Coast Guardsman News

Bollinger Shipyards announced it has delivered the USCGC Maurice Jester to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla.. This is the 178th vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 52nd Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.Measuring in at 154-feet, FRCs have a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art C4ISR suite (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), and stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot…

Bollinger Shipyards delivered the USCGC Emlen Tunnell to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. It is the 168th vessel Bollinger has delivered to the USCG in 35 years and the 45th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.Named to honor Coast Guard hero and NFL great Emlen Tunnell, the cutter is the fourth of six FRCs to be home-ported in Manama, Bahrain, which will replace an aging 110-ft. Island Class Patrol Boats. The USCG ships are stationed in Bahrain…

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned North Carolina’s second Fast Response Cutter, the Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal, during a ceremony in Alexandria, Va., today.The 154-foot vessel was built by Bollinger Shipyards and is based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It was delivered to the Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. earlier this year.FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment that allow their…

Just two weeks after accepting the U.S. Coast Guard’s congratulations on a military career spanning almost three decades, Rob Nakama drove from Washington D.C. to Seattle to join Foss Maritime as the company’s Manager of Contingency Planning and Emergency Response. “I’ve been in the military for the majority of my life; the transition has been surreal,” he said. Nakama was born in Hawaii, growing up on the island of Maui as the son of a taro farmer who worked for the Aloha Poi Factory.

In 1950, International Falls, Minn., native Jim Briggs, shook hands with his fellow crewmembers and stepped off the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle with his seabag packed to the brim and strewn across his back. It would be 66 years until he returned. “They told me I always had a home there, and I could always come back,” Briggs said. The Eagle was built in 1936 by Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned as Horst Wessel. At the end of World War II, the ship was taken by the U.S. as a war prize and renamed Eagle. In 1946, a U.S.

Crewmembers of Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, Florida, offloaded 254 kilograms of cocaine and 3,662 pounds of marijuana interdicted in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation  Martillo worth an estimated wholesale value of $11.8 million, at Base Miami Beach, Friday. On Sept. 3, a maritime patrol aircraft reported a suspicious Panamanian flagged sailing vessel southeast of Nicaragua. Coast Guard Cutter Robert Yered arrived on scene and attempted to contact the vessel. With no response to radio calls, and the vessel not slowing down, the Robert Yered launched its smallboat with a law enforcement team and subsequently boarded the vessel after receiving permission from the Panamanian government.

Three Coast Guard cutter crews officially changed commands Thursday during a ceremony in Portsmouth at Sector Hampton Roads. The crews of Coast Guard Cutters Shearwater, Sea Horse and Cochito, 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boats homeported in Hampton Roads, bid farewell to departing officers-in-charge and welcomed aboard the incoming, during the unique, triple change-of-command ceremony. Master Chief Petty Officer Stephen Atchley was relieved as officer-in-charge of the Shearwater by Senior Chief Joseph Orlando. Atchley assumed command of the Cochito, replacing Master Chief Petty Officer Christopher Lombard. Master Chief Petty Officer Heath Jones was relieved as officer-in-charge of the Sea Horse by Lombard. Jones will go on to work as the command master chief for Sector Hampton Roads.

A Coast Guardsman was convicted and sentenced during a General Court-Martial in New Orleans, Thursday. Petty Officer 2nd Class Leonel Hinojosa, 32, was sentenced to reduction to E-1, confinement for two years, and a Dishonorable Discharge from the United States Coast Guard. While he is in confinement he forfeits the right to his pay and allowances. Hinojosa was convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice of two specifications of Article 92 (dereliction of duty), one specification of Article 107 (false official statement), three specifications of Article 120 (abusive sexual contact) and one specification of Article 128 (assault consummated by battery).

Coast Guardsmen and recruits gathered to remember the sacrifice of the Coast Guard’s only Medal of Honor recipient aboard Training Center Cape May, Saturday, Sept. 27. The crew of Training Center Cape May gathered at a statue erected in Douglas Munro’s honor to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Coast Guardsman’s death during World War II. Munro was killed at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, attempting to rescue 500 beleaguered Marines who had come under heavy enemy fire Sept. 27, 1942. Munro led a group of five Higgins boats ashore to evacuate the Marines, and placed his vessel between the enemy and the other rescue boats in order to cover the evacuating troops. Munro’s actions drew enemy fire away from the Marines, but Munro was shot and killed during the rescue attempt.

Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound Command Center was notified at approximately 5:20 p.m., via VHF Channel 16, that a 38-foot pleasure craft was tipped over with the motor still running and six mariners in the water just south of the Greenport Ferry North Terminal. Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick O’Halloran, 27, a boatswain’s mate at Station Chatham, was nearby on a private vessel and was the first on scene just 4 minutes later, to assist the mariners out of the water. “I’ve been in the Coast Guard for three years and it was unreal watching this happen in front of me,” said O’Halloran, a Shelter Island, N.Y., native. “I realized I needed to make sure they were safe and that the boat was away.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp delivered his final State of the Coast Guard address at Coast Guard Headquarters, St. Elizabeths Campus, Washington, D.C., Wednesday. Papp provided an overview of programs and issues of the last four years and also looked ahead to what the Coast Guard may face in the future. Papp mentioned progress in the Coast guard’s improvement of its sexual assault prevention and response program, citing the commitment of $5 million and 32 military and civilian billets to the effort and the creation of the Special Victims Counsel…

Three boaters whose vessel was taking on water 25 miles northeast of Ponce de Leon Inlet, Fla., Wednesday, arrived safely at Coast Guard Station Ponce De Leon Inlet at 4:39 p.m. Wednesday. Crewmembers assigned to Station Ponce de Leon Inlet came to the aid of the three men, who reported a crack in the hull of their 23-foot vessel, Mo Money, Wednesday morning. The men made a temporary repair, using a life jacket to patch the hole, but the flooding worsened as the vessel was transiting to shore so the Coast Guardsman and the one boater who remained on the Mo Money were transferred to the Coast Guard vessel. A second Coast Guard boatcrew from Station Ponce De Leon Inlet arrived on scene, passed over another de-watering pump, and towed the Mo Money to the Coast Guard Station.

