USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7)

- formerly USS RAINIER AOE 7 -
- Military Sealift Command -
- deactivated -

USNS RAINIER was one of the biggest supply ships in the world and the second AOE in the SUPPLY-class. RAINIER was decommissioned on August 29, 2003, and was transferred to the Military Sealift Command where she was placed back in service as a "United States Naval Ship." As a US Naval Ship, RAINIER did no longer carry the weapons systems she previously (as "USS RAINIER") was equipped with. One of these systems was the Phalanx CIWS. The RAINIER served under Military Sealift Control for another 13 years until she was placed out of service on September 30, 2016. Subsequently held in reserve at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., she was stricken from the Navy list on September 15, 2022.

General Characteristics:	Keel Laid: May 31, 1990
	Launched: September 28, 1991
	Commissioning: January 21, 1995
	Decommissioning: August 29, 2003
	MSC "in service": August 29, 2003
	Deactivated: September 30, 2016
	Builder: National Steel and Shipbuilding Company San Diego, California
	Propulsion System: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines
	Propellers: two
	Length: 754,6 feet (230 meters)
	Beam: 107 feet (32.6 meters)
	Draft: 39 feet (11.9 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 48,800 tons
	Speed: 26 knots
	Aircraft: two CH-46
	Armament: none
	Crew: 176 civilians, 59 military

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS / USNS RAINIER. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

Click here to view the list.

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USS / USNS RAINIER Cruise Books:

WestPac Cruise Book 1998-99

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

Dark Blue and gold are the colors traditionally associated with the Navy. Gold is indicative of honor, excellence, and achievement. The dark blue of the shield stands for loyalty and reflects the sea, the theater of naval operations. White suggests integrity and purity of ideals. Black implies solidity. The chevron, a symbol of strength and support, alludes to the prow of the ship and the peak of Mt. Rainier, the ship's namesake. The black pellets characterize fuel and ammunition pointing to the ship's mission. The pellets are charged with twelve battle stars earned for World War II service in Korea and Vietnam. The three anchors, symbolic of maritime tradition, simulate the past and present ships.

The Crest:

Red symbolizes combat, valor and zeal. The colors red, yellow, and green are the colors associated with Vietnam. The Torii gate recalls service in Korea. The bamboo ammulled signifies continuous replenishment operations conducted off Vietnam. The crossed palm fronds represent the ship's extensive service in the South Pacific and portray strength, support, honor, and achievement.

The Motto:

A scroll azure dubbed and inscribed "LEGEND OF SERVICE" in gold.

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About the Ship's Name:

Mount Rainier, or "Tahoma" as it was named by the Northwest Native Americans, was named after then Rear Admiral Peter Rainier, R.N. in 1792 by Captain George Vancouver. Born in 1741, Peter Rainier entered the Royal Navy in 1756. He served on the HMS OXFORD, YARMOUTH, NORFOLK, and BURFORD. In 1790 he commanded the MONARCH and early in 1793 commissioned the SUFFOLK which had 74 guns.

In 1799 Peter Rainier was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral. He was stationed in the East Indies as Commodore and Commander-in-Chief until 1804. After his return to England and his retirement from active service, he continued to be consulted by the ministry on questions relating to the East India station. In 1805 he was advanced to the rank of Admiral. He became a member of Parliament in 1807 and died in 1808.

USS RAINIER is the third supply ship to bear the name of Mount Rainier, which is located in the state of Washington and is part of the Cascade mountain range. The mountain is a volcano born of fire and built up above the surrounding country by repeated eruptions and successive flows of lava. It is a relatively young volcano, only about one million years old. Mount Rainier is a 14,411 foot high volcanic peak along the west side of the Cascade Mountains. It is the fifth highest peak in the lower 48 states. On March 2, 1899 Mount Rainier became the fifth U.S. National Park.

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Notes of Interest:

USNS RAINIER’s cargo capacities:
- Diesel Fuel Marine (DFM): 1,965,600 gallons
- JP-5 Fuel: 2,620,800 gallons
- Bottled Gas: 800 bottles
- Ordnance Stowage: 1,800 tons
- Chill and Freeze Stowage: 400 tons
- Water: 20,000 gallons
- and much more
USNS RAINIER’s refueling rigs can pump up to 3,000 gallons of fuel per minute.

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History of USS / USNS RAINIER:

USS RAINIER was built as a SUPPLY-class fast combat support ship intended to combine the core underway logistics functions of an oiler, an ammunition ship, and a stores ship in a single, fast hull able to operate with carrier strike forces. The AOE 7 design effort was completed in February 1986, and steel fabrication for RAINIER began on August 16, 1989. The ship's official keel-laying was conducted on May 31, 1990. Construction followed a modular approach in which major hull sections were assembled with extensive piping, ventilation, shipboard hardware, machinery elements, generators, and electrical panels already installed, allowing the hull to be substantially complete by the time of launching.

