NCOA Leaders Attend USS New York Commissioning

 Following a trip up the east coast, the Navy’s newest amphibious transport dock, the USS New York, was commissioned in New York Harbor November 7.

 NCOA was represented at the special occasion by NCOA President Gene Overstreet, Chairman of the Board of Directors Paul Siverson and their spouses Jeanne Overstreet and Sylvia Siverson.

 The USS New York, forged with 7.5 tons of steel from the wreckage of New York’s Twin Towers, honors the city’s first responders in its motto, “Never Forget,” and its insignia, which features colors of the NYPD, NYFD and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with drops of blood representing fallen heroes. It docked in New York Nov. 2, pausing at the former site of the World Trade Center for a 21-gun salute for first responders and families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, who stood by onshore.

 Following a week of patriotic events and opportunities for members of the public and local dignitaries to view the ship firsthand, Saturday’s commissioning drew a crowd of between 6,000 and 10,000, including Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

 Siverson, said the event was awe-inspiring, a chance for the Marines and the city to shine.
“When they hoisted the colors up and the commissioning pennant, your heart just pumped,” Siverson said.  He and Overstreet, the 12th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (Ret), took the opportunity at the ceremony to meet and congratulate as many service members as they could.

 The USS New York, the fifth in a new class of ship designed to better accommodate the needs of Marines in amphibious combat, is expected to deploy sometime next year.