Name USNS Pecos Laid down 17 February 1988 Construction started 17 February 1988 Length 206 m | Ordered 12 February 1987 In service 6 July 1990-present Launched 23 September 1989 Builder Avondale Shipyard | |
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Namesake The Pecos River in New Mexico and Texas Honors and
awards The National Defense Service Medal
The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (twice)
The Southwest Asia Service Medal. | ||
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.
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 H-46 helicopter crashed into Pecos and sank while participating in a training mission. Seven of the 18 personnel on board the helicopter were lost in the accident. As routine procedure following an accident, members of the crew were subjected to drug testing. Captain Mark LaRachelle, 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 Following his dismissal from MSC, his US Coast Guard license was revoked.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, the Pecos rendezvoused with U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) 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 the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group. Pallets, some weighing as much as 1,000 pounds, contained items such as water containers and water purification tablets, first-aid products, tarps, blankets and other supplies. The ship arrived off Sendai March 25 for more underway replenishment operations. During its support effort to Operation Tomodachi, Pecos completed nine unreps and delivered more than 2.3 million gallons of fuel to other supporting ships. Pecos helped refuel the USS Harry Truman and HMS Defender in 2016.