. The change was required by the Law of Armed Conflict, which says that only a warship may do certain activities, such as mine-countermeasures and special operations staging. Her hull classification also changed from T-ESB-3 to ESB-3, indicating she was to be crewed by U.S. Navy sailors rather than civilian mariners. [10]

Operations

Lewis B. Puller trained with the America amphibious ready group (ARG), during the military exercise Alligator Dagger 2017 to explore the potential of the ESB platform to support such operations. [32]

In November 2018, a detachment from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 deployed on Lewis B. Puller for training. [33]

In March 2020, U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters conducted deck landing qualifications with Lewis B. Puller. While conducting this exercise, on 15 April 2020, 11 Iranian patrol vessels started circling Lewis B. Puller and surrounding US Navy and Coast Guard vessels. The boats got within 50 yards (46 m) of the ship and would not leave despite repeated radio warnings and noise makers. The incident lasted for an hour until the Iranian vessels pulled away. Video of the incident was posted by the US Navy. [34] [35]

On 1 December 2022, Lewis B. Puller interdicted and boarded the stateless dhow Marwan 1 and seized weapons and ammunition suspected of being smuggled by Iran to Yemen, including over one million rounds of AK-47 ammunition. [36] [37] The ammunition was then later sent by the United States government as aid to Ukraine. [37]

At a Pentagon press briefing on 24 April 2023, a spokesperson stated that USS Truxtun was "... off the coast of Sudan, near the Port of Sudan. It will stay there awaiting further orders should it be needed to support. Also, en route is the USS Puller." [38]

On 11 January 2024, Navy SEALs operating from Lewis B. Puller seized Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missile components from a ship traveling off the coast of Somalia. Two SEALs went missing in the operation, [39] and after eleven days of unsuccessful search and rescue, followed by search and recover, they were presumed dead by the Navy. [40] The dhow was sunk by the US military subsequent to its capture. [41]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ NavSourve.org lists the overall length as 785 ft (239 m).
  2. ↑ MV-22 tilt-rotor transport aircraft are under consideration. See Embarked aircraft section of this article for details.

Related Research Articles

The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol to identify their ships by type and by individual ship within a type. The system is analogous to the pennant number system that the Royal Navy and other European and Commonwealth navies use.

USS <i>Ponce</i> (LPD-15) Ship

USS Ponce, 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, 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 the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, serving in Operation Desert Shield and supporting US operations in the 2011 Libyan Civil War.

USNS <i>Lewis and Clark</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE-1) is an American dry cargo ship, the lead ship of her namesake class. It was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The contract to build her was awarded to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) of San Diego, California, on 18 October 2001 and her keel was laid down on 22 April 2004. She was launched on 21 May 2005, co-sponsored by Jane Lewis Sale Henley and Lisa Clark, descendants of the ship's namesakes. She was delivered to the Navy on 20 June 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Sealift Command</span> United States Navy command for logistics

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.

HSV-2 <i>Swift</i> Hybrid catamaran

HSV-2 Swift is a hybrid catamaran. She was privately owned and operated by Sealift Inc., and was originally built under the JHSV program as a proof of concept. As part of this program, she was directly leased for evaluation from her builders by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command from 2003 to 2013, primarily as a mine countermeasures and sea basing test platform. Later during her official naval career she was mostly used for fleet support and humanitarian partnership missions.

USNS <i>Medgar Evers</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13) is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship of the United States Navy. As part of the Navy's Combat Logistics Force, her mission is to deliver ammunition, provisions, dry stores, refrigerated food, spare parts, potable water, and diesel and jet fuel to U.S. Navy and allied ships while at sea. The ship is named for civil rights movement activist Medgar Evers, a World War II veteran who was assassinated in 1963. The Navy announced the naming on 9 October 2009.

Expeditionary Transfer Dock Class of cargo ship

An Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD), formerly the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP), is designed to be a semi-submersible, flexible, modular platform providing the US Navy with the capability to perform large-scale logistics movements such as the transfer of vehicles and equipment from sea to shore. These ships significantly reduce the dependency on foreign ports and provide support in the absence of port availability. The class also houses a sub-class variant called the Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB), formerly the Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB).

USNS <i>Montford Point</i> Ship built in 2013

USNS Montford Point (T-ESD-1),, the lead ship of her class of Expeditionary Transfer Docks (ESD), is a ship named in honor of African American Marine Corps recruits who trained at Montford Point Camp, North Carolina, from 1942 to 1949. After $115 million was allocated for long-lead time material and advanced design efforts, in late 2010 General Dynamics's National Steel and Shipbuilding Company was awarded the contract, worth approximately $500 million, to build the first of three planned vessels.

