United States Transportation Command

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NAPLES, Italy (USTCNS) --- NATO formally recognized Military Sealift Command, Europe, by awarding personnel who served with the command between Oct. 13, 1998, to Jan. 6, 2000, with the NATO medal for service with operations in relation to Kosovo.

MSC Europe's chief staff officer Navy Cmdr. Pete Lewis presented the awards in a Jan. 16 ceremony held at Naval Support Activity, Naples, Italy. Those receiving awards include Lee McCray, Fred Woody, Nancy Alfaro, Edward Baxter, Dennis Debraggio, Petty Officer 1st Class Alex Estella, Karl Nichols, Terry Perlich, Gerald Tomlin, Rose Guercia, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Sonia Sells. Cmdr. Lewis was also a recipient.

"I believe this award is highly deserved if you consider what this command has contributed to the success of the peacekeeping operation in Kosovo," MSC Europe commander Capt. Gary Ellis said. "Our ships continue to move the U.S. Army cargo in and out of theater, ensuring our forces have the best equipment available... we are certainly a big player."

From the onset of NATO air strikes against Serbia to the intervention of ground troops, MSC Europe provided vital logistic support.

On March 24, 1999, NATO air strikes against Serbia began in response to then President Slobodan Milosevic's rejection of the Rambouillet Accords-designed to bring peace and stability to Kosovo-as well as continued Serbian violence against Kosovo's Albanian ethnic majority.

At the time, more than 21,000 U.S. military personnel were involved in the air strikes with nearly 7,000 personnel ashore and 15,000 personnel afloat. MSCEUR's combat stores ships USNS Saturn, USNS Sirius, and oilers USNS Laramie and USNS Leroy Grumman provided food, fuel, and other logistic support to the Navy's combatant fleet when the air strikes began.

Alone, USNS Laramie delivered over seven million gallons of marine diesel fuel and over a million gallons of jet fuel, to U.S. forces participating in the Kosovo conflict.

Logistics prepositioning ship MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett, already prepositioned in the Mediterranean, off-loaded more than two-thirds of her cargo of U.S. Air Force ammunition containers in Nordenham, Germany, which was distributed to the U.K., Italy, and other locations within Germany-quickly replenishing the U.S. Air Force's stockpile in theater.

Meanwhile, chartered tankers Richard G. Matthiesen and Gus W. Darnell, along with a number of other chartered tankers, provided the massive amount of fuel used by shore-based aircraft to support NATO's air campaign.

Once the bombing ended and NATO stabilization forces began to roll into Kosovo, two of MSC's large, medium-speed roll-on/roll-off ships, USNS Bob Hope and USNS Soderman, brought in the vital equipment and supplies for the U.S. Army's deployment to the U.S.-controlled sector. The 900-plus foot ships have a combined 600,000 sq.ft. of cargo space and carry everything from tanks to helicopters.

Since then, MSC Europe's ships have completed scores of redeployment missions through ports in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Bourgas, Bulgaria, ensuring our fighting forces have the best equipment to maintain the peace.

"Congratulations to all on a job well done. You can all be very proud of the vital role you played in bringing peace to this troubled region," Ellis said.

(MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)

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