USS Navasota ( AO - 106 ) USS " Navasota " ( AO - 106 ) was an that served in the U . S . Navy from 1946 to 1973 , then transferred to the Military Sealift Command to continue service as United States Naval Ship USNS " Navasota " ( T - AO - 106 ) until taken out of service in 1992 . " Navasota " was sold for scrapping in 1995 . She was the only U . S . Navy ship to bear the name " Navasota " . Construction and commissioning . " Navasota " was laid down under Maritime Commission contract on 22 February 1945 as Maritime Commission hull 2702 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , Chester , Pennsylvania . She was launched on 30 August 1945 , sponsored by Mrs . A . Hahn , and commissioned on 27 February 1946 , Commander David H . McCluskey , USNR , in command . Operational history , 1946 – 63 . After three months of shakedown and training off the United States East Coast , " Navasota " steamed via the Panama Canal for Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , and the western Pacific Ocean . Assigned to Service Force , United States Pacific Fleet , she departed Pearl Harbor on 3 July 1946 to bring petroleum products from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific fleet . She stood out of Yokosuka , Japan , on 20 August 1946 for San Pedro , California , arriving on 2 September 1946 . For the next four months the oiler was in an operational training status , and on 30 January 1948 she again deployed to the Western Pacific . After serving as station ship at Tsingtao , China , from April through June 1948 , she returned to San Pedro , California , on 7 July 1948 , thence to Pearl Harbor in August 1948 . " Navasota " departed Pearl Harbor on 13 October 1948 , once again en route the Far East . She departed Yokosuka on 20 November 1948 for Tsingtao and remained on station until 30 December 1948 , when she sailed for California via Pearl Harbor . She arrived at Long Beach , California , on 19 January 1949 , steamed to Kodiak , Alaska on 1 February 1949 , returned to San Francisco on 25 February 1949 , and continued to operate on the west coast of the United States for the next year . " Navasota " again deployed to the Western Pacific on 1 May 1950 . When the North Koreans crossed the 38th Parallel on 25 June 1950 , beginning the Korean War , the oiler steamed for Korean waters to fuel Allied ships in the area . In late August 1950 she put in at Keelung , Formosa , but she was back in Korean waters to take part in the Inchon invasion on 15 September 1950 . She steamed for Pearl Harbor on 22 October 1950 and then for Japan via Kwajalein and Guam . Departing Japan on 16 December 1950 , she arrived at Long Beach on 30 December 1950 , only to return to the Far East on 31 March 1951 for further operations off Wonsan , Korea . During her Korean operations " Navasota " fueled ships in Subic Bay on Luzon in the Philippine Islands , in Buckner Bay on Okinawa , in the Pescadores Islands , in Formosa , in Japan , and in Korea . She returned to Long Beach for overhaul from October 1951 until February 1952 . The oiler operated off the U . S . West Coast until getting underway on 3 April 1952 for Sasebo , Japan , and resumption of her Korean fueling operations . She remained in the area of Wonsan and Songjin , Korea , for the next seven months and then returned to Long Beach , arriving there on 13 November 1952 . " Navasota " steamed from Long Beach on 2 February 1953 for Pearl Harbor to participate in Mercantile Convoy Exercise RES 53B , after which she called at Sasebo on 26 February 1953 to commence her fourth Pacific deployment . For the next seven months she conducted fueling operations in Korean waters . She was also used as station ship at Kaohsiung , Formosa , where she fueled units of the Formosa Straits Patrol until she headed for Long Beach on 3 September 1953 . For the next ten years " Navasota " continued to provide fueling services to the fleet through her annual Western Pacific deployments . In one overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard from February to May 1958 , all guns save her single 3 - inch ( 76 . 2 - mm ) mounts were removed . Highlights in this period included service as fuel ship during the nuclear weapons tests at Bikini Atoll in the summer of 1956 and her Western Pacific deployment of 1958 , when she refueled 174 ships from August through November while serving as station ship at Makung in the Pescadores . " Jumboization " , 1963 – 64 . Upon completion of her fifteenth Western Pacific deployment on 14 October 1963 , " Navasota " was scheduled for " jumboization " , the first oiler so designated . She steamed on 14 November 1963 for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton , Washington , for preliminary preparations , then entered Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Company , Plant No . 2 , Harbor Island , Seattle , Washington . for the conversion . Her new 394 - foot ( 120 . 1 m ) midsection was built in Kawasaki Dock Yard , Kobe , Japan , and towed to Seattle by the Japanese tug Daisho Maru No . 1 . The " jumboization " process consisted of five basic steps . First , the bow was removed and retained in the drydock while the rest of the ship was floated out . Next , the new section was floated in , raised , and joined to the bow . Third , the bridge structure was transferred to the new section by heavy lift crane on 9 January 1964 . Then the stern section was severed and retained in drydock while the old midsection was floated out . In the last step , the new section with bow and bridge structure attached , was floated into the dock , raised , and joined to the stern . Although replacement of the midsection was the single largest change in the $ 15 , 000 , 000 process , many other important improvements were made during the conversion . A major modification was made to the stern , including a new counterbalanced rudder , new stern casting and struts , and new shorter propeller shafts and stern tubes . The latest in fueling and replenishment at sea equipment was also added , including kingposts with outriggers , ram tensioned span wires and high lines , electric hydraulic winches , cargo elevators , helo pickup area , and sliding blocks and cargo drop reels at replenishment stations . New electric pumps , larger cargo piping , and double hose fueling rigs were also added , as well as a 4 , 500 - kilowatt auxiliary diesel generator plant , and more enclosed stowage space . Habitability was also improved . Her " jumboization " complete , " Navasota " left the shipyard on 28 December 1964 . 1965 – 75 . After upkeep and training , " Navasota " steamed 20 August 1965 on her sixteenth Western Pacific deployment , arriving at Subic Bay on 11 September 1965 and returning to Long Beach on 6 June 1966 . " Navasota " again steamed for the Western Pacific on 11 October 1966 . Arriving at Subic Bay on 3 November 1966 , she operated in the Gulf of Tonkin and in coastal waters off North and South Vietnam in support of United States Seventh Fleet warships conducting operations in the Vietnam War , with Subic Bay as her base of operations . The summer of 1967 brought the oiler back to Long Beach for upkeep and U . S . West Coast operations until she again deployed to the Western Pacific on 5 January 1968 to assume support duties for Seventh Fleet forces off Vietnam . Through at least 1970 she continued to deploy to the Western Pacific for six to eight months of each year , spending the remainder operating out of Long Beach as part of Service Force , Pacific Fleet , in support of United States First Fleet operations and Fleet Training Group , San Diego , California . " Navasota " was decommissioned on 13 August 1975 and transferred to the Military Sealift Command , in which she served as USNS " Navasota " ( T - AO - 106 ) until 1991 . Later career and disposition . " Navasota " began active service with the Military Sealift Command in 1975 . She was taken out of service in 1991 . " Navasota " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 January 1992 . She was sold for scrapping on 25 October 1995 . Battle Honors . USS " Navasota " received nine battle stars for her Korean War service and 14 campaign stars for her Vietnam War service .