Military Sealift Command Vessel, May 20

This past weekend, the USNS Howard O. Lorenzen (T-AGM-25), a 534-feet-long Missile Range Instrumentation Ship operated by the Military Sealift Command, departed Oregon via the Columbia River.  The ship, which operates in the Pacific Ocean, conducts missions sponsored by the U.S. Air Force. The USNS Howard O. Lorenzen is commanded by Capt. James White, U.S. Air Force Space Officer.  The ship weighs 12,642 long tons and is 534 feet (163 m) in length, with a beam of 89 feet (27 m). It is manned by a combined crew of 88 sailors and civilian mariners, and hosts embarked military and civilian technicians from other U.S. government agencies.  The USNS Howard O. Lorenzen is the latest vessel of the Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) three-missile-range instrumentation ships. The other two missile range instrumentation ships are the USNS Invincible and the USNS Observation Island.  According to naval-technology.com, the ship will be used for tracking and monitoring all missile launches and weapon tests carried out around the world.  Aviation assets from both the Oregon Army National Guard and the United States Coast Guard were able to monitor the ship’s movement down the lower Columbia River and across the Columbia Bar near Astoria, Ore., on May 16.