Alex Trelinski
A BIG United States warship is spending a few days docked in Malaga and has a freighter-style look about it- different from regular navy vessels seen in the area.
The ship is called USS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams- named after a decorated U.S. Marine Corps officer who died in 2022.
He received the military’s highest decoration- the Medal of Honour- for his heroism during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
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The vessel is a logistics ship, or ‘expeditionary mobile base’ which is used for military maritime transport tasks and also for civilian maritime transport.
That’s why it is shaped like a freighter with its two decks in the air and an impressive length of 239 metres.
The Hershel Williams is normally based in Suda Bay, Greece, and is assigned to the U.S. Africa Command’s area of operations (AFRICOM) to carry out missions in the Mediterranean and waters around Eastern, Southern and Western Africa, including the Gulf of Guinea.
Its crew is made up of a combination of Navy professionals and civilians from the Military Sealift Command which consists of 19 officers and 231 sailors.
They have some welcome days of leave in Malaga ahead of their next assignment.
