Buzby 25th Commander of Military Sealift
Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby became the 25th commander of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. The global command, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense - responsible for the operation of more than 110 civilian-crewed, noncombatant ships, which support military and humanitarian missions worldwide. Buzby, a 30-year Navy veteran, assumed command during a ceremony aboard Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort in Baltimore.
Military Sealift Wins Small Business Award
Military Sealift Command's small business program was formally recognized in a ceremony at the Pentagon where Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work presented the Secretary's Award for the Department of the Navy's Outstanding Small Business Program in fiscal year 2007 to MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly, Jr., and MSC Associate Director of Small Business Bradley D. Taylor. This is the first time MSC has received the award, which was created in 2002 to recognize a command's success in meeting its small business program targets and the implementation of its Small Business Improvement Plan. MSC awards approximately $400m of its $3b annual budget to small U.S. businesses.
MSC Ships & Crew Honored
The masters and crews of three Military Sealift Command ships were honored Nov. 7 at the annual United Seamen's Service Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards banquet in New York City. This event, attended by more than 730 maritime leaders, honored mariners aboard U.S. government-owned and other U.S. flagged ships who displayed outstanding seamanship, courage and devotion to duty at sea. Representatives from hospital ships USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy and Maritime Prepositioning Ship USNS GYSGT Fred W. Stockham received AOTOS Mariner's Plaques in recognition of humanitarian assistance and life-saving efforts. The masters and crews of hospital…
Mariners Receive Navy League Awards
Two Military Sealift Command civil service mariners - Boatswain Khalid Muhammad and 1st Assistant Engineer Theodore "Scotty" Robinson - were among 18 military and civilian members of the U.S. sea services honored Oct. 31 at the annual Navy League Sea Services Awards ceremony, held this year in Kansas City, Mo. Muhammad received the Able Seaman Oscar Chappell Award for Outstanding Maritime Stewardship for saving the life of a shipmate who suffered a medical emergency. When roused in the middle of the night by a loud crash coming from an adjoining stateroom, Muhammad immediately contacted bridge personnel to inform them of a potential medical emergency. Muhammad then obtained a key, entered the room and found a fellow mariner on the floor suffering convulsions.
MSC Announces Award Winners
Fleet replenishment oilers USNS Laramie and USNS Yukon, and rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp are the winners of Military Sealift Command’s 2008 Capt. David M. Cook Food Service Excellence Awards. MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly Jr. announced the winners in a message Tuesday, Jan. 22. Laramie won the award in the large ship East Coast category while Yukon took the honor for large ship West Coast. Grasp won the award in the small ship overall category. Winners will receive their awards April 5 at the prestigious International Food Service Executives Association Joint Military Food Service Awards banquet in Denver, Colo. Ten ships vied for the coveted award and competition was intense, according to Roberta Jio, chief of MSC's food service policy and procedures.
Navy to Christen USNS Richard E. Byrd
The Navy will christen the USNS Richard E. Byrd on May 15. The launching ceremony for the newest ship in the Lewis and Clark class of underway replenishment ships will be held at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego. The ship honors Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957), an explorer famous for his Antarctic expeditions and for leading the first expedition to fly over the North Pole. Like the legendary explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, for whom the first ship of the class was named, Byrd bravely volunteered to explore one of the most remote and harshest places on earth. Due to his unquenchable thirst for exploration, he provided substantial contributions to the world's understanding of the Antarctic. Following his graduation from the U.S.
