MSC ships return Army cargo to U.S.

By Gillian Brigham
SEALOGEUR Public Affairs

Nearly 300,000 square feet of cargo belonging to the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division was returned to the United States courtesy of Military Sealift Command.

USNS Mendonca and SS Westward Venture, two nearly 1,000-foot-long cargo ships, loaded the equivalent of more than five football fields-full of 1st ID equipment in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, May 9-13. The cargo belongs to units returning to the United States following their deployments.

Hundreds of tanks, trucks, helicopters and Humvees used by the 1st ID in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi Freedom and on Army bases throughout Germany were loaded aboard Mendonca and Westward Venture over the four-day period.

MSC ships have played a critical role in supporting 1st ID troops fighting the global war on terrorism.

"Our number one goal is to support the warfighter," said Capt. Nick Holman, commander, Sealift Logistics Command Europe.

SEALOGEUR is MSC's Europe-based area command.

USNS Mendonca is one of the Sealift Program's large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships, or LMSRs. SS Westward Venture is a U.S.-flagged, chartered roll-on/roll off ship.