The Navy will be granting all of their Expeditionary Sea Base ships designation to act as warships. In 2017 the USS Lewis B. was commissioned to be a warship while en route to the Middle East due to scenarios that the vessel was expected to encounter. This declaration is now applying to the entire ship class in order to provide “greater operational flexibility to employ this platform in accordance with the laws of armed conflict,” said Navy spokesman Lt. Tim Pietrack. The ESB class will now operate with a hybrid crew wearing blue and gold uniforms made up of an O-6 Navy captain, five officers, 96 enlisted sailors, and 44 civilian mariners from the MSC.
The Crossroads of Special Operations
