A future US Navy expeditionary sea base (ESB) class ship will be named USS John L. Canley.
On 10 November, Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite announced that ESB 6 will honor Medal of Honor Recipient Marine Corps Sergeant Major (Retired) John L. Canley.
Canley was awarded the nation’s highest honor 50 years after his actions serving as Company Gunnery Sergeant, Company A, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam from January 31 to February 6, 1968 during the Battle of Hue City.
“To honor the remarkable Vietnam generation on this 245 th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, ESB-6 will be named USS John L. Canley to honor a man who has exemplified all that has made our service strong, and our Nation thrive,” Braithwaite said.
“ESB vessels will deploy Marines of the future carrying the name of Marines of the past.”
The ESB 6 will be constructed by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, California.
The ESB ship class is highly flexible that may be used across a broad range of military operations supporting multiple operational phases, similar to the expeditionary transfer dock (ESD) class. Acting as a mobile sea base, they are part of the critical access infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces and supplies to provide prepositioned equipment and sustainment with flexible distribution.
USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), the first ESB delivered, along with follow ships Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) and Miguel Keith (ESB 5) , are being optimized to support a variety of maritime-based missions, including Special Operations Forces and Airborne Mine Counter Measures.