The ship is called for Non-public First Class Robert Ernest Simanek, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for shielding fellow Marines from a grenade on the Battle of Bunker Hill through the Korean Warfare. The Medal of Honor was offered to him by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a White Home ceremony in 1953.
Simanek not too long ago handed away on August 1, 2022. Along with the Medal of Honor, he obtained a Purple Coronary heart award, the Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the United Nations Service Medal and the Nationwide Protection Service Medal. His daughter, Ann Simanek, is the sponsor of the ship and attended the keel laying ceremony.
“We’re honored this ship will rejoice the late Robert E. Simanek’s legacy as a Medal of Honor recipient and Korean Warfare veteran and his dedication to our nation,” stated Tim Roberts, Strategic and Theater Sealift program supervisor, Program Government Workplace Ships. “ESBs present a vital functionality to the fleet and supply for elevated flexibility.”
Expeditionary Sea Base ships are extremely versatile platforms used throughout a broad vary of navy operations supporting a number of operational phases. Appearing as a cellular sea base, they’re part of the vital entry infrastructure that helps the deployment of forces and provides to supply prepositioned tools and sustainment with adaptable distribution functionality.
These ships assist Aviation Mine Countermeasure and Particular Operations Drive missions. Along with the flight deck, the ESB has a hangar with two aviation working spots able to dealing with MH-53E equal helicopters, lodging, workspaces, and ordnance storage for embarked drive, enhanced command, management, communications, computer systems, and intelligence (C4I). These ships assist embarked drive mission planning and execution and has a reconfigurable mission deck space to retailer embarked drive tools, together with mine sleds and Inflexible Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs).
In 2019, the Navy determined to fee all Expeditionary Sea Base ships to permit them to conduct a broader and extra deadly mission set in comparison with authentic plans for them to function with a USNS designation. A Navy O-6 instructions ESBs and a hybrid-manned crew of navy personnel and Navy Sealift Command civilian mariners. This crew make-up supplies combatant commanders with elevated operational flexibility in using the platform.
Building of the longer term USS John L. Canley (ESB 6) and the Navy’s John Lewis Class Fleet Replenishment Oilers (T-AO) are ongoing at GD-NASSCO.
As one of many Protection Division’s largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is answerable for executing the event and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, sealift ships, assist ships, boats, and craft.
