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Coast Guard Mission News

30 Jun 2022

USCG Awards Austal USA Stage 2 Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract

A recent aerial image of most of Austal USA's Mobile, Ala. facilities, including its new steel panel line addition. (Photo: Austal USA)

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a contract to build up to 11 medium-endurance Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S. Coast Guard.The initial $208.26 million award supports detail design and long lead-time material for one OPC, with options for production of up to 10 additional vessels, the Coast Guard announced on Thursday. The deal could be worth up to $3.33 billion if all options are exercised.The 11 Heritage class cutters, designated as Stage 2 of the overall OPC program, follow the first four OPCs being built by Florida shipbuilder Eastern Shipbuilding Group.

05 Apr 2022

Adm. Fagan Nominated as First Female USCG Commandant

Adm. Linda L. Fagan (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

President Joe Biden nominated Adm. Linda L. Fagan to serve as the 27th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Upon confirmation, Adm. Fagan will be the first woman to serve as Commandant of the Coast Guard.Adm. Fagan currently serves as the 32nd Vice Commandant, having assumed the duties on June 18, 2021. The Vice Commandant is the Vice Service Chief and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for executing the Commandant’s Strategic Intent, managing internal organizational governance, and serving as the Component Acquisition Executive.Previously, Adm.

04 May 2021

US Coast Guard Rolls Out New Mentoring Program

(Photo: Jonathan Lally / U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard launched an innovative and modernized approach to mentorship Saturday, to offer expanded leadership opportunities to the Coast Guard active duty, reserve and civilian workforce. The program goes beyond traditional mentoring and provides four types of mentoring tracks or connections tailored specifically to individual needs and scheduling preferences. Additionally, program participants will have the opportunity to network with people who work in a wide variety of fields across the organization.

19 Apr 2021

Fagan Nominated as USCG Vice Commandant

Vice Adm. Linda L. Fagan (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Vice Adm. Linda L. Fagan has been nominated by the White House to be the next Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. She would become the first Coast Guard female four-star admiral and the third woman to serve as Vice Commandant.Pending confirmation, Fagan is expected to relieve current Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Charles W. Ray on June 18.“Vice Adm. Fagan is an outstanding leader with 36 years of Coast Guard operations, policy-making, joint service, and interagency experience,” said Adm. Karl L. Schultz, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

04 Mar 2021

New Bill Aims to Boost Great Lakes Icebreaking

(Photo: Nick Gould / U.S. Coast Guard)

Lawmakers in the U.S. are reintroducing legislation aiming codify the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission on the Great Lakes and increase the icebreaking capacity of the Great Lakes fleet.“Inadequate icebreaking capacity in the Great Lakes is costing us thousands of American jobs and millions in business revenue. We must boost our icebreaking capacity in the Great Lakes to keep our maritime commerce moving,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who introduced the bipartisan Great…

16 Sep 2020

New Legislation Aims to Boost Great Lakes Icebreaking Capacity

File photo: The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw (WLBB-30) breaks ice and maintains Aids to Navigation across the Great Lakes. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

New legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will codify the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission on the Great Lakes and increase the icebreaking capacity of the Great Lakes fleet.The Great Lakes Winter Commerce Act aims to increase Great lakes icebreaking capacity, which the lawmakers say will help the businesses and workers that rely on the maritime industry to transport their goods to market and grow the regional economy.“In recent years…

13 Sep 2019

AI & Machine Learning, Possible Force Multipliers for the Coast Guard

© immimagery/Adobe Stock

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML): mention these two terms and the listener may instantly think of the ads displayed as you view your favorite online news site. This is one version of what AI/ML might be. Given the state of AI and ML research today, these advanced mathematical techniques represent something the U.S. Coast Guard should explore for mission application. To do this, common definitions need to be created, challenges understood, and practical use…

28 Feb 2019

Lessons Learned: the Bow Mariner Sinking

A crew from the Coast Guard Cutter Shearwater approaches a capsized lifeboat from the Bow Mariner. U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

The 570-foot Singapore-flagged chemical & oil tanker Bow Mariner sank 15 years ago when the ship caught fire and sustained two explosions, resulting in the deaths of 21 out of 27 crew members, 45-miles off the coast of Virginia, Feb. 28, 2004.The vessel was transporting over three million gallons of ethyl alcohol on a voyage from New York to Texas. It had previously carried methyl tert-butyl ether, MTBE, in its other 22 cargo tanks that were discharged in New York.The cause of…

30 Jan 2019

INSIGHTS: Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

Admiral Karl L. Schultz, the 26th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard.

