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USNS Sisler (T-AKR 311)

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USNS SISLER is the second WATSON - class large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship (LMSR) and the first ship in the Navy named after U.S. Army 1st Lt. George K. Sisler.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USNS SISLER. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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About the Ship's Name:

USNS SISLER is named in honor of U.S. Army 1st Lt. George K. Sisler, (1937-1967), a native of Dexter, Mo. Sisler, born in Dexter, Mo., Sept. 19, 1937, was assigned to U.S. Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces as a military intelligence officer. 1st Lt. Sisler distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Sisler was the platoon leader/adviser to a Special United States/Vietnam exploitation force. While on patrol deep within enemy dominated territory, 1st Lt. Sisler's platoon was attacked from three sides by a company-sized enemy force.

1st Lt. Sisler quickly rallied his men, deployed them to a better defensive position, called for air strikes, and moved among his men to encourage and direct their efforts. Learning that two men had been wounded and were unable to pull back to the perimeter, 1st Lt. Sisler charged from the position through intense enemy fire to assist them. He reached the men and began carrying one of them back to the perimeter, when he was taken under more intensive weapons fired by the enemy. Laying down his wounded comrade, he killed three onrushing enemy soldiers by firing his rifle and silenced the enemy machine gun with a grenade.

As he returned the wounded man to the perimeter, the left flank of the position came under extremely heavy attack by the superior enemy force and several additional men of his platoon were quickly wounded. Realizing the need for instant action to prevent his position from being overrun, 1st Lt. Sisler picked up some grenades and charged single-handedly into the enemy onslaught, firing his weapon and throwing grenades. This singularly heroic action broke up the vicious assault and forced the enemy to begin withdrawing. Despite the continuing enemy fire, 1st Lt. Sisler was moving about the battlefield directing force and several additional men of his platoon were quickly wounded. His extraordinary leadership, infinite courage, and selfless concern for his men saved the lives of a number of his comrades. His actions reflect great credit upon himself and uphold the highest traditions of the military service.

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USNS SISLER History:

USNS SISLER was built as a WATSON-class large, medium-speed roll-on/roll-off (LMSR) cargo ship under the U.S. Navy's Strategic Sealift Program, a recapitalization effort driven by early-1990s sealift requirements studies that sought more capacity for moving and pre-positioning heavy equipment and sustainment cargo. National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego, California, received the construction contract on October 20, 1994, and the ship's keel was laid on April 15, 1997. On February 28, 1998, SISLER was christened at NASSCO in San Diego and launched the same day. NASSCO reported delivering SISLER to the U.S. Navy on October 2, 1998, after which the ship entered Military Sealift Command (MSC) service (commonly listed as December 1, 1998), operating with a civil-service/contract mariner crew model typical of MSC's surge and prepositioning logistics ships. In this role, SISLER's publicly documented activity is often captured only when it intersects with major exercises or newsworthy logistics milestones.

One such early, well-documented event occurred during the post-9/11 emphasis on "layered security" and interagency maritime homeland security procedures: from June 12-14, 2006, SISLER served as the simulated "vessel of interest" during Exercise FRONTIER SENTINEL off the U.S. Atlantic coast (reported as approximately 90 nautical miles east of Oregon Inlet, North Carolina). In that scenario, the U.S. Coast Guard led the event and, in a notable command-and-control arrangement, the guided-missile destroyer USS MAHAN (DDG 72) operated under U.S. Coast Guard tactical control for the maritime homeland security purpose being exercised. The cutter USCGC SENECA (WMEC 906) also participated, and the FBI joined to validate law-enforcement handover procedures in a simulated weapons-of-mass-destruction/radiation-alert context as boarding teams investigated SISLER's notional suspect cargo.

Much later, as NATO and partner interoperability in cold-weather operations remained a recurring focus for Norwegian-led high-north training, SISLER's presence was documented in connection with Exercise COLD RESPONSE 22: on February 12, 2022, SISLER transited the North Sea en route to Norway and arrived at Hammernesodden, Norway, to offload vehicles and cargo for the exercise. Imagery and captions tied the evolution to II Marine Expeditionary Force participation alongside NATO allies and partners, and described SISLER's mission in terms of globally positioned cargo supporting U.S. forces. Follow-on imagery dated February 15, 2022, showed equipment and vehicles staged at Hammernesodden in the lead-up to the broader exercise activity across Norway.

On July 27, 2023, SISLER was again documented while underway off the coast of Honduras: during a transit described by MSC as following a Panama Canal passage and proceeding toward a layberth in the U.S. Pacific Fleet area of responsibility, the ship supported deck landing qualification training for two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters assigned to U.S. Southern Command's 1-228th Aviation Regiment, conducting a high-tempo series of landings as part of that unit's training preparations for potential regional humanitarian-disaster response.

By 2025, SISLER's role as an afloat logistics node was highlighted in the Philippines during the annual U.S.-Philippines exercise BALIKATAN: a March 24, 2025, pier-side offload at Subic Bay, Philippines, was documented as part of logistics preparations, and on April 9, 2025, SISLER featured in a combined joint logistics over-the-shore (CJLOTS) evolution at Dingalan Bay, Philippines, integrating U.S. and Philippine capabilities and involving the U.S. Army vessel SSGT ROBERT T. KURODA (LSV-7), the Philippine Navy ship BRP WARAY, and U.S. Navy lighterage. BALIKATAN 2025 itself was reported as kicking off on April 21, 2025, and MSC imagery later in April described SISLER - identified as part of Commander, Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three - as operating in the Philippines conducting CJLOTS in direct support of the exercise, underscoring the ship's continuing employment as a large-scale RO/RO platform for moving and staging military vehicles, cargo, and associated sustainment in support of allied training and contingency readiness.

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USNS SISLER Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the SISLER at Norfolk, Va., on September 6, 2022.

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