MSC honors mariners past and present
Ocean surveillance ship USNS Indomitable will be the backdrop for the ceremony. Retired Navy Capt. Thomas J. Hudner, a Korean War Medal of Honor recipient, will be the guest speaker for the event -- an American hero to honor American heroes.
Merchant mariners have been making the supreme sacrifice for the nation since before the United States was a nation. During the Revolutionary War, America's victorious fledgling navy was made up of merchant mariners and their ships, and merchant mariners have served with distinction in every American conflict since. Of all the services, the U.S. Merchant Marine's per capita fatality rate in World War II was second only to the Marine Corps.
Today's merchant mariners continue to be vital assets for Military Sealift Command and, by extension, the Navy and the Department of Defense.
MSC operates about 110 noncombatant ships daily around the world, all crewed by civilians -- both civil service mariners and contract mariners.
MSC ships provide critical food, fuel and supplies to Navy ships underway, keeping the fleet at sea and mission ready. MSC ships also perform myriad special missions for the Department of Defense, from surveying the world's oceans supporting counter drug operations. MSC ships preposition military equipment at sea near potential hotspots around the globe. Finally, MSC ships provide fast sealift of equipment and supplies for the Department of Defense both in peacetime and in war.
For more information about MSC, see the command web site at www.msc.navy.mil.
(MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
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