The looming threat of small boats to national security calls into play some innovative options. Since the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 revealed a series of national security vulnerabilities, the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security have been exploring options to reduce these risks. One vulnerability that has proven difficult to address is that of an attack on U.S. assets and interests by small boats. The U.S. Air Force has recently conducted a successful test of its ability to neutralize and eliminate such a threat.

It was 1942 during the allied assault on French Morocco. Fireman 1st Class Paul Leaman Clark was a landing boat engineer attached to the USS Joseph T. Dickman supervising the unloading of soldiers and supplies from the transports on the beach. Early into the assault, Clark was unloading a transport when his boat was battered with machinegun fire; the bowman was mortally wounded and the coxswain was severely injured. Despite the perilous conditions, Clark took control of the boat and withdrew from the beach with the injured crewmember aboard.

She was a leader. She was a trailblazer. She was a lifesaver. She’s the namesake of the Coast Guard’s newest cutter – Margaret “Madge” Norvell. The Coast Guard welcomed their newest fast response cutter to the fleet this weekend as Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Norvell was commissioned in Miami. The cutter is the first in its class to be named after a Coast Guard heroine. Norvell, a member of the U.S. Lighthouse Service, first served at the Head of Passes Light as an assistant keeper from 1891 to 1896.

1894- President authorized the Revenue Cutter Service to enforce the Paris Award, which was concerned with the preservation of fur seals in Alaska. 1917- The United States declared war on Germany and joined the Allied Powers in World War I. The Coast Guard, which at that time consisted of 15 cruising cutters, 200 commissioned officers, and 5,000 warrant officers and enlisted men, became part of the U. S. Navy by Executive Order. The cutters immediately reported to their assigned naval districts for duty. Cutters provided armed parties to seize German ships that had been interned in U.S. ports. Coast Guard aviators were assigned to naval air stations in this country and abroad. One Coast Guardsman, First Lieutenant (Eng.) Charles E.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp delivered his first State of the Coast Guard address at Joint Base Bolling-Anacostia in Washington, D.C., Feb. Papp charted the course ahead for the Coast Guard, and announced the release of his Commandant’s Direction, which contains four priorities; Sustaining Mission Excellence, Recapitalizing and Building Capacity, Enhancing Crisis Response and Management, and Preparing for the Future. Papp also highlighted the Service’s accomplishments during his first eight months in command.

1906-In part due to the lobbying efforts of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York, Congress authorized the construction of a cutter "equipped to cruise for and destroy derelicts and obstructions to navigation" for the Revenue Cutter Service. The Service contracted with the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company to build this "derelict destroyer," which was christened USRC Seneca. She was commissioned in 1908. 1938- Lieutenant C. B. Olsen became the first Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He earned the award for "heroism in removing Lieutenant Colonel Gullion, U.S. Army, who was stricken with acute appendicitis, from the Army transport 'Republic'" after making an open-water landing near the freighter.

1894- President authorized the Revenue Cutter Service to enforce the Paris Award, which was concerned with the preservation of fur seals in Alaska. 1917- The United States declared war on Germany and joined the Allied Powers in World War I. The Coast Guard, which at that time consisted of 15 cruising cutters, 200 commissioned officers, and 5,000 warrant officers and enlisted men, became part of the U. S. Navy by Executive Order. The cutters immediately reported to their assigned naval districts for duty. Cutters provided armed parties to seize German ships that had been interned in U.S. ports. Coast Guard aviators were assigned to naval air stations in this country and abroad. One Coast Guardsman, First Lieutenant (Eng.) Charles E.

Coast Guard officials announced Friday that the first Sentinel-class cutter will bear the name Bernard C. Webber in honor of the legendary Coast Guard member. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service’s new 153-ft patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter’s name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty.

1881-At daylight the crew of Station No. 1, First District (Carrying Point Cove, West Quoddy Head, Maine), sighted a schooner at anchor some four miles east-southeast of the station. She did not appear to be in distress, and as no signal was made it was supposed she had simply anchored to await the abatement of the winds, which at the time was blowing strong from the northwest. The keeper ordered a close watch on the schooner, in case she should signal for assistance. At 11 a .m. the lookout observed a boat leave her side and attempt to reach land, but the gale was too much for it and the effort had to be abandoned. The boat returned to the schooner.

In this photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard, (counterclockwise from right) a Canadian coast guardsman and U.S. Coast Guardsmen Seaman Apprentice Anthony Kelley, Petty Officer 3rd Class Brian Abel and Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Wilkinson transfer Canadian coast guardsman Liam Jeffrey to U.S. Coast Guard Station Eastport's boat during a simulated search and rescue exercise in the Bay of Fundy off Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. Personnel from U.S.

Iraq's recovery depends on oil revenues, and the Khawr Abd Amaya Oil Terminal, better known here as KAAOT and the nearby larger Al Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT), are the platforms upon which Iraq's economy depends. Nearly all of Iraq's revenue comes from crude oil, and nearly all of it leaves the country here. These two crude oil transfer terminals in the Northern Arabian Gulf or 'NAG' can accommodate large tankers carrying Iraq's crude oil output that is pumped to the oil platforms (known as OPLATS) by pipeline from Basra.