USS San Jose ( AFS - 7 ) USS " San Jose " ( AFS - 7 ) was a " Mars " - class combat stores ship acquired by the U . S . Navy ( USN ) in 1970 . She served as a Navy ship until November 1993 , and was involved in the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War . The ship was transferred to the Military Sealift Command ( MSC ) , and was redesignated USNS " San Jose " ( T - AFS - 7 ) . As an MSC vessel , " San Jose " was involved in the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce , the response to the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami , as well as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq . The ship was deactivated in 2010 , and is awaiting scrapping . Design and construction . " San Jose " was laid down on 8 March 1969 by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company , San Diego ; launched on 13 December 1969 ; christened by Mrs . Robert Ellis , III , for the sponsor , her mother , Mrs . George L . Murphy ; and commissioned on 23 October 1970 , Capt . James H . Morris in command . Operational history . United States Navy . Following commissioning and fitting out , " San Jose " , the first combat stores ship of the Pacific Fleet Service Force to receive the U - 1500 computer system , conducted training drills ; made a short cruise to Acapulco , Mexico , out of San Diego , California ; and carried out ship ' s qualification trials out of Long Beach , California , before steaming to her home port , Alameda , California , in February 1971 . Arriving on 10 February , she took on her first PACFILL ( Pacific Fleet Issue Load List ) stock , and , in March , completed final contract trials . Shakedown and availability followed . In July , she moved north to British Columbia to participate in the observance of that province ' s Centennial . August took her to Seattle , Washington . On 10 September , she received two UH - 46 helicopters from detachment HC - 3 ; and departed Alameda the next day for her first WestPac deployment . The stores ship arrived at Subic Bay , Philippines , on 27 September ; topped off her load ; and , on 4 October , departed for the Tonkin Gulf and her first line swing . On 6 October , she conducted her first simultaneous vertical replenishment , with her first underway replenishment of a carrier task group occurring the next day . From the Tonkin Gulf , " San Jose " delivered freight at Danang , Cam Ranh Bay , and Vung Tau ; then conducted underway replenishments off the southern coast of South Vietnam before moving on to a port visit at Singapore , whence she headed back to the Philippines to take on more cargo . " San Jose " returned to Subic Bay on 23 October and , by the end of November , had completed three more line swings . On 10 December , she completed her fifth line swing , and , at mid - month , commenced her sixth . The deployment to the western Pacific Ocean ended on 16 March 1972 , when she departed Subic Bay to return to the United States . Proceeding via Apra , Guam , and Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , she arrived in San Diego at the end of the month . " San Jose " resumed local operations out of San Diego , California , until redeploying to the U . S . 7th Fleet in late August . She arrived in Subic Bay on 12 September and , after nine months supporting the 7th Fleet in the Far East , departed Sasebo , Japan , on 11 June 1973 to return to the United States . She arrived at San Francisco , California , on the 22d and resumed local operations . Through June 1974 , " San Jose " continued to cruise the western coastline of the United States , based at San Francisco . Following the conclusion of US involvement in the Vietnam War , " San Jose " was awarded three battle stars for service during the conflict : Consolidation I , Consolidation II , and Vietnam Ceasefire . The ship was stationed at Naval Station Guam during the late 1980s and early 1990s to support the United States Seventh Fleet , along with sister ships and . During 1990 and 1991 , she served during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm , later known as the Persian Gulf War . Military Sealift Command . " San Jose " was transferred to Military Sealift Command on 2 November 1993 . She was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian - led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce from 25 to 31 October 1999 . In 2005 , " San Jose " provided logistics support to hospital ship in efforts to provide assistance to victims of the December 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia . " San Jose " most recently provided logistics support to Navy ships in the Persian Gulf supporting both Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom . Deactivation and fate . On 20 July 2009 , the US Navy announced that the ship would be inactivated on 27 January 2010 . As of 2010 , ' " San Jose " is awaiting scrapping .