SIU members continue supporting U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, transporting key materiel aboard U.S.-flag vessels.As this issue of the Seafarers LOG went to press in mid-July, SIU members were sailing aboard approximately 20 ships mobilized for Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. While that number is far smaller than the 100-plus vessels activated during OIF’s peak in 2003, it still signifies America’s ongoing reliance on U.S. crews and U.S. ships to help carry out our nation’s missions around the world.
Those missions often include providing humanitarian aid following natural disasters, recently exemplified by members of the union’s Government Services Division aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy. The Mercy spent five months assisting victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Other SIU-crewed ships earlier in the year completed shorter operations in the relief effort.
It is perhaps a never-ending mystery within the industry that the U.S. Merchant Marine, while a vital part of America’s national and economic security since the country’s very beginnings, generally is lightly publicized beyond traditional maritime circles. Nevertheless, prominent American leaders past and present strongly have recognized the value of the U.S.-crewed, U.S.-flag fleet.
In his National Maritime Day proclamation this year, President Bush noted, “America’s merchant mariners make our Nation more secure and our economy stronger. Throughout our history, they have promoted commerce and protected our freedom…. Merchant mariners have also served in every conflict in our Nation’s history. The U.S. Merchant Marine helps provide our Nation’s Armed Forces with crucial supplies and equipment. These brave men and women demonstrate courage, love of country, and devotion to duty….”
Other officials including U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta; U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao; U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow; Gen. Richard Myers, U.S. Air Force, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. John Handy, U.S. Air Force, commander of the United States Transportation Command; and Vice Adm. David Brewer, U.S. Navy, commander of the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), have been equally vigorous in describing the U.S. Merchant Marine’s importance and reliability.
SIU members today continue earning such trust and accolades by answering the call to duty any time, anywhere. For instance, during the all-out combat phase of OIF, more than 2,000 Seafarers sailed in support of our troops. Some came under enemy fire while in port in Kuwait.
Together, they executed what has been described by top government and military leaders as the most efficient sealift operation in history. And they did so after willingly taking inoculations for anthrax and smallpox, as required by the Department of Defense.
The efficiency of the sealift operation is notable in part because 95 percent of the war fighter’s gear moves by sea, and U.S.-flag ships are at the core of the effort.
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