SIU members continue answering their call to duty as part of the nation’s fourth arm of defense by sailing aboard military support ships involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).As of press time for the Seafarers LOG, the following 15 SIU-crewed vessels were among those on the high seas supporting our troops involved in the ongoing sealift component of OIF: USNS Chesapeake, Northern Lights, Westward Venture, USNS Pomeroy, USNS Red Cloud, USNS Sisler, Cape Douglas, USNS Watkins, Cape Decision, USNS Pililaau, USNS Bob Hope, USNS Fisher, USNS Seay, USNS Benavidez and the USNS Denebola.
For Seafarers, the current stage of OIF is the continuation of a mission that began with pre-war mobilizations for the all-out combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. As SIU President Michael Sacco recently noted, Seafarers “are proud to continue serving as part of America’s fourth arm of defense. Our members are the best-trained seafarers in the world, and I know for a fact that they are patriotic men and women who are ready, willing and able to deliver the goods—anytime, anywhere.”
Numerous military officers have commended the U.S. Merchant Marine’s role in OIF— an operation repeatedly described as the most efficient sealift effort in America’s history. For example, addressing mariners at a shipboard ceremony, the commander of the U.S. Military Sealift Command, Vice Admiral David L. Brewer, stated, “We have prevailed because you answered your nation’s call. You built a steel bridge of democracy from the USA to the Coast of Kuwait.”
At another ceremony last November in Baltimore, Brewer along with General Robert Magnus, assistant commandant, United States Marine Corps, and Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander, United States Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) expressed similar appreciation for the performance and reliability of U.S. crews.
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