Mendonca (T-AKR-303)
1999–
The first U.S. Navy ship named for Sergeant Leroy A. Mendonca who was a U.S. Army soldier killed in action during the Korean War and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Chich-on, Korea on 4 July 1951.
Leroy A. Mendonca was born on 2 August 1932 in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. While attending President William McKinley High School, he was a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (JROTC) cadet and graduated in 1950. He later served in the U.S. Army’s Company B, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.
On 4 July 1951, Mendonca was in action against the enemy after his platoon captured Hill 586 and the newly won positions were assaulted during the night by a numerically superior force. When the 1st Platoon position was outflanked, under great pressure and ordered to withdraw to a secondary line of defense, Mendonca voluntarily remained in an exposed position and covered the platoon's withdrawal. Although under heavy enemy fire, he fired his weapon and hurled grenades at the charging enemy until his supply of ammunition was exhausted. He fought on, clubbing with his rifle and using his bayonet until he was mortally wounded. After the action it was estimated that Mendonca had accounted for 37 enemy casualties.
(T-AKR-302: displacement 62,644; length 950'; beam 106'; draft 35'; speed 24 knots; complement 26 civilian (up to 45) up to 50 active duty; class Bob Hope)
Mendonca (T-AKR-303) was laid down on 3 November 1997 at New Orleans, La., by Avondale Shipyard, Inc.; and launched on 25 May 1999. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service with the Military Sealift Command (MSC) with a primarily civilian crew on 30 January 2001. A non-combatant Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) vessel, Mendonca and other ships of her class are used to preposition tanks, trucks, various wheeled vehicles and supplies needed to support an army heavy brigade. She is assigned to the MSC Atlantic surge force and is maintained in Ready Operational Status 4.
During mobilization for the continuing global war on terrorism, the MSC surge fleet of LMSRs and fast sealift ships delivered 10.7 million square feet of cargo. This was approximately forty percent of the total dry cargo carried by all MSC government-owned and chartered ships during fiscal year 2004.
The Surge Project fleet includes 11 LMSRs and eight fast sealift ships that are all maintained in a four-day reduced operating status at various U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports. The LMSRs are especially suited for transporting heavy or bulky unit equipment such as tanks, large wheeled vehicles and helicopters.
Surge Project LMSRs were one of MSCs biggest success stories during the 2004 deployment phase of the Operation Iraqi Freedom troop and equipment rotation. They were activated within three days and maintained an average speed of more than 17 knots throughout the deployment. With a 300,000 square foot capacity per ship, the 11 Surge Project LMSRs delivered more than 7.6 million square feet of cargo in 39 voyages. This averaged 194,540 square feet per ship per voyage. One LMSR effectively replaced six commercial ships chartered during Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91.
From 27 March through 2 April 2014, Mendonca participated in the U.S. Transportation Command’s Turbo Challenge 14 exercise, that played a part in a larger series of 14 linked disaster-response evolutions based on the major Alaskan earthquake in 1964. With the state of Alaska simulating the earthquake crisis, emergency response teams from local authorities, Alaska’s National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency all worked to respond to the disaster scenario.
Afterward, Mendonca performed a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) exercise, which moved supplies for the simulated victims of the earthquake and responders who needed equipment and tools to help the clean-up process. JLOTS exercises, sponsored annually by U.S. Transportation Command, are designed to demonstrate the real-world capabilities of the military to transport supplies to shore from ships at sea even when a port is damaged or nonexistent. “The extreme tides, strong currents and floating ice made a big challenge even bigger,” explained Capt. Michael Wachter, Mendonca’s master, “The key players from all the services pulled together and made the near-impossible [seem] routine.”
Personnel helped to coordinate the JLOTS operations, along with Reserve personnel from MSC’s Expeditionary Port Units (EPU) 116 and 117. EPUs are highly mobile units that can quickly deploy to a contingency operation, establish port operations and manage the arrivals and departures of cargo ships in port. Coordinating with Army counterparts from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), individuals from the EPUs worked ashore to support the JLOTS commander and, on board Mendonca, to liaise for the ship’s master during load and offload operations.
Detailed history under construction.
Paul J. Marcello
23 December 2015
