A dockworker ties down a piece of equipment in the lower hold of United States Naval Ship (USNS) Gordon. The USNS Gordon is docked at Naval Weapons Station Charleston, South Carolina and is being loaded with heavy United States Army equipment. This is the first time that USNS Gordon will be loaded with an actual military load since being converted from a civilian cargo ship. USNS Gordon (T-AKR 296) is one of 19 Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ships, or LMSR, which will be built or converted to Military Sealift Command standards by the year 2001 to offset the shortage of available ships used to transport outsized military equipment. The ship can carry an entire US Army Armor Task...

The original finding aid described this photograph as:

[Complete] Scene Caption: A dockworker ties down a piece of equipment in the lower hold of United States Naval Ship (USNS) Gordon. The USNS Gordon is docked at Naval Weapons Station Charleston, South Carolina and is being loaded with heavy United States Army equipment. This is the first time that USNS Gordon will be loaded with an actual military load since being converted from a civilian cargo ship. USNS Gordon (T-AKR 296) is one of 19 Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ships, or LMSR, which will be built or converted to Military Sealift Command standards by the year 2001 to offset the shortage of available ships used to transport outsized military equipment. The ship can carry an entire US Army Armor Task Force, including up to 58 tanks, 48 other tracked vehicles and more than 900 trucks and other wheeled vehicles. It is more than 300 yards long and has a storage capacity of more than 300,000 square feet. The ship is named in honor of MASTER Sergeant Gary I. Gordon, US Army, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1994 for his gallantry in action in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Base: Naval Weapons Station Charleston

State: South Carolina (SC)

Country: United States Of America (USA)

Scene Camera Operator: A1C Gregory L. Davis, USAF

Release Status: Released to Public
Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files