Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force

Click here to view the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force Program Video.

The 41 ships of Military Sealift Command's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force are the supply lines to U.S. Navy ships at sea. These ships provide virtually everything that Navy ships need, including fuel, food, ordnance, spare parts, mail and other supplies. NFAF ships enable the Navy fleet to remain at sea, on station and combat ready for extended periods of time. NFAF ships also conduct towing, rescue and salvage operations or serve as floating medical facilities.

Guided missile destroyer USS Hopper (left) receives stores from MSC fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Ericsson during a connected replenishment in the Pacific Ocean.

All NFAF ships are government owned and crewed by civil service mariners. Some of the ships also have a small contingent of Navy personnel aboard for operations support, supply coordination and helicopter operations.

Fleet Replenishment Oilers

Fourteen fleet replenishment oilers, the largest subset of Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships, provide fuel to deployed Navy ships at sea, as well as to their assigned aircraft. Oilers and the ships they refuel sail side by side as fuel hoses are extended across guide wires. Underway replenishment of fuel dramatically extends the time a Navy battle group can remain at sea.

A Navy helicopter prepares to move ordnance from MSC ammunition ship USNS Flint to another Navy ship during a vertical replenishment at sea.

Ammunition Ships

Four ammunition ships supply ordnance to Navy combatants at sea, providing service through a combination of alongside transfers and vertical replenishment lifts via helicopter.

Fast Combat Support Ships

MSC fast combat support ship USNS Supply (middle) conducts dual underway replenishments of guided-missile frigate USS Taylor (bottom) and aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (top).

MSC's four fast combat support ships provide one-stop shopping to the fleet for fuel, ammunition, food and other cargo. These ships are especially valuable because of their speed and ability to carry all the essentials to replenish Navy ships at sea. MSC's fast combat support ships, formerly sailor-operated, transferred to MSC for civil service crewing beginning in 2001.

Combat Stores Ships

One combat stores ship provides underway replenishment of supplies needed aboard Navy combatant ships at sea. Supplies include repair parts, spare parts, food, mail and fuel.

Combat stores ships are being replaced by MSC's new Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo/ammunition ships.

A matron of honor observes as distant great-grandnieces of Sacagawea christen the ship that bears their courageous ancestor’s name.

Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ships

MSC dry cargo/ammunition ships USNS Lewis and Clark, USNS Sacagawea, USNS Alan Shepard, USNS Richard E. Byrd, USNS Robert E. Peary, USNS Amelia Earhart, USNS Carl Brashear and USNS Wally Schirra are the first of a new class of up to eleven ships dedicated to MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force. These ships are able to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy's carrier strike groups and other naval forces worldwide.

Designed to operate for extended periods at sea, the Lewis and Clark-class ships have improved cargohandling equipment that increases efficiency and makes the ships more cost effective to operate and maintain.

All the Lewis and Clark-class ships will be named after great American explorers.

MSC fleet ocean tug USNS Navajo tows former amphibious assault ship USS Belleau Wood out to open waters for sinking as part of a Navy exercise.

Fleet Ocean Tugs

MSC's fleet ocean tugs include USNS Catawba, USNS Navajo, USNS Sioux and USNS Apache. These ships provide the Navy fleet with towing service and can tow Navy vessels as large as battleships. When augmented by Navy divers, fleet ocean tugs assist in the recovery of downed ships and aircraft.

Rescue and Salvage Ships

MSC's four rescue and salvage ships recover objects from the sea, tow stranded vessels and provide firefighting assistance. These ships, USNS Safeguard, USNS Grasp, USNS Salvor and USNS Grapple, like fleet ocean tugs, are able to lift objects as heavy as downed ships and aircraft. The key advantage of these ships is their ability to rapidly deploy divers to conduct rescue and salvage operations.

MSC hospital ship USNS Comfort gets underway for a four-month humanitarian assistance deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Hospital Ships

MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force operates the Navy's two hospital ships, USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, each containing 12 operating rooms and up to 1,000 beds. The ships are normally kept pierside in reduced operating status, each with a small contingent of MSC civil service mariners and Navy hospital personnel aboard to ensure the ships are ready should they be needed. When called into action, they can get underway in five days with an expanded crew of more than 60 civil service mariners and an expanded medical staff of up to approximately 1,200 military medical personnel.

A Navy helicopter prepares to land on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan during a weapons transfer between Reagan and MSC ammunition ship USNS Flint (right) in the Western Pacific.

NFAF: Past, Present And Future

The Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force was created in 1972 with the transfer of Navy fleet oiler USS Taluga to MSC operation after a series of tests proved that civil service crews could operate the Navy's fleet support ships as effectively and more cost efficiently than Navy sailors.

MSC now provides all of the Navy's combat logistics services to the fleet.

In the years to come, MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force will continue to be a vital, cost- effective and innovative element of the U.S. Navy, actively supporting the Navy's combat readiness and ability to project a powerful forward presence.

 Go to the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ship inventory