USNS Schuyler Otis Bland ( T - AK - 277 ) USNS " Schuyler Otis Bland also known as SS " Schuyler Otis Bland is the only ship of the series C3 - S - DX1 ( Freedom - class ) . " Schuyler Otis Bland " was laid down , 9 May 1950 , as a Maritime Commission type ( C3 - S - DX1 ) , under Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 2918 ) , at Ingalls Shipbuilding , Pascagoula , MS . " Schuyler Otis Bland " was a prototype of the series C3 - S - DX1 and what was to have been the " Bland class " of cargo ships , but Maritime Administration designers conceived of the even more modern " Mariner class " following her construction . Following the acquisition of MARCOM by United States Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) in 1950 , the design was done as a C3 - S - 7 . She was launched January 30 , 1951 , and delivered to the Maritime Commission July 25 , 1951 . " Schuyler Otis Bland " was first assigned to the American President Lines under bareboat charter . She completed two round - the - world voyages before being transferred to the Waterman Steamship Corporation under a General Agency Agreement . On July 25 , 1952 , the C - 3 cargo ship went into the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Mobile , Ala . In 1957 , " Schuyler Otis Bland " was acquired by the US Navy for operation by American Mail Lines . The American Mail Line had acquired her to replace the , which had foundered in a violent North Pacific storm . In October 1959 , after more than two years with American Mail , she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia , Wash . On August 4 , 1961 , " USNS Schuyler Otis Bland " was delivered to the Navy , and on August 28 , assigned to the Military Sea Transport Service ( MSTS ) and placed in service as USNS " Schuyler Otis Bland " ( T - AK - 277 ) . " USNS Schuyler Otis Bland " departed San Francisco on September 28 , 1961 , to carry cargo to Bangkok , Saigon , Manila , Kaohsiung , and other Pacific ports , beginning over a decade of service supplying military logistic requirements throughout the world . Service in the Cold War and Vietnam War . In May 1962 , the Army Special Forces counter - insurgency school which was moved from Vietnam opened in Okinawa . According to Army Field Manual FM 31 - 15 , " Operations Against Irregular Forces " , May 1961 , The late author Sheldon H . Harris in his book " Factories of Death : Japanese Biological Warfare , 1932 - 1945 , and the American Cover Up " wrote : Sheldon H . Harris continued ; The logbook of " USNS Schuyler Otis Bland " was found by Michelle Gatz in 2012 and shows that the ship was carrying classified cargo that was offloaded under armed guard at White Beach , a U . S . Navy port on Okinawa ’ s east coast on April 25 , 1962 . The account in the ships logbook states that " Schuyler Otis Bland " brought classified cargo labeled " agriculture products " under armed guard to Vietnam , Okinawa , and Panama . The cargo was documented to include Agents Pink and Purple On August 1 , 1970 , the Military Sea Transportation Service became Military Sealift Command . and " Schuyler Otis Bland " was placed out of service in 1979 while at Guam . She was struck from the Naval Register , and transferred to MARAD for disposal . On November 28 , 1979 , she was sold for scrap to China Dismantled Vessel Trading Corporation , Kaohsiung , China for the price of $ 814 , 533 . 50