PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK-3006)
2010–
Named for Eugene Arnold Obregon, USMC who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second Battle of Seoul during the Korean War. This is the first ship to bear this name. The ship was originally named Thomas Heywood, a Maritime Administration type C7-S-133a hull under Maritime Administration contract.
(T-AK-3006; displacement 51,612; length 826’; beam 106’; draft 33’; speed 20 knots; complement 25; class Sgt. Matej Kocak).
The first PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK-3006) was laid down as Thomas Heywood by Sun Ship Building Co., at Chester, Pa; delivered to the Maritime Administration on 11 February 1983 for operation by the Waterman Steamship Corp.; acquired by the Navy in 1985 and converted by National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. in San Diego, Calif.; placed in service in 1985 under the direction of the Military Sealift Command as SS PFC Eugene A. Obregon; purchased by the Military Sealift Command in January 2010, and renamed PFC Eugene A. Obregon.
On 10 June 2010, PFC Eugene A. Obregon, along with Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20), Gunston Hall (LSD-44), Simpson (FFG-56), and Stephen W. Groves (FFG-29) participated in the 38th annual Exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) in the Baltic Sea. Latvian President Valdis Zatlers also toured the ship during the day after meeting with Royal Navy Rear Adm. Ian Corder, deputy commander, Combined Task Force BALTOPS and Marine Brig. Gen. Tracy L. Garrett, commanding general, 4th Marine Logistics Group.
Detailed history pending.
Christopher B. Havern Sr.
10 December 2015
