Search the Site with

General Characteristics

Crew List

History

Image Gallery

to end of page

USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3)

USS LEWIS B. PULLER is the first Expeditionary Sea Base Ship derived from the MONTFORD POINT - class Expeditionary Transfer Docks. Initially designated as Mobile Landing Platform Ships (MLP), US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus officially announced the creation of a new ship designation effective September 4, 2015, and the LEWIS B. PULLER changed her designation from MLP 3 (for some reason the ship did not carry the "T-" prefix in its designation that typically identifies civilian-manned navy ships) to T-ESB 3. The ship entered service as USNS LEWIS B. PULLER (T-ESB 3) on June 12, 2015, and was operated by the Military Sealift Command. In mid-2017, LEWIS B. PULLER deployed to the Persian Gulf to replace USS PONCE (AFSB(I) 15) as Afloat Forward Staging Base in the area. However, to give the Navy a greater operational flexibility, the ship was commissioned at Bahrain as USS LEWIS B. PULLER (ESB 3) on August 17, 2017, making her the first US warship ever commissioned outside the United States.

USNS LEWIS B. PULLER is named after Lieutenant General Lewis "Chesty" Burwell Puller, a colorful veteran of the Korean fighting, four World War II campaigns and expeditionary service in China, Nicaragua and Haiti, and one of the most decorated Marines in the Corps, and the only Leatherneck ever to win the Navy Cross five times for heroism and gallantry in action. Promoted to his final rank and placed on the temporary disability retired list 1 November 1955, he died on 11 October 1971 in Hampton, Virginia after a long illness.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS LEWIS B. PULLER. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS LEWIS B. PULLER History:

USNS LEWIS B. PULLER entered U.S. Navy service on June 15, 2015, when the first Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) variant of the Mobile Landing Platform was delivered to the fleet by NASSCO in San Diego after completion of trials. Designed around aviation, berthing, staging, and command-and-control capabilities, the ship was purpose-built to host heavy rotary-wing mine countermeasures and special operations detachments.

During June 13-16, 2016, the ship put to sea from Naval Station Norfolk for airborne mine countermeasures training with Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron HM-15, refining procedures for MH-53E Sea Dragon operations and deck handling - an early proof of concept for the platform's intended mine warfare role.

LEWIS B. PULLER began her first operational deployment on July 10, 2017, departing Naval Station Norfolk to relieve the interim afloat staging base USS PONCE (AFSB 15) in the U.S. 5th Fleet and assume a persistent presence around the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Red Sea. The shift reflected U.S. priorities: secure choke points (Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb, Suez), deter Iranian harassment, and support counterterrorism and maritime security operations.

On August 17, 2017, at Khalifa bin Salman Port in Al Hidd, Bahrain, the ship was commissioned as USS LEWIS B. PULLER, changing status from USNS (T-ESB 3) to USS (ESB 3). This made her the first U.S.-built ship commissioned overseas, a step taken so that she could lawfully conduct tasks reserved to warships, including staging for mine countermeasures and certain special operations. Permanently forward-deployed in Bahrain with blue/gold crews, she became a fixture of 5th Fleet tasking.

In 2019, the ship's activity reflected the region's mix of counterterrorism and naval security missions. On May 20, 2019, while in the Gulf of Aden, Egyptian naval officers toured the ship's emergency resuscitative surgical system spaces - an exchange typical of Combined Maritime Forces engagement as coalition navies cooperated against piracy and illicit trafficking on the approaches to the Red Sea. On July 2, 2019, a CH-53E from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted flight operations from the ship in the Gulf of Aden, demonstrating the platform's ability to host heavy-lift U.S. Marine Corps aviation. On November 14, 2019, MV-22 Osprey landing qualifications with Special Purpose MAGTF-Crisis Response-CENTCOM validated another element of the ship's aviation flexibility for crisis response. On March 23-27, 2020, as regional tensions with Iran remained a persistent backdrop and as coalition maritime security operations continued around Yemen, U.S. Army AH-64E Apaches from 1-17 Cavalry completed deck-landing qualifications aboard the ship in the Arabian Gulf, followed by joint integration drills in which ESB 3 served as a landing base while surface units cued simulated targets. The guided-missile destroyer USS PAUL HAMILTON (DDG 60) and patrol coastals participated, an example of cross-service tactics to counter fast inshore attack craft. On April 15, 2020, eleven IRGC Navy boats conducted unsafe, close-quarters approaches toward ESB 3 and five other U.S. ships - PAUL HAMILTON, USS FIREBOLT (PC 10), USS SIROCCO (PC 6), USCGC WRANGELL, and USCGC MAUI - during such integration operations in the North Arabian Gulf, highlighting the routine risk of harassment U.S. shipping faced near Hormuz.

On July 1, 2020, the ship hosted combined U.S.-UAE aviation and maritime surface warfare training in the Arabian Gulf, with UAE pilots completing day/night deck landings and refueling aboard PULLER using CH-47F, Bell 407, AH-64D, and UH-60M helicopters - an interoperability milestone with a key Gulf security partner.

