Counsel, Military Sealift Command(MSC)

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is a major Navy Command and a component of the joint service U.S. Transportation Command. MSC is responsible for a variety of missions, including providing strategic sealift for the Department of Defense, direct fleet support to the Navy combatant fleet, and conducting special missions involving the operation of ships for Department of Defense components. MSC is unique in that it is both a fleet operational agency and a procurement activity. MSC operates a fleet of approximately 140 Government-owned and privately-owned Government chartered ships consisting of dry cargo vessels, tankers, naval auxiliary ships, and special project ships. The special project ships conduct missions such as ocean research for the Oceanographer of the Navy, missile tracking for National Aeronautics & Space Administration, and cable laying and repair operations for the Navy and the United States Air Force. MSC's Government-owned ships are operated either by civil service mariners or contract operators who employ private sector mariners. For those Government ships operated by civil servants, MSC contracts for ship repairs, supplies and services. MSC also procures ships from private owners under contracts called "charter parties."

The Headquarters of MSC is at the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. There are sixteen attorneys assigned to Headquarters, MSC, with twelve in field offices, located on the West and East Coasts and overseas. Because MSC is comparable to both a private shipping company and a volume shipper, the legal and contractual issues addressed by MSC attorneys involve a wide range of procurement and operational problems. Consequently, MSC attorneys must not only be familiar with Government contract law, fiscal law, civilian personnel law and standards of conduct, but must also have a knowledge of admiralty law, maritime regulatory law, and maritime industry practices.

For additional information on MSC and the Counsel for the Military Sealift Command, go to www.msc.navy.mil.