RAINIER was launched on September 28, 1991, and the following years were spent completing outfitting and shipwide systems - electrical, plumbing, ventilation, equipment installation - and then conducting dockside and sea trials to demonstrate required capabilities and product quality. RAINIER was delivered on August 25, 1994, and commissioned as USS RAINIER on January 21, 1995. Her homeport in this period was Bremerton, Washington, and her early post-commissioning period focused on building the ship's operating rhythm and logistics proficiency through the work-up cycle that precedes overseas employment.

After completing preparations for overseas service, USS RAINIER departed Bremerton as part of the USS KITTY HAWK (CV 63) Carrier Battle Group in November 1996 for her first deployment. In keeping with the class mission, she operated in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean to provide fuel and ammunition support to U.S. and allied naval forces conducting sustained forward operations in those waters. During this deployment, documented port visits included Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. After returning to Bremerton, the ship entered a recovery phase with reduced operations and then resumed a structured training cycle to prepare for the next overseas deployment. This training cycle included participation in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 1998, a large multinational exercise that brought together forces from more than a dozen countries and placed heavy emphasis on interoperability at sea - an especially relevant environment for a ship whose day-to-day purpose is to keep multiple task force units fueled, fed, and supplied while underway.

USS RAINIER deployed again in November 1998 for a second deployment to the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean, continuing the same core mission of sustaining U.S. and allied ships with fuel and ammunition deliveries. This time, she was assigned to the USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70) Carrier Battle Group. Port visits recorded for this deployment included Singapore, Thailand, Bali, and Darwin, Australia.

Following her return, the ship's next-cycle preparations included repairs and upgrades performed at Todd Shipyard in Seattle, after which she was expected to re-enter work-ups for subsequent operational commitments. USS RAINIER continued overseas deployments into the early 2000s and the ship's operational activity in these years was recognized with Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals associated with 1997, 1999, and 2001 - consistent with repeated forward tasking in expeditionary theaters.

In 2003, USS RAINIER supported Operation Iraqi Freedom by sustaining combatant vessels participating in the campaign. After completing repairs in Pearl Harbor, the ship returned to Bremerton in July 2003 to begin the transition out of commissioned Navy service. USS RAINIER was decommissioned on August 29, 2003. On the same date, she was placed in service with the Military Sealift Command and redesignated USNS RAINIER (T-AOE 7), shifting from a uniformed Navy crew to a civilian mariner crew model while retaining her role as a high-capacity, high-speed combat logistics ship supporting deployed fleets.

As USNS RAINIER, she continued to provide combat logistics services worldwide. One of the best-documented early MSC-era missions came in the aftermath of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, when the United States and partner nations mounted Operation Unified Assistance, a major multinational humanitarian response across the Indian Ocean littoral. During this operation, USNS RAINIER provided underway replenishment support to dozens of U.S., British, and Australian warships engaged in relief and logistics tasks, and her participation was recognized with a Humanitarian Service Award associated with 2005. In the mid-2000s, her day-to-day employment continued to center on replenishment operations with front-line units. Contemporary imagery documents her conducting underway replenishment evolutions with fleet units, reflecting the routine but strategically enabling work that allows carrier strike groups and their escorts to remain on station for extended periods without relying on frequent port calls.

In 2010, USNS RAINIER participated in Operation Southern Seas 2010, a U.S. Southern Command-directed operation designed to build multinational maritime operating experience. During this period, imagery and official captions document her operating in company with USS CARL VINSON and USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52) during at-sea evolutions, including replenishment-at-sea activity that supported the task force's extended operations. In September 2011, official documentation places USNS RAINIER with the USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74) Carrier Strike Group during its scheduled deployment to the western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf. Dated imagery from September 11, 2011 specifically shows her underway with USS JOHN C. STENNIS during a replenishment-at-sea evolution in the Indian Ocean, illustrating her direct integration into the strike group's sustainment plan during the deployment.

In 2012, USNS RAINIER was transferred to the San Diego homeport of the Pacific Fleet with a mission focus that included resupplying U.S. Navy vessels operating along the California coast and across the western Pacific operating areas as tasking required. By the mid-2010s, broader Navy and MSC force-structure decisions were reducing reliance on the aging fast combat support ship inventory, and USNS RAINIER's operational service approached its end. She was taken out of service on September 30, 2016, at Bremerton, Washington and placed Out of Service, In Reserve. In later administrative disposition, she was reported as stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on September 15, 2022, marking the formal removal from the active registry as the ship remained in inactive status.