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:''See USS ''Pecos'' for other ships of the same name''.

USNS ''Pecos'' T-AO-197
Career
Ordered:
Laid down:	17 February 1988
Launched:	21 April 1990
Commissioned:	6 July 1990
Decommissioned:	n/a
Fate:	In service
General Characteristics
Displacement:	9,500 tons light; 42,382 tons full
Length:	677 ft (206 m)
Beam:	97 ft 5 in (30 m)
Draft:	35 ft (11 m)
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement:	Civilians: 18 Officers, 64 Merchant Seamen; Navy: 1 Officer, 20 Enlisted
Armament:	None

'USNS ''Pecos'' (T-AO-197)' is a ''Henry J. Kaiser''-class underway replenishment oiler operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy, and the third such ship to be named after the Pecos River.
''Pecos'' was laid down 17 February 1988 at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana; launched 21 April 1990; and delivered to the Navy and placed in service with MSC as USNS ''Pecos'' (T-AO-197) on 6 July 1990. The ship is equipped with a helicopter platform to allow for at-sea transfer of personnel and supplies. ''Pecos'' is currently part of the MSC Naval Auxiliary Force, MSC Pacific and has received the following awards: the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (twice), and the Southwest Asia Service Medal.
On 9 December 1999 a US Navy CH-46 helicopter crashed into the ''Pecos'' and sank while participating in a training mission. 7 of the 18 personnel on board the helicopter were lost in the accident.

Contents

References

External links

References

★ T-AO-197 ''Pecos''

★ CNN.com: Search intensifies for 7 Marines after helicopter crash

External links

★ Footage from YouTube of the CH-47 accident on 9 DEC 1999.

★ CNN.com article regarding the CH-46 accident on 9 DEC 1999.