USNS <i>John Glenn</i> An Expeditionary Mobile Base for the US Navy

USNS John Glenn (T-ESD-2), is a United States Navy Expeditionary Transfer Dock ship named in honor of John Glenn, a Naval Aviator, retired United States Marine Corps colonel, veteran of World War II and the Korean War, astronaut, and United States senator.

USNS <i>Carson City</i> Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport

USNS Carson City (JHSV-7/T-EPF-7), (ex-Courageous) is the seventh Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport, currently in service with the United States Navy's Military Sealift Command. She is the second ship in naval service named after Carson City, Nevada.

USS <i>Hershel "Woody" Williams</i> US Navy expeditionary mobile base vessel

USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB-4) is a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base (ESB), currently in service with the United States Navy. The ship is also a sub-variant of the Montford Point-class expeditionary transfer dock (ESD). The ESDs are operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command with predominantly civilian crews, while the ESBs, owing to the nature of their operations, have been commissioned and commanded directly by the U.S. Navy. The ship was named in honor of Hershel W. "Woody" Williams in an announcement by then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, on 14 January 2016. Williams was a Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the Battle of Iwo Jima, during World War II.

<i>John Lewis</i>-class replenishment oiler Class of ship

The John Lewis class is a class of fleet replenishment oilers which began construction in September 2018. The class will comprise twenty oilers which will be operated by Military Sealift Command to provide underway replenishment of fuel and limited amounts of dry cargo to United States Navy carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups, and other surface forces, to allow them to operate worldwide.

USNS <i>Harvey Milk</i> John Lewis-class oiler of the United States Navy

USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) is the second of the John Lewis-class of underway replenishment oilers, operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) to support ships of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Miguel Keith</i> US Navy expeditionary mobile base vessel

USS Miguel Keith (ESB-5) is a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base, one of three such ships in service with the United States Navy (USN) as of late 2021.

USS <i>John L. Canley</i> US Navy expeditionary mobile base vessel

USS John L. Canley (ESB-6) is the fourth Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base (ESB) of the United States Navy, and the first ship to be named for Medal of Honor recipient John L. Canley. John L. Canley was constructed in San Diego, California by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO). Like her sister ships, she is also a sub-variant of the Montford Point-class expeditionary transfer dock (ESD). The ESDs are operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command with predominantly civilian crews, while the ESBs, owing to the nature of their operations, have been commissioned and are operated directly by the Navy with military personnel.

USS <i>Robert E. Simanek</i> US Navy Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base

USS Robert E. Simanek (ESB-7) will be a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base for the United States Navy, and she is the first United States Navy vessel named after Marine Corps Private First Class Robert Ernest Simanek, who was awarded for the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Battle of Bunker Hill, August 1952, during the Korean War. Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite officially announced the name on 15 January 2021, when he visited USS Constitution, the oldest U.S. Navy commissioned ship afloat.

USS <i>Hector A. Cafferata Jr.</i> US Navy Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base

