In early May 2022, some of the command's logisticians coordinated the loading, shipment and delivery of cargo and mail to DM Crombie and Tromso, Norway, where the USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201) and USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) conducted scheduled port visits, respectively.
"Our port visit at DM Crombie was a 'first' for a ship of our class," said First Officer (I/O) Josh Becker, USNS Patuxent's chief mate. "This is significant because it opens up a port on the East coast of Scotland for cargo and stores to service the North Sea area. Previously, our nearest options were in the Firth of Clyde on the West Coast, which requires an extra day of transit to and from the North Sea."
Prior to the port visit, Patuxent had joined the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) to participate in the U.S. Sixth Fleet Exercise Northern Viking 2022 (NV22). NV22 aimed to strengthen interoperability and force readiness between the U.S., Iceland and Allied Nations and enables execution of multi-domain command and control of joint and coalition forces in the defense of Iceland and the Sea Lines of Communication in the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom Gap.
In mid-May, elements of the USS Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and forces from Task Group 61/2.4 have been participating in the Estonian-led exercise Siil 22, also known in English as Exercise Hedgehog, in Tallinn, Estonia. Exercise Hedgehog is designed to exercise command and control and security threat response while evaluating combat readiness of Estonian 2nd Infantry Brigade and Center of Strategic Communication.
"Our ability to support ships like USNS Patuxent and USS Kearsarge at and from our site in Scotland are two concrete examples of NAVSUP's expanding capabilities delivering holistic operational readiness to the Fleet where and when our deployed Warfighters need it," said Capt. Douglas S. MacKenzie, NAVSUP FLCSI commanding officer. "Thanks to the tireless efforts of the NAVSUP team and our growing logistics network of mission partners, Site Crombie is fast becoming a logistics center of gravity from which we can better facilitate end-to-end sustainment across Europe's High North region."
To successfully meet the re-supply and commercial husbanding requirements for the Patuxent and Kearsarge, NAVSUP FLCSI logisticians and contracting specialists coordinated with their mission partners at DM Crombie, including the ships' supply officers, Command Task Force 63 and DM Crombie's port operations and harbor master.
Homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, Patuxent is one of Military Sealift Command's Fleet Replenishment Oilers that serves as the supply line to U.S. Navy surface combatant ships at sea. With a storage capacity of around 159,000 barrels of fuel oil and jet fuel, replenishment oilers enable the fleet to remain at sea and combat ready for extended lengths of time. It is responsible for conducting hundreds of at-sea replenishment operations annually.
USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) ARG is under the command and control of Task Force 61/2. The ARG consists of USS Kearsarge; the San-Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24); and the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44).
Site Crombie is NAVSUP FLCSI's cooperative security location strategically positioned to support NAVEUR-NAVAF, U.S. Sixth Fleet and Joint Warfighters who routinely conduct operations with their High North Allies and Partners. From this transshipment hub, FLCSI Site Crombie's logisticians and their mission partners enable the expansion of maritime sustainment through its key support services such as customs clearance, logistics re-supply, warehousing, transportation, inter- & intra-theater cargo and mail distribution.
FLCSI is one of NAVSUP's eight globally-positioned commands that provides a full range of solutions for logistics, business and support services to the U.S. Naval, Joint, NATO and Allied Forces across 14 enduring and forward operating sites; forward contingency and cooperative security locations in 13 countries in Europe and Africa.