The ceremony took place on the USNS Kanawha. The hulking supply ship provided fuel and fresh food to the USS Ford Carrier Strike Group during the war with Iran, earning its sailors and mariners the Presidential Unit Citation.
“Obviously we're in a little bit of unprecedented times, having an adversary that's shooting at our ships in the North Arabian Sea…You still have to supply your ships,” said Fleet Forces Commander Adm. Karl Thomas.
With Iran attacking U.S. bases in the Middle East, the Navy could not use its regular ports in the region. The sailors and civilian mariners of the Kanawaha and USNS William McLean were forced to travel longer distances and improvise to keep ships stocked. Kanawaha was in the Caribbean when it was rerouted to the region around Iran, after President Donald Trump ordered an abrupt build up of U.S. forces in late February.
“Kanawha wasn't originally supposed to be in that area resupplying those ships. We shifted her around and we looked at how we would have to resupply the fleet with longer sea lines of communication and putting together a number of ships that work in concert with each other. And that's how we're able to keep the goods flowing,” said Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, the commander of Military Sealift Command.
The Presidential Unit Citation is the highest award for a military unit. USS Ford also received the citation in May. This was the first time a ship has received the award in the 77-year history of the Military Sea Command. The ships are primarily manned by civilian mariners with a contingent of sailors who perform special tasks.
First Mate Anthony Canseco said the crew had to improvise. They were traveling back and forth through the Suez Canal and docking in Saudi Arabia, which had not been used regularly by the Navy. USNS Kanawaha is primarily a tanker, but they were asked to carry pallets of food and supplies.
“The main purpose of a tanker is just fuel,” he said. “So they're loading at times 600, 700 pallets, and you can see the footprint on this on the flight deck. It's not the largest, so we just had to make room and just utilize all the space.”
As the war potentially heats up again, other supply ships are in the region, as the Navy tries to figure out how it will handle operations long-term, as bases such as Naval Support Activity Bahrain remain in the line of fire, Thomas said.
