Operation Black Sheep

Operation Black Sheep Operation Black Sheep is a non profit organization based in Muskegon Michigan that has restored and operates PBR 7331.

This was done in part as a tribute to our Vietnam veterans but all veterans and civilians are welcome to come ride by appoinment

This morning we had a couple of volunteers put some anti fowling paint on 7331, then we were able to sneak into LST 393s...
05/31/2026

This morning we had a couple of volunteers put some anti fowling paint on 7331, then we were able to sneak into LST 393s D Day event a little late. We had quite a few people stop by to see the boat.

I was trying to get some shots of the sunset over the boat as we were working on it tonight. John wouldn’t get out of th...
05/30/2026

I was trying to get some shots of the sunset over the boat as we were working on it tonight. John wouldn’t get out of the shot. He kept puffing up his chest and talking about the gym. He is pretty spry for his age though. This guy has been helping us out three days so far this week and he will be back tomorrow. We had a couple of other volunteers join us tonight. Thank you for your help. We are finishing up the paint, getting a fresh coat below the water line. You may see us bring the boat to the LST 393 D Day Living History Event (5-30 downtown Muskegon) after the paint drys. I know we have a few people waiting for rides. We are very close. Hopefully we will be in the water this next week. We will schedule soon.

John and I spend enough time working together that we have started coordinating our outfits. Friday he and Robert finish...
05/24/2026

John and I spend enough time working together that we have started coordinating our outfits. Friday he and Robert finished up the glass work so we had the full crew out today for some painting and weapons cleaning. Thank you to all who helped out today. The boat is looking good.

We had a special guest on the PBR today. My wife showed up to bring us some paint thinner. Her showing up in nice clothe...
05/17/2026

We had a special guest on the PBR today. My wife showed up to bring us some paint thinner. Her showing up in nice clothes wasn’t going to stop us from putting her to work. Especially when she was just the right size to fit in the hole between the port engine and the hull. It rubs the lotion on the skin or it gets the hose! Don’t worry, she got the auto traders she wanted, and now we have that hard to reach area cleaned and painted. You can’t have the nice days on the water without the hard days on land. We are close. Thanks Dawn. Also hoping to tow the boat in the Memorial Day parade downtown Muskegon and possibly the truck in the parade in Fruitport that afternoon. If you would like to ride in the truck or the boat in a parade, get ahold of me.

The work continues. John and I dug in tonight. Hopefully the glass work will be done Saturday and it’s downhill from the...
05/14/2026

The work continues. John and I dug in tonight. Hopefully the glass work will be done Saturday and it’s downhill from there. Maybe we will even get lucky enough for it to be warm enough to boat this year. Spring has let us down

Before and after pictures of a fresh coat of paint. The biweekly work parties continue with some cleaning, painting, ele...
05/09/2026

Before and after pictures of a fresh coat of paint. The biweekly work parties continue with some cleaning, painting, electrical and Brandy was working on admin stuff for the reunion. We had a couple new volunteers show up this week to assist. We have plenty to do yet but will hopefully be in the water soon.

Robert’s favorite color!
04/30/2026

Robert’s favorite color!

Do you live near the Muskegon Michigan area and have a desire to work in a slow paced, low(no)pay environment? Do you ha...
04/30/2026

Do you live near the Muskegon Michigan area and have a desire to work in a slow paced, low(no)pay environment? Do you have some mechanical skills or can sometimes learn new things? Do you like being around Veterans, crude humor, and childish behavior? Do you enjoy being on the water and history? Are you passionate about profanity? If so, we would love to talk to you about joining our maintenance crew. We are short a couple of people with losing our friend Dan and Butters leaving. The bulk of the heavy lifting has been done. The boat runs great. At this point we are on to our “want to do list” which includes cleaning, painting, and upgrades to the boat, and preventive maintenance on the tow vehicle. I would love it if one of my National Guard Mechanic friends with M923 maintenance experience would like to join us. We are all volunteers so we work when it fits into our lives. Please contact me.

Do you not like childish behavior and profanity but still have an interest in volunteering at OBS? We could on occasion use more help at events, or depending on your skillset, we could use help in other areas as well, from adults, also feel free to contact us. We do have a place for people that act like normal people as well. Marketing, fundraising, help at events, etc.

We have some unfortunate news at OBS. We had to fire one of our volunteers. Sean Mitchell was harassing our other volunt...
04/26/2026

We have some unfortunate news at OBS. We had to fire one of our volunteers. Sean Mitchell was harassing our other volunteers, vandalizing the boat with a sharpie and constantly dropping parts and tools. It was time for him to go. This wasn’t a paid position so he won’t be getting any unemployment.

I am kidding. We aren’t firing Sean. The real unfortunate news is that Sean, also know as Butters because he is always dropping things, is leaving us. Sean came to us in late 2024. He jumped right in and helped with rebuilding of the pumps, engines, any work that needed to be done on the boat, Sean was there. He even gave his time to the Mark I crew to help with their pumps. Often Sean would drive over a half hour one way to help us multiple times a week.
He has been a huge asset. We were struggling with a few things when Sean showed up just at the right time. Now we are struggling because Butters has become a good friend and we have had a lot of fun together, and will miss him. He fit in the crew very well and was able to add to the sarcasm, and harassment that is part of our childish work culture here.

The reason Butter is leaving is because he has been accepted into the Navy nuclear program so he will get to go work on boats much bigger than 7331. His enlistment starts early next month when he will head down to Great Lakes Naval Training Center.

So please join us in congratulating Sean on this accomplishment and thanking him for the countless hours he has given us.

Butters we hope to see you back with the OBS crew when your adventure with the Navy is done, and wish you the best of luck. Thank you for everything you have done and for becoming our friend.

Today we surprised our resident PBR veteran with a PRC-25 radio. I had asked John a while ago what would make the boat m...
04/25/2026

Today we surprised our resident PBR veteran with a PRC-25 radio. I had asked John a while ago what would make the boat more authentic. A radio was one of his suggestions.

Hopefully we can talk our local radio expert into making this functional.

Address

560 Mart Street
Muskegon, MI
49440

Telephone

(231) 571-8576

Website

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