SANTA RITA, Guam -- The Maritime Prepositioning Ship (MPS) USNS PFC Dewayne T. Williams (T-AK-3009) pulled back into Apra Harbor, U.S. Naval Base Guam (NBG), Oct. 27 to backload nearly 80 U.S. Marine Corps vehicles and equipment after a three-week visit to the port. The visit was a rare opportunity for Marines and maintenance support personnel to conduct a three-week maintenance period in Guam – where use of NBG’s reinforced piers for amphibious and tracked vehicles was more than a proof of concept, but also an exercised capability for the port at Apra Harbor far west of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The offload – although only intended for maintenance of 14 M1A1 Abrams tanks – included 16 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV), a few 7-ton trucks and other rolling stock and equipment. MPSs are designed for maximized efficient use of all available space, so rolling off all the equipment to get to the tanks was a necessity, said Maj. Lee Parker, Officer-in-Charge of the Maintenance Support Team (MST) sent to Guam. Port Operations staff and offload support specialists from USNS Williams guided the tanks, AAVs and other rolling stock using a ramp from the ship onto Tango Pier, and then all the vehicles and gear were moved and stowed in the confines of Uniform Pier, with its reinforced cement deck capable of holding the 70-ton tanks. With the maintenance period complete, the backload commenced Oct. 27 and 28 in the same organized fashion.

“The evolution was smooth and expertly executed,” said Dan Quicho, Port Operations Director. “This type of heavy equipment offload for a maintenance availability, in addition to the husbanding services here at Guam, adds versatility to our support capability here at Naval Base Guam. It also equates to a significant cost savings to offload and conduct business here instead of sending the ship back to the states.”

The combined team of close to 50 MST personnel came from various areas across the globe, including Blount Island Command (Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, Jacksonville, Fla.), Marine Forces Pacific in Hawaii, and maintenance and support personnel from Okinawa, Japan, and Camp Pendleton, Calif., as well as the main services and technology contractor, Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR).

Guam is not a typical port of call for MPS offloads but according to Parker, the maintenance was a must. “These tanks were recently used in Exercise Freedom Banner 2016 in the Republic of Korea back in late February-early March,” said Parker. “The required corrective maintenance, assessment, inspections, as well as post-maintenance inspection actions will bring the vehicles and equipment up to acceptable readiness levels for their 3-year ship cycle and so that the MPS will be ready for any contingency.”

Freedom Banner is a Navy and Marine Corps deployment and offload/backload exercise that strengthens interoperability and working relationships for proficiency at numerous military operations ranging from disaster relief to complex expeditionary operations.

MPS ships have sufficient equipment, vehicles, supplies and ammunition to support a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) – upwards of 27,000 troops – for 30 days during a contingency.

The USNS Williams is named after Medal of Honor recipient, Marine Pfc. Dewayne T. Williams, former native of Brown City, Mich., who died during a battle at Quãng Nam Province, Vietnam, on Sept. 18, 1968. Williams was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while diving on an enemy grenade that was thrown into the middle of his patrol amidst an intense enemy nighttime ambush. Williams’ body absorbed the full impact of the grenade, ultimately saving the lives of his patrol members and enabling them to defeat the attackers and hold their position till assistance arrived.