Through 2021, the ship's pattern of operations remained split between presence in the Arabian Gulf and transits to the Gulf of Oman and Red Sea in support of maritime security and coalition tasking. In March 2021, 5th Fleet noted ESB-3 and the dry cargo ship USNS CARL BRASHEAR (T-AKE 7) conducted an outbound Strait of Hormuz transit - a corridor where the U.S. sought to maintain assured access amid Iranian signaling. In November 2021, as NAVCENT emphasized layered defense and unmanned integration across the theater, ESB 3 continued deck operations with embarked HSC-26 helicopters.

On December 15, 2021, maritime security intersected with life-saving when the patrol craft USS SIROCCO rescued five mariners from an explosion aboard a suspected smuggling vessel in the Gulf of Oman and transferred them to ESB 3 for triage and onward medical evacuation to Oman. The case underscored how interdiction and safety-of-life at sea frequently blend in the region's law-of-the-sea operations.

In January 2022, the ship was photographed moored at Jebel Ali, Dubai, as she cycled logistics during a period of increased joint and partner events, including the large multinational International Maritime Exercise and a March 2, 2022 boarding-team exchange at sea with the Royal Navy and Pakistan Navy. On July 15, 2022, HSC-26 conducted flight operations from the ship in the Arabian Gulf. On August 14, she worked in the Red Sea - both typical of her shuttle between the Gulf and Bab al-Mandeb approaches. On August 22, 2022, while pierside in Bahrain, the gold crew held a change of command. That autumn, during exercise Iron Defender, U.S. and UAE forces integrated maritime and aviation capabilities with ESB 3 as a staging node - again emphasizing combined MCM and coastal defense scenarios. Between June 30 and July 10, 2022, the ship conducted voyage repair work at the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard (ASRY) in Bahrain, one of several in-theater maintenance periods that keep the forward-based hull ready without returning to CONUS.

On December 3, 2022, a U.S. boarding team from USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG 68) and U.S. Coast Guard cutter JOHN SCHEUERMAN intercepted a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman carrying 1.1 million rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition and other materiel from Iran to Yemen. ESB 3 played a logistics/support role in the subsequent handling and documentation of the contraband as part of the broader effort to interdict illicit arms to the Houthi movement. The U.S. later transferred quantities of lawfully seized Iranian ammunition to Ukraine in October 2023, illustrating how interdictions in CENTCOM can have wider strategic effects.

In 2023, ESB 3's underway rhythm continued. On July 16, 2023, she conducted a replenishment-at-sea with USNS AMELIA EARHART (T-AKE 6) in the Gulf of Oman. Images across that year and into 2024 show sustained flight operations and small-boat evolutions in 5th Fleet waters, reflecting routine maritime security and partner-capacity work.

In January 2024, U.S. Central Command announced that a nighttime interdiction launched from USS LEWIS B. PULLER in the Arabian Sea on January 11 seized Iranian-supplied ballistic missile and cruise missile components from a dhow - equipment bound for Yemen that violated U.N. Security Council resolutions. The boarding party's origin from ESB 3 underlined the ship's role as a mobile base for special operations and advanced visit-board-search-and-seizure teams during heightened Red Sea and Gulf tension driven by the regional spillover from the Israel-Hamas war and Houthi attacks on commercial shipping. In July 2024, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command announced a Navy Unit Commendation to several units for operations tied to that turbulent period. ESB 3 was among the ships listed.

In early 2025, imagery recorded AMELIA EARHART again delivering supplies by helicopter during a February 15 replenishment evolution with ESB 3. On April 4, 2025, the ship made a scheduled port visit to Cape Town, South Africa, during a transit under U.S. Sixth Fleet, an uncommon but illustrative swing away from the Gulf that allowed replenishment and regional engagement on Africa's southern coast before follow-on tasking.

Early on April 26, 2025, USS LEWIS B. PULLER transited the Strait of Gibraltar eastbound and later that day moored at East Quay in Malaga, Spain. On May 5, 2025, the ship moored at Berth K14 in Souda Bay, Greece - its new administrative homeport - for a routine port call. On May 27, 2025, LEWIS B. PULLER shifted to Parlatorio Wharf at Palumbo Shipyard in Valletta, Malta, to begin a Mid-term Availability (MTA); she entered Dry Dock #6 on June 21, 2025, then undocked and returned to Parlatorio Wharf in early August 2025.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS LEWIS B. PULLER Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Steven Collingwood and show the USNS LEWIS B. PULLER passing Fort Monroe after departure from Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on January 11, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USNS LEWIS B. PULLER at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on April 13, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USNS LEWIS B. PULLER at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 12, 2016.

back to top

Back to Expeditionary Sea Base Ships Page.

Back to Ships List.

Back to Selection Page.

Back to 1^st Page.