Admiral Karl L. Schultz assumed the duties as the 26th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard on June 1, 2018. He previously served from August 2016 to May 2018 as Commander, Atlantic Area where he was the operational commander for all Coast Guard missions spanning five Coast Guard Districts and 40 states. Previous operational assignments include Sector Commander in Miami, Florida, as well as command tours aboard Cutters VENTUROUS, ACACIA and FARALLON. His senior staff assignments include Chief of the Office of Congressional and Governmental Affairs; Congressional Liaison to the U.S.

21 Jan 2019

USCG Arctic Satellites aim to Add Margin of Safety

SpaceX’s CRS-16 Mission.
Photo: Courtesy SpaceX

The U.S. Coast Guard’s mission of keeping the seas safe will soon get an additional boost from space with two polar satellites. The two satellites, called “cube satellites” or “cubesats” for their small size of about 60 square centimeters, or a little under 2 feet, will be part of a payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Nov. 28. Although the Coast Guard has used satellite technology for years, these two are the first to be entirely dedicated to a Coast Guard mission. The initiative is part of the U.S.

04 Nov 2018

The Forward-Facing Coast Guard

The US Coast Guard has published its Maritime Commerce Strategic Outlook. This forward-facing document should be read by everyone in the Coast Guard and by those associated with the US maritime sector. It is intended to guide the Service’s efforts in securing the strategically critical maritime transportation system (MTS) and the marine environment. To accomplish this, the Coast Guard must be Semper Paratus – Always Ready, as it has been for most of its 228 years. The Coast Guard must also be relevant – ready and able to accomplish the tasks important to the MTS and marine environment.

26 Jul 2018

House Approves Save Our Seas Act

© p_gangler / Adobe Stock

New legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday aims to address maritime transportation safety issues raised by the El Faro sinking, promote the U.S. Coast Guard’s awareness of technologies that could help improve service mission performance, and reduce marine debris.The Save Our Seas Act (S. 756), which was approved in the House by voice vote, combines several pieces of bipartisan legislation recently approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

23 Mar 2018

US Coast Guard to Discontinue Remaining DGPS Sites

The U.S. Coast Guard announced today it will discontinue broadcasts from its remaining 38 Differential GPS (DGPS) sites over the next three years, completing system reductions that began in 2016. The staged reduction of the remaining Coast Guard DGPS broadcast sites will begin in 2018 and end with the last broadcast of GPS corrections over medium frequency in 2020. The U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center has operated the Nationwide DGPS Service since 1999 to broadcast correction signals on marine radiobeacon frequencies to improve the accuracy and integrity to GPS-derived positions. Lt. Cmdr. “GPS provides sufficient positional accuracy to meet navigation requirements for harbor approaches and to position Federal Aids to Navigation,” Patterson said.

18 Sep 2017

ESG Awarded LLTM for USCG Offshore Patrol Cutter Program

Photo: ESG

The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) a Long Lead Time Material (LLTM) contract for the first Offshore Patrol Cutter, USCGC Argus (WMSM 915). The LLTM contract awarded on September 7, 2017 allows Eastern to move forward on an aggressive schedule to deliver a capable and affordable platform to meet the Coast Guard’s mission needs. The award includes main propulsion, machinery control, electrical and mechanical equipment orders that need to be placed…

16 Nov 2016

Tribute to the Seventh Coast Guard District

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its annual Tribute to the Seventh Coast Guard District will be held at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday, November 16, 2016. At the event, the Foundation will recognize Coast Guard Sector San Juan with the Coast Guard Foundation Award and will also recognize Joseph E. Farrell, Jr., president and CEO of Resolve Marine Group, for his support of the Coast Guard Foundation. Vice Admiral Karl Schultz, Commander of the Atlantic Area will be the keynote speaker and Reggie Rivers will emcee the event.

12 Oct 2016

Fairbanks Morse to Power USCG’s Offshore Patrol Cutters

Image: Vard

When the U.S. Coast Guard’s first new Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) is put to sea in 2021, it will be powered by diesel propulsion engines manufactured in Beloit, Wis., by Fairbanks Morse. The OPC will “provide a critical capability bridge” between the National Security Cutter which patrols the open ocean, and the Fast Response Cutter which serves closer to shore, according to the Coast Guard. The cutters operate independently or in task groups to conduct search and rescue, law enforcement, homeland security and defense missions.

