FEBRUARY 19, 2024 – The former Military Sealift Command Expeditionary Sea Base USS John L. Canley (ESB 6) was commissioned by the Navy at Naval Air Station North Island today.
Over 1,200 people attended the ceremony including members of the Canley family, Marines who served with John Canley, family friends, shipyard and Navy employees, and ship crew members. The crowd was joined by a group of distinguished guests that included Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro; Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford; Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ruiz; Canley Commanding Officer, Capt. Thomas Mays; Canley’s Civil Service Master, Capt. Austin Hamby; and Commander, Military Sealift Command Pacific, Capt. Micah Murphy.
The ceremony was filled with traditions including a 19- gun salute, setting the ship’s pennant, manning the first watch and bringing the ship to life.
The 784 foot ship honors Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley, a United States Marine who distinguished himself in battle during the Viet Nam war, in January/February 1968, during the Battle of Huế, with Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines.
Canley was originally awarded the Navy Cross but this was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, fifty years after the battle, making him the first living Black Marine to receive the nation’s highest military decoration for valor. The only previous Black recipients in the Marine Corps who received the medal posthumously.
Canley is the fourth Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) variant of the Expeditionary Transfer Dock platform. ESBs are highly flexible platforms that provide logistics movement from sea to shore supporting a broad range of military operations.
The ESB variant is designed around four core capabilities: aviation, berthing, equipment staging area, and command and control.
“To anyone who had anything to do with the building of this ship, I say, ‘The Marines are ready to get on it, and get to it!’” said Ruiz.
Canley was christened June 25, 2022, at the General Dynamic NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, Calif., and delivered into the MSC fleet, where it underwent testing leading up to its commissioning into the Navy fleet.
The commissioning of the ship as a United States Ship will make it a more versatile and flexible warfighting machine, capable of a variety of sea missions. The ship operates with a hybrid crew of military personnel and civil service mariners.
“It is my firm believe that USS John L. Canley will serve as an example to everyone who serves on this ship, or passes in her wake,” said Del Toro.
MSC directs and supports operations for approximately 140 civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships at sea, conduct specialized missions, preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, perform a variety of support services, and move military equipment and supplies to deployed U.S. forces.
Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024, MSC exists to support the joint warfighter across the full spectrum of military operations, with a workforce that includes approximately 6,000 Civil Service Mariners and 1,100 contract mariners, supported by 1,500 shore staff and 1,400 active duty and reserve military personnel.
Story by Sarah Cannon
Military Sealift Command Pacific