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United States Naval Ship or USNS is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy.
Overview
United States Naval Ships are usually auxiliary support vessels owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by Military Sealift Command. They are crewed by civilian mariners rather than U.S. Navy personnel, although some ships include a small military complement to carry out communication and special mission functions, or for force protection. In comparison, U.S. Navy ships commissioned into service have the designation USS and are crewed by U.S. Navy personnel; commissioned and held in property by the United States Government. A few Navy ships have hybrid crews of both uniformed Navy personnel and Civil Service Mariners; these ships are usually designated USNS, but can also be designated USS as in the case with Submarine Tenders and Command Ships.