SS ''PFC Eugene A. Obregon'' (T-AK-3006), (former SS ''PFC'' ''Eugene A. Obregon'' (AK-3006) and USNS ''PFC Eugene A. Obregon'' (T-AK-3006)), is the second ship of the built in 1982. The ship is named after Private First Class Eugene A. Obregon, an American Marine who was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Construction and commissioning

The ship was built in 1982 at the Sun Shipbuilding,

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. She was put into the service of Waterman Steamship Corp. as ''Thomas Heyward''. In 1985, she was acquired and chartered by the Navy under a long-term contract as SS ''PFC'' ''Eugene A. Obregon'' (AK-3006). The ship underwent conversion at the National Steel and Shipbuilding,

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. In January 2010, ''PFC'' ''Eugene A. Obregon'' was put into the Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron 1, based in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. On 14 September later that year, she arrived in the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

. She was later transferred to the

Military Sealift Command The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

Surge Sealift as USNS ''PFC'' ''Eugene A. Obregon'' (T-AK-3006) from 1 October 2012. Crowley Government Services Inc. was awarded $14,513,105 to maintain USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat (T-AK-3016), USNS Sgt. Matej Kocak (T-AK-3005), USNS Maj. Stephen W. Pless (T-AK-3007) and ''PFC Eugene A. Obregon'' on 29 September 2020. On 21 March 2023, ''PFC Eugene A. Obregon'', with the remaining two ships in the class, was stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK 3006) Sgt. Matej Kocak-class cargo ship 1982 ships Ships built in Chester, Pennsylvania Merchant ships of the United States