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Military Sealift Command began in 1949 as the Military Sea Transportation Service. Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson issued a directive on August 2, 1949, establishing the organization "in order to provide, under one authority, control, operation and administration of ocean transportation . . . for all agencies or departments of the National Military Establishment" (later to become the Department of Defense).

The command stood on October 1, 1949, with about 225 ships transferred from the U.S. Army (35 of them owned by the U.S. Maritime Commission) and about 95 ships transferred from the Navy Transportation Service (about 37 of them commissioned Navy ships).

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1949-1959
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1960-1969
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1970-1979
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1980-1989
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1990-1999
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General Information: 1-888-SEALIFT (732-5438) • Marine Employment Opportunities: 1-877-JOBS-MSC (562-7672)  • Email: webmaster@msc.navy.mil
This is an Official U.S. Navy Web site and is the official web site of the Military Sealift Command. For more information on employment with the Navy, visit Navy Jobs. MSC reports to Fleet Forces Command and is one of three component commands reporting to the U.S. Transportation Command, known as USTRANSCOM.