Uso News

A senior chief petty officer assigned to Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) received the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award in a ceremony at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. Senior Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Carl M. Thompson was presented the award by Peter F. Fertig, President of The Bob Feller Act of Valor Award Foundation. The annual award was established by the Bob Feller Act of Valor Foundation in 2013 and is presented to three people who represent the important areas of Feller's life: his major league baseball career, his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame (NBHOF) and his service as a Navy chief petty officer.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announces its sponsorship of the annual USO Gala, which will take place tonight at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. HII's sponsorship will help enable the USO to continue its mission of lifting the spirits of troops and their families through the many programs the organization delivers to services members, their families and wounded warriors. "We are proud to sponsor the USO and help in any way possible to support its important mission," said HII President and CEO Mike Petters. "The USO does so much to improve the lives of our service men and women and their families around the world. This year the USO celebrates its 73rd anniversary.

The U.S. Navy's second joint high-speed vessel, USNS Choctaw County has arrived in Baltimore's Inner Harbor with SECNAV Ray Mabus to join  with other Navy ships to celebrate the Star-Spangled Spectacular, the 200th anniversary of the poem penned by Francis Scott Key that later became the national anthem. "The fact that Choctaw County is going to be one of the representatives of the Navy, showing the people of Baltimore and the people of America the new capabilities, showing them just how good our ships and our MSC mariners and our Sailors and Marines are, I think it's going to be wonderful," said Mabus. The ship's 20,000-square foot mission bay holds a Riverine Patrol Boat…

The recent slide in bunker prices has allowed owners to operate their ships at more profitable levels The Shipping Industry has recently benefited from falling oil prices. Fuel has always been a major cost for shipping companies, and the recent slide in prices has allowed them to operate at more profitable levels. The United States Oil Fund (USO) this year has fallen nearly 23 percent, while the Guggenheim Shipping ETF (SEA) is up over 6 percent over the same period according to a recent  Paragon Report that examines investing opportunities in the Shipping Industry and provides equity research on DryShips Inc. and Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. Access to the full Paragon Company reports can be found here.

USS IOWA Takes on Iowa Coins, Regains its Mast, Prepares for its Final Journey; The Battleship of Presidents will open as an interactive naval museum in Los Angeles. The time-honored tradition of adding coins to the mast of a ship for good luck took place as two Iowans stood atop a 205-foot-tall platform and dropped Iowa state quarters into the mast of the USS IOWA as it hung from a barge crane. Former Iowa legislator Jeff Lamberti of Ankeny and Becky Beach of Des Moines released a handful of coins into the mast shortly before eight welders reattached it to the historic battleship.

Two Florida brothers, Ralph and Robert Brown, will take to the high seas on the world's longest trans-Atlantic voyage in a 21-ft flats boat on June 27 to raise $3m for military charities in the name of fallen Marines. The I Am Second Wounded Hero Voyage Crossing the Atlantic Presented by Interstate Batteries will embark on a 48-day, 6,200-mile trip from Tampa, Fla., to Hamburg, Germany that includes 20 stops along the North American and European Atlantic coasts. The Browns will use the Intruder-21, the same vessel which landed them in the "Guinness Book of World Records" in 2007. The pair is out to prove the humble boat they designed and built, capable of sailing in two inches of water, can also weather the rough Atlantic seas.

The Honorable Gordon R. England, right, receives the oath of office during a short swearing in ceremony as the 73rd Secretary of the Navy. Administering the oath is Mr. John H. La Raia, Assistant for Administration to the Under Secretary of the Navy. Secretary England becomes only the second person in history to serve twice as the leader of the Navy Marine Corps Team and the first to serve in back to back terms. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Journalist Craig P. Strawser. England becomes…

The world and the American maritime industry have changed dramatically since one of America's darkest hours, World War II, when United Seamen's Service was born to aid exhausted, wounded and battle-traumatized merchant seafarers in faraway places and unsafe harbors. It was 1942, 65 years ago, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the maritime unions and management recognized the need to provide havens and facilities in more than 125 worldwide locations for rest, recreation and safety for those seafarers who carried troops and war materials to ports in the war zones. Today, while war zones still dot the world, technology has changed the way shipping does business.

The world and the American maritime industry have changed dramatically since one of America's darkest hours, World War II, when United Seamen's Service was born to aid exhausted, wounded and battle-traumatized merchant seafarers in faraway places and unsafe harbors. It was 1942, 65 years ago, when President Franklin D. ports in the war zones. Today, while war zones still dot the world, technology has changed the way shipping does business. Small, run-down harbors where ships stayed in port for weeks at a time are today sprawling clean computer-run facilities where the vessels may turn around in less than a day. Nevertheless, USS services are still needed in the eight strategic locations where the mission is continued and the commitment to the fourth arm of defense remains a constant.

The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) named Robert E. Kramek president elect of the organization at its recent Annual Maritime Technology Conference & Expo in Houston, Texas. Kramek, President and Chief Operating Officer of ABS will commence his term January 1, 2007, succeeding current SNAME President Dr. Roger H. Compton. Admiral Kramek is a former Commandant of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) from which he retired as a Four Star Admiral. Admiral Robert E. Kramek graduated with honors from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Academy with a B.S. in engineering in 1961 and attended postgraduate schools at the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Alaska.

From Commander, U.S. The Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR 300) honored its late namesake by doing what Bob Hope would have wanted – supporting the troops. USNS Bob Hope has been deployed for the past 81 days in the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the ship’s three main missions within the 5th Fleet area of responsibility, USNS Bob Hope transported nearly 38,912 tons of combat gear. “The officers and crew of USNS Bob Hope have been proud to carry almost 40,000 tons of equipment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom,” said the ship’s master, Capt. Joseph “David” Henderson Jr. “Some of the equipment was used to support units like the 101st Airborne, a unit Mr. Hope entertained 33 years ago in Hue City, Vietnam.