San Antonio Key to Counterpiracy Mission

SAN ANTONIO, At Sea --- Amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD-17), the flagship for Combined Task Force 151, is serving as an afloat forward staging base(AFSB) during its current counterpiracy mission.>> Fulfilling the role of an AFSB is one of the many mission areas the ship was specifically designed to perform.>> "We're able to embark and support a wide range of forces and equipment, and as the [executive officer], it is my job to ensure that these embarked units-- just like the crew -- have the resources and support they need to accomplish their assigned tasking," said Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kearns, San Antonio's executive officer.>> As an AFSB, the San Antonio brings a robust capability to the theater and task force commanders, and the breadth and depth of embarked forces currently on board San Antonio are a prime example. Those embarked on San Antonio from the Marine Corps are the 3rd platoon of the 26 Marine Expeditionary Unit's (MEU) 'Golf' Infantry Company, a military police detachment, and intelligence personnel.>> Others using the ship as an AFSB include an eight-man Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) that specializes in maritime interdiction operations, three HH-60H helicopters from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 3 that cross-decked from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), and members of Fleet Surgical Team 8 who bring a level-two surgical capability to the ship to deal with trauma, surgical, critical care and medical evacuation needs.>> "If you take all these forces that have been assembled on board San Antonio, you have an incredible breadth and depth of capabilities, training, and experience, and the synergistic manner in which we all are able to work together on an AFSB ship such as San Antonio acts as a force multiplier and allows us to accomplish much more together than we ever could independently," said Kearns.