Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams Commissioned into U.S. Navy

US Navy lays keel for the 4th ESB
CHESAPEAKE BAY (Sept. 15, 2019) The Military Sealift Command expeditionary sea base USNS Hershel 'Woody' Williams (ESB 4) is at anchor in the Chesapeake Bay, Sept. 15, 2019 during mine countermeasure equipment testing. (U.S. Navy photo by Bill Mesta/Released)
The U.S. Navy commissioned the Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel 'Woody' Williams (ESB 4) on March 7 in Norfolk, Virginia.
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USS Hershel “Woody” Williams is the first ship to bear the name of Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Four Hershel Woodrow Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient recognized for heroism at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.

USS Hershel “Woody” Williams is optimized to support a variety of maritime-based missions and designed around four core capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and command and control assets. ESBs can be enhanced to meet special operations force missions through increased communications, aviation and unmanned aircraft system support.

About Expeditionary Sea Base – ESB

ARABIAN GULF (Nov. 1, 2018) An MH-53E Sea Dragon, from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 15, prepare to land on expeditionary mobile base platform ship USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3). Puller is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin J. Steinberg/Released)

Built by General Dynamics NASSCO, the Montford Point-class is comprised of five ships across two variants: expeditionary transfer dock and expeditionary sea base. USNS Montford Point (T-ESD 1), USNS John Glenn (T-ESD 2), USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) and USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) have been delivered to the fleet. Miguel Keith is the third platform of the ESB variant, and is scheduled to commission later this year.

The platform has an aviation hangar and flight deck that include four operating spots capable of landing MV-22 and MH-53E equivalent helicopters, accommodations, work spaces and ordnance storage for an embarked force. The platform will also provide enhanced command and control, communications, computers and intelligence capabilities to support embarked force mission planning and execution. The reconfigurable mission deck area can store embarked force equipment including mine sleds and rigid hull inflatable boats.

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