When you think of the United States Army, you might picture soldiers on the ground, but do they have their own ships, too? Here’s what you need to know.
When the general public thinks about seagoing ships, the last branch of the United States military they think about is most likely the Army –maybe the Air Force. The Army’s primarily known for being integrated of military drones, operating main battle tanks like the M1 Abrams, and even helicopters such as the Black Hawk and Apache. The most water soldiers have to endure is crossing a small river or a creek, right? Wrong. Soldiers encounter many waterways they need to cross, but more than that, they require seagoing ships to transport equipment and personnel. They don’t just rely on Air Force cargo planes.
Which means the Army does have a fleet of its own ships, and it’s much larger than you realize. This fighting force has fleets of landing crafts, tug boats, barges, dredges, logistic support vessels, and aircraft repair ships. Soldiers aren’t challenging other vessels on the open seas, but its inventory isn’t small by any means. The Army has 132 vessels for cargo and logistic purposes. That’s nothing compared to the Navy’s more than 240 warships, but it’s not insignificant either.
Moreover, there are thousands of soldiers manning these vessels. Unlike the ships operated by the Navy for the U.S. Marine Corps, there are no sailors operating the Army’s ships. They’re technically soldiers, but they prefer the name «Army mariners.» The service started mothballing many of its boat units in 2019 until Congress called for a study.
