1994年1月27日，海军部长约翰·h·道尔顿今天宣布，一种新型的海运船将以娱乐明星鲍勃·霍普的名字命名。美国海军“鲍勃·霍普号”将成为由路易斯安那州新奥尔良市埃文戴尔工业公司建造的新型“鲍勃·霍普号”海运船的领航船。多达六艘新船，称为大型、中速、滚装/滚装船，预计将与计划在1998年初投入服务的领头船一起建造。在宣布这一消息时，道尔顿称霍普先生是一位“军事英雄”，并表示“我们永远无法报答他为男女军人所做的贡献，但我们可以用以他的名字命名的一级战舰来表达我们的感激之情。”这是我们向回忆表达谢意的方式。”这艘领头的军舰被命名为鲍勃·霍普，以纪念他50多年来对驻扎在世界各地的美国军队的支持。随着美国海军鲍勃·霍普号服役，这位著名的艺人的精神将在未来的许多年里继续支持美国军队。这些舰艇将是非战斗舰艇，由海军军事海运司令部的文职船员驾驶，用于部署坦克、卡车和其他轮式车辆，以及支持陆军重型旅所需的补给。他们将成为新成立的海上旅的一部分，这是一支由八艘舰艇组成的部队，旨在在中东和远东的潜在应急区域附近部署陆军重型装备。这些船被命名为T-AKR 300级，长度约950英尺，速度最高可达24节。 The contract for the lead ship was awarded in September 1993 and called for one ship at a cost of $265 million and included options for up to five additional ships at a total cost of $1.3 billion. The keel of the Bob Hope is scheduled to be laid in June 1995 with an estimated launching of January 1997 and delivery to the Navy in September 1997. This new sealift class is part of a major shipbuilding and conversion program which will add up to nineteen sealift ships to expand the nation's transportation capacity for DoD cargo -- an increasingly important asset as U.S. overseas bases close. Recommendations to expand sealift emerged from a Congressionally mandated mobility requirements study released in 1992. The report recommended that DoD add the equivalent of five million square feet of sealift capability to ensure adequate at-sea prepositioning and surge shipping of U.S. military cargo. In addition to the Bob Hope class ships, contracts for other sealift ships have been awarded in 1993 including a $1.3 billion contract to the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) for one new construction ship plus an option for up to five additional ships, a $426 million contract to Newport News Shipyard for two converted ships and a $635 million contract to NASSCO for three converted ships. -USN-