Prepositioning ship

Originally obtained for the United States Marine Corps (maritime) prepositioning ships carry the supplies to sustain a unit, whose personnel may fly in on passenger transport aircraft and man the equipment aboard the ships. The most common grouping is a squadron, which carries 30 days of supplies for a Marine Expeditionary Brigade, although there are prepositioning ships that carry ammunition for United States Air Force operations.

The ships are civilian-owned, and chartered by the United States Transportation Command. Depending on the area of operations, they may anchor at a secure forward location such as Guam or Diego Garcia, or may stay at sea, especially in the Mediterranean.