Kearsarge delivered 1,400 Marines to Afghanistan and was serving as the U.S. Central Command reserve force. To augment the Marines remaining on the ship, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ordered 400 Marines from the United States in support of the Kearsarge’s mission. The secretary has ordered the USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce – now in the Red Sea – to the Mediterranean. The Navy vessels “will provide us with capability for both emergency evacuations and humanitarian operations,” he said.
USS Ponce (LPD-15)
Type: Amphibious transport dock
Tonnage: 7,713 tons dwt
Displacement: 9,201 tons (light)
16,914 tons (full)
Length: 548 ft (167 m)w/l
569 ft (173 m) o/a
Beam: 84 ft (26 m) w/l
105 ft (32 m) extreme
Draft: 22 ft (6.7 m) navigational,
34 ft (10 m) ballasted
Propulsion: 2 × boilers, 2 × steam turbines, 2 × shafts, 24,000 shp (18,000 kW)
Speed: 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Boats and landing
craft carried: 1 × LCAC, or
1 × LCU, or
4 × LCM-8, or
9 × LCM-6, or
24 × AAV
Complement: 24 officers, 396 enlisted, 900 marines
Armament: 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 guns
2 × Phalanx CIWS
8 × .50-calibre machine guns
Aircraft carried: Up to six CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters
earlier
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