Military Sealift Command reorganizes

   The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command said Monday it will make an organization re-alignment “designed to increase efficiency while maintaining effectiveness.”
   “We are proactively streamlining and improving our organization so that we will be ready for anything that comes our way in this challenging fiscal environment,” said Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, commander, in a statement.
   Military Sealift Command is repositioning three of its key senior executive service members to better manage the new program structure. One will be the program executive over the command’s government-operated ships, a second will be the program executive over contract-operated ships, and a third will oversee total manpower management worldwide.
   The command operates civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.
   Military Sealift Command has five programs:

• A combat logistics force that includes 32 government-operated fleet “underway” replenishment ships from the former Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force (NFAF), including dry cargo/ammunition, fast combat support, ammunition, and fleet replenishment oilers.
• Service support composed of four government-operated ships formerly in the Special Mission program, including two submarine tenders, one command ship and a cable laying and repair ship, as well as 10 government-operated ships formerly from NFAF – hospital ships, fleet ocean tugs, and rescue and salvage ships.
• Special missions, which includes 24 contract-operated ships involved with missile range instrumentation, ocean surveillance, submarine and special warfare support, oceanographic survey and navigation test support.
• Prepositioning, with a fleet of 31 ships.
• Sealift, with 16 ships.

    Twelve worldwide Military Sealift Command Ship Support Units, which previously reported to the Military Sealift Fleet Support Command in Norfolk, Va., will now report to the operational area command in their respective areas. They are  the Atlantic in Norfolk, Pacific in San Diego, Europe and Africa in Naples, Central in Bahrain, and the Far East in Singapore.