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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USNS Safeguard (T-ARS-50)
ex
 USS Safeguard (ARS-50) (1985 - 2007)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Romeo - Uniform - Delta
 NRUD
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is left to right
Battle "E" Ribbon - National Defense Service Medal
Safeguard Class Rescue and Salvage Ship:
  • Laid down, 8 November 1982, at Peterson Builders, Sturgeon Bay, WI.
  • Launched, 12 November 1983
  • Commissioned USS Safeguard (ARS-50), 17 August 1985, LCDR Kenneth D. Harvey, USN, in command
  • USS Safeguard is assigned to COMNAVSURFPAC and is forward deployed at Sasebo, Japan
  • Decommissioned, 26 September 2007, at Sasebo, Japan and placed in service by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) as USNS Safeguard (T-ARS-50)
  • USNS Safeguard remains homeported at Sasebo and retains the same mission and operational capabilities as she did when commissioned
    Specifications:
    Displacement 2,633t.(lt) 3,282 t.(fl)
    Length 255'
    Beam 51'
    Draft 17' (max.)
    Speed 14 kts.
    Complement
    USS 6 Officers, 94 Enlisted
    USNS 26 CIVMAR, 4 USN
    Armament two MK-38 25mm chain guns, two .50 cal machine guns
    Propulsion four Caterpillar 399 diesel engines, two shafts, 4,200hp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed By
    /Source
    Safeguard 41k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 USS Safeguard (ARS-50) web site
    Safeguard 63k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from USS Safeguard web site.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Safeguard 54k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Carlos LaRochelle
    Safeguard 62k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) underway at her homeport of Sasebo, Japan, 12 June 2002.
    US Navy photo from the Navy Newsstand web site.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Safeguard 67k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) off the coast of Kyushu Island, Japan. 28 April 2002.
    US Navy photo # 020428-N-0000X-001 courtesy of Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force.    		 Navy Newsstand
    Safeguard 77k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) passes a Royal Thai Navy warship, 6 June 2003, on her way into the port of Sattaphip, Thailand. Safeguard participated in the Thailand phase of exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT). CARAT, a regularly scheduled series of bilateral military training exercises between the U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps team and counterparts from several Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries, is designed to enhance interoperability in a variety of mission areas of mutual benefit.
    US Navy photo # 030606-N-0493B-002 by LT. Chuck Bell, photo from Navy Newsstand web site.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Safeguard 72k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) lies to in the Java Sea, 4 July 2005, as a rigid hull inflatable boat approaches her during the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise. CARAT is a regularly scheduled series of bilateral military training exercises with several Southeast Asia nations designed to enhance interoperability of the respective sea services.
    US Navy photo # 050724-N-4772B-044 by JO2 Brian P. Biller.    		 Jack Treutle
    Safeguard 349k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) moves into position to come along side the guided missile frigate USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60) and the guided missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60) at the commercial port of Maura, Brunei Darussalam. The three ships, along with USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49), arrived in Brunei, 4 August and comprise the exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2005 task group. CARAT is an annual series of bilateral military training exercises with several Southeast Asian nations designed to enhance interoperability of the respective sea services.
    US Navy photo # 050804-N-4104L-025 Maura, Brunei Darussalam (Aug. 4, 2005) by JOC Melinda Larson.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Safeguard 494k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo for MSC web site.    		 Lee Wahler
    Safeguard 1407k USS Safeguard (ARS-50) military crew depart the ship as her commissioning pennant is hauled down and she is officially transfer to the Military Sealift Command (MSC).
    US Navy photo # 090726-N-4124C-058 SASEBO, Japan (Sept. 26, 2007) by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Adam R. Cole.    		 Lee Wahler
    Safeguard 210k A surface-to-air drone missiles sits on the deck of USNS Safeguard (T-ARS-50) before being launched as a target for Marine F/A-18s near Okinawa, March 2008.
    US Navy photo    		 Bill Gonyo
    View the USS Safeguard (ARS-50) / USNS Safeguard (T-ARS-50)
    Histories/Command Operations Reports located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Commanding Officers
    LCDR.Harvey, Kenneth Dale 17 August 1985– 8 August 1987
    LCDR Ricahard R. Wells 8 August 1987–3 September 1987
    LCDR Michael John O'Moore 3 September 1987–13 July 1990
    LCDR Donald J. Oswald Jr. 13 July 1990–20 July 1992
    LCDR George William Fleck 20 July 1992–15 September 1994
    CDR Michael D. Freeman 15 September 1994–18 October 1994
    LCDR David Douglas Belt 18 October 1994–3 September 1996
    CDR Peter Kent Webb 3 September 1996–15 January 1999
    LCDR John Gerald Gray Jr. 15 January 1999–5 December 2000
    LCDR Paul Mitchell Ross 5 December 2000–26 June 2001
    LCDR Paul Joseph Lyons 26 June 2001–18 July 2003
    LCDR Marvin Edward Thompson III 18 July 2003–21 April 2005
    LCDR Doyle Kendall Hodges 21 April 2005–26 September 2007

    Special thanks to Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors
    US Navy Fact File - Rescue and Salvage Ships - ARS
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Salvage Ship (ARS) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 3 December 2008