10 Jun 2016

Hearing to Address US Coast Guard Needs

The U.S. Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), will hold a hearing next week on U.S. Coast Guard mission needs and a recently completed Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of how the Service allocates its resources.   The GAO report, entitled Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Improve Strategic Allocation of Assets and Determine Workforce Requirements, reviewed the extent to which the Coast Guard employs an effective process to strategically allocate assets to meet its mission responsibilities.  The release of the GAO report will coincide with Tuesday’s hearing.   The Subcommittee hearing, entitled, “Coast Guard Mission Needs and Resources Allocation,” is scheduled for Tuesday, June 14, 2016.

19 Dec 2015

Cuban Migrant Crisis: USCG Still Focused on Saving Lives

The crew could not have been separated from the dock for more than an hour. The thick salt air had barely filled their lungs. Cell phone towers in Key West, Florida, were still visible with a squint of an eye. A voice rang out on the back deck, “Two seven zero. Three hundred yards! A crewmember from Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South, Miami, had spotted what appeared to be Cuban nationals on a make-shift raft, headed for the U.S. The highly trained law enforcement official was one of two TACLET South team members sent to supplement the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Kathleen Moore, homeported in Key West. A voice rang through the 154-foot cutter, “Now set AMIO phase one!” Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations had begun.

07 Apr 2015

USCG to Trial Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) will evaluate unmanned aircraft system (UAS) capabilities, benefits, risks and technical limitations of operating UAS from land and/or off a Coast Guard Cutter in a maritime environment. The USCG said it intends to enter a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Conoco Phillips Company for the assessment, under which it will conduct flight testing and evaluation of UASs under a variety of simulated but realistic and relevant real-world maritime operational scenarios, such as ice operations, marine environmental monitoring, marine safety, search and rescue and potentially other coast guard mission sets.

08 Apr 2015

USCG Makes Headway in Challenging Waters

A patrol boat manned by members of Port Security Unit 311 deployed to Joint Task Force-Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, escorts the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf as it sails into Naval Base Guantanamo Bay.  The Coast Guard Cutter Waesche conducts at-sea refueling operations.  The Alameda-based cutter is named in honor of former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Russell Waesche.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew Roache)

Day after day, the U.S. Coast Guard continues to conduct its 11 statutory missions with its limited resources. It is challenged to Invest in long-term operational capacity while continuing to carry out its daily missions. “We’re a small service, but as always, we do punch above our weight class,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft during the 2015 Surface Navy Association symposium in Arlington, Virginia. While the Coast Guard may have drifted off course with its ambitious and holistic Deepwater recapitalization effort…

28 Apr 2015

Committee to Consider Coast Guard Authorization Bill

The U.S. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, chaired by U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), will mark up legislation this week that authorizes United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) funding levels for two years, and includes provisions to improve Coast Guard mission effectiveness, help modernize the service’s aging vessels and other assets, and reform U.S. maritime transportation laws. H.R. 1987 - The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 | Additional information about H.R. H.R. 1642 - To designate the building utilized as a United States courthouse located at 150 Reade Circle in Greenville, North Carolina, as the "Randy D.

28 May 2015

Coast Guard Foundation Hosts Annual Tribute

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its 11th Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard in Our Nation’s Capital will take place on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. The Honorable James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence and Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant of the Coast Guard will deliver keynote remarks. CNN’s Kyra Phillips, and Fox News’ John Roberts will emcee the event. The event is chaired by Coast Guard Foundation board members Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (Ret.) and Corrine Kosar. The seven living past commandants of the United States Coast Guard are honorary co-chairs of the event.

25 Sep 2014

Commandant Signs USCG Coast Guard Strategy Document

The US Coast Guard informs it has released the 'Coast Guard Western Hemisphere Strategy' under the signature of Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Paul F. "This morning I signed the Coast Guard Western Hemisphere Strategy. It addresses transnational threats and maritime challenges that threaten the security of our Nation, markets and oceans over the next 10 years. The Coast Guard is globally deployed, but our primary operating area remains in the Western Hemisphere. As we engage future challenges we must think strategically to best position our resources to leverage our unique authorities, capabilities and partnerships to achieve national objectives across the range of Coast Guard missions. Today our nation faces significant emerging threats on our southern borders and transit zones.