Hi Researchers,

Here's something of an odd request.  I need the e-mail address for the
*current* captain of the USS Bob Hope.  I understand that the ship is
currently crewed by civilian merchant marines, not the armed forces,
and I believe the crew are working through the Seafarer's
International Union.  I called the union and asked for an e-mail
address and they said they don't have it.  I need to get in touch with
one of the crew members on the ship.  The ship probably changes
captain every 3-4 months, so I need the address of the current
captain, or a generic address to the ship.

---

Clarification of Question by statestraveller-ga on 07 May 2003 11:31 PDT

Hello THX1138,

Many thanks for your research.  The format of the link you posted
appears to be what I'm looking for; civilians working on military
ships are often restricted to the slightly ludicrous 100-word message
in both messages that are sent to and received by them.  In the past
I've mailed these messages to the company who is employing the
merchant marine, who has forwarded it to the ship so I'm guessing once
I hit 'submit', this message will follow a similar route.  The message
is relayed to the captain, who distributes it to the employee; I've
also e-mailed captains directly before - the captain then prints the
message and hands it out.  However, the info at the bottom of the page
is for the US Navy, who is not the employer of the person I'm trying
to locate.  I sent a message on the system and await a response; I'm
not expecting a quick turnaround since messages are normally only
relayed once a day each way.  I appreciate your posting as a comment,
and I will let you know as soon as I know if it works so you can post
an answer.

-statestraveller

Hello statestraveller!

I'm glad that the process worked even though you have not as yet heard
from the recipient, yet.

The thing that finally got me the answer was realising that the "Bob
Hope" prefix is USNS and not USS, after that things began to fall into
place.

Anyway here is the answer again....

If you go to the link below and fill in the form your message should
get delivered to the individual you requested aboard the USNS Bob
Hope.
 
 
"MARSGRAMS TO PERSONNEL STATIONED ABOARD SHIPS" (includes "USNS Bob
Hope")
http://navymars.org/egram/egram2.html 


I hope you finally get a reply, and I relly appreciate you getting
back to me with the result of my research.

Very best regards

THX1138

Search strategy included:
"usns bob hope" 
://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=usns+bob+hope&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images

Exactly what I needed, and the researcher had me make sure it works
before charging me.  Great service.

Hello statestraveller-ga and thank you for your question,

At first I really doubted this was going to be possible for various
security reasons, however it seems there is a way!

If you go to the link below and fill in the form your message should
get delivered to the individual you requested aboard the USNS Bob
Hope.


"MARSGRAMS TO PERSONNEL STATIONED ABOARD SHIPS" (includes "USNS Bob
Hope")
http://navymars.org/egram/egram2.html

As I am a little unsure as to whether this will actually work, I have
posted this as a comment, however should it work, let me know (I'd be
very interested to know too!) and I will post it as an answer.

Very best regards and good luck.

THX1138

Search terms used
"usns bob hope"
://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=usns+bob+hope&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images

Oh, and I'm curious as to how you got this info from any of the links
kicked up when you type 'USNS Bob Hope' into google:-)

Hello again statestraveller-ga !

In fact the web site is within that search strategy (
://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=usns+bob+hope&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images
)

As can be seen from this search strategy..... (
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=+%22usns+bob+hope%22+MARSGRAMS&btnG=Google+Search
)

How did I find it? Sometimes I'm like 'a dog with an old bone' and
will not let something go unless I have found a solution. In other
words even though it was only a $2 I spent over an hour on it, more
for my own satisfaction than anything else :)

All the best, and I hope it works out for you :)

THX1138

THX1138 - I got a confirmation e-mail this morning that my message had
been sent to the individual concerned...no reply from him, but he may
not want to hear from me:-)  I suggest you post your comment as an
answer so you can get paid.  Thanks so much for the research.

statestraveller

Hello statestraveller

Thank you for the excellent rating and the 100% tip. I appreciate it very much :)

Very best regards, and good luck!

THX1138