Doug Fears News

Coast Guard Cmdr. Craig J. Wieschhorster took command of the medium-endurance Cutter Mohawk during a ceremony Thursday at Coast Guard Sector Key West. Coast Guard Atlantic Area chief of staff, Capt. Doug Fears presided over the change of command ceremony as Wieschhorster relieved Cmdr. Adam B. Morrison of the duties and responsibilities as 14th commanding officer of the Cutter Mohawk. “Although I leave the Cutter Mohawk with a heavy heart,” said Morrison, “I have trust in Cmdr. Morrison was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal recognizing his service and performance of duty. During Morrison’s successful two-year command, Cutter Mohawk’s crew achieved a number of operational successes.

Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, the first national security cutter homeported on the East Coast, entered into active service today at Union Pier Terminal in downtown Charleston. The commissioning ceremony for the Coast Guard’s largest and newest 418-foot cutter was presided by Vice Adm. William “Dean” Lee, Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander. Commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, delivered the keynote address. “Together with my shipmates, we’re beginning the most important milestones in the life of a cutter,” said Capt. Doug Fears, Hamilton’s commanding officer and the most senior member of the crew. While being “new” to the Coast Guard is the highlight of the ceremony, Cutter Hamilton’s most enthusiastic crewmembers are just as new to the Coast Guard.

The U.S Coast Guard christened its fourth National Security Cutter Saturday, during a ceremony at Ingalls Shipyards in Pascagoula, Miss. The cutter's sponsor, Linda Kapral Papp, led the time-honored tradition of breaking a champagne bottle on the cutter's bow, officially giving the cutter the name Hamilton. She was accompanied by Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp, who was the keynote speaker for the event. "A ship's sponsor is considered a permanent part of the ship's crew and an advocate for its continued service and well-being," said Linda Kapral Papp. The Hamilton was named after Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury and the driving force behind the establishment of the Revenue Cutter Service, a precursor to the modern U.S. Coast Guard.