USS Mauna Kea (AE-22) was a of the United States Navy that was laid down at the Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland on 6 May 1955; launched on 3 May 1956; sponsored by Mrs. Charles R. Brown; and commissioned on 30 March 1957, Captain Kenneth Loveland in command. The ship was decommissioned 30 June 1995 with over 38 years of active service. Mauna Kea was the oldest active ship in the Navy for a single week (USS Jason having been decommissioned on June 24th) prior to being decommissioned. Service history 1957–1965 Following shakedown, Mauna Kea, designed for rapid replenishment of ammunition at sea, reported for duty with ServRon 1 in the eastern Pacific. Into the fall of 1957 she serviced the 1st Fleet and in November made preparations for her first WestPac deployment. Sailing west, she reported to SevRon 3 at Sasebo, Japan, in December and commenced distributing the bullets of "beans, bullets, and black oil" to the ships of the 7th Fleet. From that time until 1965, she rotated between duties with the above‑noted service squadrons, participating while with the 7th Fleet, in SEATO exercises and in joint exercises with Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Nationalist Forces. 1965–1970 On 28 February 1965, the ammunition ship arrived at the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company yards, Seattle, Washington. There having reverted to in commission in Reserve status, Mauna Kea commenced FAST (Fast Automatic Shuttle Transfer System) conversion. Completion of this conversion, which would enable her to transfer a missile from her hold to the magazine of a missile‑firing ship in 90 seconds and allow her greater versatility in servicing the fleet with the addition of a helipad for vertical replenishment capabilities, was delayed for 8 months, because of strikes and lack of necessary parts, until June 1966. Then followed a fitting out period and intensive post-conversion shakedown exercises, which continued into the fall. By November she was again an active unit of the Pacific Fleet's Service Force and on 28 December she departed her home port of Concord, California, for her ninth WestPac deployment. Traveling westward, Mauna Kea arrived at Subic Bay, Philippines, 9 January 1967 to join ServRon 7. Four days later she departed Subic Bay for her first trip to the line off Vietnam. For the next six months she rearmed carrier groups on Yankee Station and cruisers and destroyers off South Vietnam. At the end of July,