ON THE WATER FRONT


Warrant Officer for Combined Arms Support Command.


The Logistics Support Vessel (LSV) class is the largest watercraft in the Army fleet. It is designed to provide the Army with heavy sustainment lift capability, deliver- ing combat vehicles and military cargo within a theater of operations and perform- ing tactical resupply missions to remote underdeveloped coastlines and inland waterways. The vessels are equipped with both bow and stern ramps, allowing for expedited loading and off-loading.


The LSV’s cargo load


capacity of


deck, with a pay- 2,000


tons, MOVING VEHICLES


The LSV cargo deck can accommodate any vehicle in the Army’s inventory. Here, SSG Eric Lehman, a boatswain assigned to the 163rd Transportation Detachment, loads a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck onto an LSV at Waipio Port, HI, Jan. 26, 2011. (Photo by SGT Karl Williams, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs.)


can


accommodate any vehicle in the Army’s inventory and has the capability to trans- port up to 24 M1 Abrams main battle tanks, or up to 50 double-stacked 20-foot ISO containers.


CONSOLIDATING UPGRADES When the LSV class was first fielded by the Army in 1988, it had an expected service life of 26 years, or until FY14. In 2007, PD AWS began to modernize six LSV-1 class vessels of the eight-ship LSV fleet, extending their service life to FY24. The two remaining LSV-7 class vessels required no Service Life Extension Program (SLEP), having been fielded more recently.


The 10-year SLEP allows the LSV plat- form to remain relevant, and to remain the Army’s in-theater workhorse when it comes to moving large amounts of cargo and equipment.


Given the importance of the LSV’s


mission and the high operations tempo in theater, removing just one of eight LSVs huge impact.


the from the battlefield has a


“Army watercraft is unique; you can’t pull them out of the fight and reset them like you would a tactical wheeled vehicle,” Fahey said. “The Army has tens of thou- sands of HMMWVs, so we can modify a certain amount without impacting the mission. Since the Army’s fleet of water- craft has such a low density, losing just one vessel to a SLEP effort can cause the entire fleet to become overtaxed.”


When we develop our SLEP acquisitions, we develop a strategy and execution plan to maximize the improvements made in the shortest amount of time possible, all within an affordable solution.


To accomplish this, PD AWS worked with partners


from the TACOM Life


Cycle Management Command’s Inte- grated Logistics Support Center to combine on-condition cyclic main- tenance (OCCM) with the SLEP modernization effort. LSV4 LTG Wil- liam B. Bunker, for example, recently completed an extensive nine-month combined OCCM and SLEP. This approach reduced the overall impact to the operational schedule


and


minimized the costs of the combined OCCM and SLEP program. During the SLEP, PD AWS conducted major engine overhauls, hull and struc- tural metal replacements, and other modifications while the LSV4 was in dry dock.


42


Army AL&T Magazine


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