The Navy is ramping up its logistics capabilities in the High North and Arctic to better equip ships, submarines, aircraft and expeditionary forces in the region.

Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Sigonella coordinated for the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Patuxent and amphibious assault ship Kearsarge to deliver cargo and mail to Defence Munitions Crombie in Scotland and Tromso in Norway this month.
“Our port visit at DM Crombie was a first for a ship of our class,” said First Officer Josh Becker, Patuxent’s chief mate, in a Navy news release. “This is significant because it opens up a port on the east coast of Scotland for cargo and stores to service the North Sea area. Previously, our nearest options were in the Firth of Clyde on the west coast, which requires an extra day of transit to and from the North Sea.”

Capt. Douglas MacKenzie, commanding officer of the logistics center in Italy, foresees Defence Munitions Crombie growing into a “logistics center of gravity from which we can better facilitate end-to-end sustainment across Europe’s High North region.”

“Our ability to support ships like USNS Patuxent and USS Kearsarge at and from our site in Scotland are two concrete examples of NAVSUP’s expanding capabilities delivering holistic operational readiness to the Fleet where and when our deployed warfighters need it,” MacKenzie said in the release.