USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) is the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 in her class

Emory S. Land class submarine tender

The Emory S. Land class submarine tender is a class of three submarine tenders in the United States Navy. is the lead ship in the class, the others are and ....

 of submarine tender

Submarine tender

A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...

s in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. She was named for Admiral Emory S. Land

Emory S. Land

Vice Admiral Emory Scott Land was an officer in the United States Navy, noted for his contributions to naval architecture, particularly in submarine design. Notable assignments included serving as Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair during the 1930s, and as Chairman of the U.S...

.

The ship provides food, electricity, water, consumable, spare parts, medical, dental, disbursing, mail, legal services, ordnance, and any parts or equipment repair that a submarine may require. To accomplish this, the ship has a physical plant similar to that of a small town, including 53 different specialized shops.

Service history

It was the second ship in the fleet to have women serve aboard her and the first ship to have a Drug Dog Detection unit permanently assigned to her. Originally homeported in Norfolk Virginia. When she deployed from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard her first port of call was Oakland California from there she cruised to Acapulco Mexico before arriving inport Norfolk Virginia. She spent time in refresher training at Guantanamo Bay Cuba.

In September 1980, Emory S. Land deployed to the Pacific Fleet

United States Pacific Fleet

The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...

 to provide services to the Indian Ocean Battle Group. She made two Port Calls in Spain,(Palma Majorca and Malaga) and Haifa Israel before arriving in Diego Garcia. In July 1986, Emory S. Land operated as Officer in Tactical Command

Officer in Tactical Command

Officer in Tactical Command is a NATO term used to designate the naval officer exercising tactical command of a group of ships in a tactical formation such as a task unit, task group, or task force....

 of four United States ships and five foreign ships in transit from the Virginia Capes

Virginia Capes

The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....

 operating area to the New York Harbor

New York Harbor

New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...

 where she participated in the International Naval Review and Fourth of July Statue of Liberty Rededication ceremonies. In August 1987, Emory S. Land operated as the tactical and communications platform for Submarine Squadron 8 and Submarine Squadron 6 to work both with and against a surface combatant group.

In 1988, Emory S. Land was underway and deployed for 182 days. During the deployment, the ship steamed 26011 nautical miles (48,172 km) and circumnavigated the world. Port visits included Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

; Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Port Said

Port Said

Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

; Muscat, Oman

Muscat, Oman

Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...

; Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

; and Rodman

Rodman

-Places in the United States:* Rodman, Iowa* Rodman, New York* Rodman Mountains, California* Rodman Reservoir, Florida-People:* Rodman "Rod" Serling, television host* Dennis Rodman, former NBA basketball player* Isaac P...

, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

. During her 92 days anchored in the North Arabian Sea, she tended the surface combatants of Joint Task Force Middle East and Carrier Battle Group operating in the North Arabian Sea.

In July 1993, Emory S. Land served as the Commander, Submarine Group 2 flagship during a port visit to Boston, and was the host ship for a visit by the Commanding-In-Chief, Russian Northern Fleet and three visiting Russian ships.

Since her commissioning

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

, Emory S. Land has received two Meritorious Unit Commendation

Meritorious Unit Commendation

The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions....

s, the Navy Expeditionary Medal

Navy Expeditionary Medal

The Navy Expeditionary Medal is an award of the United States Navy which was first created in August 1936 by General Orders of the Department of the Navy...

, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States military, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy...

 and four Battle Efficiency Award

Battle Efficiency Award

The Battle Effectiveness Award , commonly known as the Battle "E", is awarded annually to the small number of U.S...

s in addition to numerous departmental awards. The ship won the Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial for Large Ship Food Service Excellence in 1985 and 1995, the Safety "S" award for 1995, and the Red "DC" in 1995.

USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) (ESL), returned to its homeport May 30, 2007 after a seven-day visit to the nation of Montenegro. ESL is only the third U.S. Naval ship to visit Montenegro since the United States began diplomatic relations with the country in 2006.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2007/06/mil-070601-nns08.htm

Emory S. Land served at La Maddalena

La Maddalena

La Maddalena is a town and comune located on the island with the same name, in northern Sardinia, part of the province of Olbia-Tempio, Italy.-The town:...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 as the sole permanently assigned vessel in Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet's Submarine Group 8 from June, 1999, until 30 September 2007, on which date she departed for Bremerton, Washington

Bremerton, Washington

Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...

, where she underwent a conversion to a hybrid US Navy/Military Sealift Command crew. She departed Bremerton, Washington on June 14, 2010 and after port calls in Hawaii, Guam and Singapore, arrived in her new homeport of Diego Garcia on August 14, 2010.

The ship's skipper, Captain Eric Merrill, was removed from command on 21 June 2011 after the ship struck a channel buoy at Mina Salman, Bahrain earlier that same month. The ship was damaged in the collision.

External links

• Official site
• navsource.org: USS Emory S. Land
• TenderTale
• U.S. Naval Register
• Navy News
• USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) command histories – Naval History & Heritage Command