USS Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (ESB-8) will be a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base for the United States Navy, and she is the first United States Navy vessel named after Marine Corps Private First Class Hector A. Cafferata Jr., who was awarded for the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, November 1950, during the Korean War.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Keel Laid for Future USNS Lewis B. Puller". NNS131105-20. Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 James Marconi (5 January 2012). "Navy Names First Three Mobile Landing Platform Ships". Military Sealift Command Public Affairs. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "U.S. Navy Program Guide 2013" (PDF). United States Navy. 6 November 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2013. See pages 101–102
  4. ↑ "USNI News Video: Sea Base USS Lewis B. Puller Finding Its Way in 5th Fleet". usni.org. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Richard Scott (16 February 2014). "US MLP completes acceptance trials". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly . Jane's Information Group. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  6. 1 2 GD NASSCO Successfully Launched 1st Afloat Forwarding Staging Base (AFSB) variant MLP - Navyrecognition.com, 12 November 2014
  7. 1 2 GD NASSCO Christened the 1st Afloat Forward Staging Base variant MLP USNS Lewis B. Puller - Navyrecognition.com, 7 February 2015
  8. ↑ "Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3)". Naval Vessel Register . Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  9. 1 2 "USNS Lewis B. Puller Delivered to Fleet" (Press release). United States Navy. 15 June 2015. NS150615-03. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "US Navy Commissions First-of-Class Expeditionary Mobile Sea Base, USS Lewis B. Puller" (Press release). United States Navy. 17 August 2017. NNS170817-23. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB)". Fact Files. United States Navy. 21 January 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Updated: Keel Laid for First Dedicated Afloat Forward Staging Base". USNI News Blog. United States Naval Institute. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-MLP-3)". USNI News Blog. NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  14. 1 2 Lauren Maffeo (3 August 2011). "General Dynamics NASSCO Commissions Converteam to Supply Power Systems to US Navy". GovCon Executive. Retrieved 5 December 2013. General Dynamics NASSCO has commissioned Converteam to supply integrated power systems to the U.S. Navy, a move that follows the engineering solutions company's multimillion-dollar contract to design and supply the complete electric power, propulsion and vessel automation system for the Mobile Landing Platform program.
  15. ↑ "Naval Vessel Register - USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3)". Nvr.navy.mil. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  16. ↑ "Expeditionary Transfer Dock (T-ESD) and Expeditionary Mobile Base (T-ESB)" (PDF). Dote.osd.mil. Retrieved 16 October 2017. Has limited self-defense capability against any threat. Its self-defense capability against small boat attacks consists of 12 50-caliber gun stations capable of 360-degree
  17. 1 2 "Navy Renames Three Ship Classes, Creates 'Expeditionary' Designator in Naming System". USNI News Blog. United States Naval Institute. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Expeditionary mobile base Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3) | RealClearDefense". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "USS LEWIS B PULLER (ESB 3)". Nvr.navy.mil. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  20. 1 2 "The US Navy's Mobile Landing Platform Ships". Defense Industry Daily. Watershed Publishing. 18 August 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  21. ↑ Mesta, Bill (21 June 2016). "USNS Lewis B. Puller: The Future of Expeditionary Minehunting". Navy.mil. Military Sealift Command Public Affairs. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  22. ↑ Eckstein, Megan (2 November 2015). "Expeditionary Mobile Base Chesty Puller May Receive SOF Upgrades Before 5th Fleet Deployment". news.usni.org. USNI News. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  23. ↑ Rogoway, Tyler (2 November 2016). "America's Huge Afloat Forward Staging Base In Action". The War Zone . Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  24. ↑ "San Diego Marine & NASSCO Partner Yet Again For US Navy Auxiliary Ship". pcg.com. Performance Contracting Group. Fall 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  25. 1 2 Muñoz, Carlo (16 January 2014). "SNA 2014: Navy Eyes Osprey Flights for AFSB Fleet". United States Naval Institute . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  26. ↑ Eckstein, Megan (12 July 2017). "Expeditionary Sea Base USNS Lewis B. Puller Departs for Maiden Deployment". news.usni.org. USNI News. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  27. ↑ "General Dynamics NASSCO Delivers USNS Lewis B. Puller MLP 3 AFSB". Navyrecognition.com. 14 June 2015.
  28. ↑ Eckstein, Megan (2 November 2015). "Expeditionary Mobile Base Chesty Puller May Receive SOF Upgrades Before 5th Fleet Deployment". USNI News. United States Naval Institute . Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  29. ↑ Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs. "Secretary of the Navy Names Expeditionary Mobile Base Ship". navy.mil. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  30. ↑ "Expeditionary Sea Base USNS Lewis B. Puller Begins First Operational Deployment". navyrecognition.com. 12 July 2017.
  31. ↑ Swysgood, Chad (20 September 2017). "USS Puller Participates in Alligator Dagger 2017". United States Navy. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  32. ↑ "USS Lewis B. Puller embarks first airborne mine countermeasures in Middle East". Naval Today. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  33. ↑ "Army attack helicopters teamed up with Navy ships to practice holding enemies 'at high risk' in the Middle East". Business Insider. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  34. ↑ Snow, Sean (15 April 2020). "11 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels harass US warships in the Persian Gulf". Military Times . Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  35. ↑ "United States Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in rem" (PDF). United States District Court for the District of Columbia. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  36. 1 2 Mongilio, Heather (4 October 2023). "U.S. Sends 1M Rounds of Seized Iranian Ammo to Ukraine". USNI News. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  37. ↑ Ware, Doug G. (24 April 2023). "Navy moves ships to Red Sea in case US needs to move Americans out of Sudan". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  38. ↑ "USCENTCOM Seizes Iranian Advanced Conventional Weapons Bound for Houthis" (Press release). United States Central Command. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  39. ↑ Baldor, Lolita C. (22 January 2024). "Death on the Arabian Sea: How a Navy SEAL fell into rough waters and another died trying to save him". Associated Press News . Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  40. ↑ Pereira, Flavia Camargos (16 January 2024). "US forces sink dhow transporting Iranian missile parts for Houthi rebels". Shepherd Media. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
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