page_title: USS Sylvania (AFS-2)
section_title: 1980–1989
hierarchical_section_title: USS Sylvania (AFS-2) / Service history / 1980–1989
caption_attribution_description: The U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS Hué City (CG-66) and the combat support ship USS Sylvania (AFS-2) conduct an underway replenishment off the Virginia Capes.
context_page_description: USS Sylvania (AFS-2), a Mars-class combat stores ship, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named Sylvania.
  Sylvania was laid down on 18 August 1962 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California; launched on 10 August 1963; sponsored by Mrs. Cyrus R. Vance; and commissioned on 11 July 1964, with Captain Bernard A. Lienhard in command.
context_section_description: During the 1980s Syvlania was assigned to Service Squadron Four and Service Group Two.  Service Squadron Four consisted of nine logistic support ships assigned the vital mission of providing food, fuel, supplies, repair parts and ammunition to Naval units of the Second and Sixth Fleets.  In this capacity Sylvania assumed the duties of deployed, on-station combat stores ship in early 1980, again from May through November 1981, in 1983 where the ship received the Navy Expeditionary Medal for her participation in Sixth Fleet peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon, again over the Winter of 1983 and early 1984, and in late 1984.
  In 1985 Sylvania went through a major overhaul in Norfolk, Virginia in which all of its systems were upgraded and much needed repairs made.  This put her out of the deployment rotation for over a full year.  During this period USNS Sirius (T-AFS-8) was upgraded to be able to conduct full operations as a combat stores ship and was included in the Fleet AFS rotation.  In 1986, Sylvania successfully left overhaul and conducted replenishment operations and refresher training in the Caribbean.  This included training operations at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and ship visits to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and Nassau, Bahamas. While at Nassau, the ship was visited by actor Sidney Poitier.
  With her reentry to the Fleet, the East Coast combat stores complement now included Sylvania, USNS Sirius (T-AFS-8), USS Concord (AFS-5), and USS San Diego (AFS-6). Thus, while Sylvania's operational tempo prior to this time was to deploy every eight to twelve months, with five months on station, the period was lengthened to every twelve to fifteen months, with five months on station.  Yard overhaul and maintenance, at-sea refresher training, and local at-sea training operations were conducted between the periods deployed on station.  Thus, Sylvania deployed to the Mediterranean over the winter of 1986 and early 1987, and once again in early 1988.  In between deployments the ship conducted Second Fleet operations, visiting Miami, Florida, and attending Fleet Week in New York City.
  A typical monthly cycle for Sylvania in the Mediterranean during this period was for the ship to steam three or four thousand miles, delivering goods to between 40 and 70 ships.  On average, 2,000 to 3,000 pallets of material would be moved via underway replenishment, with roughly half being transferred by vertical replenishment via helicopter.  After an arduous three weeks the ship typically would visit a port for several days of recreation, maintenance, and resupply.  Typical ports included Málaga, Alicante, Torremolinos, Cartagena, Rota, and Palma, Spain; Toulon and Marseilles, France; Augusta Bay, Sicily and Naples, Italy; the British territory of Gibraltar; Haifa, Israel; Antalya, Turkey; and Piraeus, Greece.
caption: Sylvania with USS Hué City (CG-66) in 1993.
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