Release from Coast Guard Atlantic Area 

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March 2, 2023 

USCGC Decisive decommissioned after 55 years of service 

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Coast Guard decommissioned USCGC Decisive (WMEC 629) during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Thursday. 

Vice Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, presided over the ceremony honoring the 55 years of service Decisive and its crews provided to the Coast Guard. 

Commissioned in 1968, Decisive was the 15th of 16 Reliance-class medium endurance cutters built for search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction. It is the first 210-foot cutter to be decommissioned since USCGC Courageous (WMEC 622) and USCGC Durable (WMEC 628) in 2001. 

“Decisive is a special ship that has served many districts throughout its history,” said Cmdr. Aaron Delano-Johnson, commanding officer of Decisive. “With a variety of high-performing Coast Guard members with distinguished careers, Decisive boasted some of the finest crews throughout its tenure. Decisive has been a fixture in all four of its homeports, remaining durable and dependable throughout history. I personally want to thank the crew for their dedication and service to our great nation as they were instrumental to upholding the cutter’s motto of being dedicated to duty.” 

Decisive’s keel was laid on May 12, 1967, at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland. Decisive was launched Dec. 14, 1967, and commissioned Aug. 23, 1968. Following its commissioning in 1968, the ship was homeported in New Castle, New Hampshire. The cutter moved homeports several times during its tenure, including St. Petersburg, Florida and Pascagoula, Mississippi before its final assignment to Pensacola. 

During the cutter’s last year of service, the sunset crew of 12 officers and 62 enlisted members conducted high profile operations including assistance in the repatriation of over 400 migrants in a week’s time while patrolling the South Florida Straits. Decisive’s crew assisted with a 200 person mass migrant transfer, the largest single repatriation effort at the time since the 1980 Mariel Boatlift. 

“I am immensely honored being the final commanding officer of Decisive,” said Delano-Johnson. “As I pause and reflect, remembering the first time I saw the ship as a junior officer aboard a patrol boat in the Straits of Florida, the pride I feel commanding this ship is indescribable. To lead this sunset crew and watch them grow over the past year has been humbling and rewarding. I am grateful for their dedication and service and look forward to staying in touch and following their careers. While our business here is done, we will proudly carry on Decisive’s legacy of hard work and reliability.” 

Decisive was one of the Coast Guard’s 14 remaining 210-foot, Reliance-class medium endurance cutters. As part of the Coast Guard’s acquisition program, the 360-foot Heritage-class. offshore patrol cutters will replace the Coast Guard’s 270-foot and 210-foot medium endurance cutters. The offshore patrol cutters will provide the majority of offshore presence for the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet, bridging the capabilities of the 418-foot national security cutters, which patrol the open ocean, and the 154-foot fast response cutters, which serve closer to shore. 

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HII and Ocean Aero to Partner on Advanced Unmanned Maritime Capabilities 

MCLEAN, Va. and GULFPORT, Miss., March 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII (NYSE: HII) and Ocean Aero initiated a strategic agreement to advance the combined capabilities of their respective unmanned maritime platforms and autonomy software solutions. The unmanned solution providers recently commenced multiple, simultaneous efforts to enhance the operational reach and duration of the platforms, collaborative autonomy behaviors, shared sensor fusion and perception capabilities, and accelerated seabed-to-shore data transmission methods. 

“We are pleased to partner with Ocean Aero to further expand the operational capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces, partner nations and other maritime-focused commercial institutions,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of the Unmanned Systems business group at HII’s Mission Technologies division. “We are excited to combine the best of our individual products to deliver an exceptional suite of solutions to our customers.” 

Kevin Decker, Ocean Aero chief executive officer, added: “This is the perfect time for us to partner with HII. With rising maritime challenges increasing worldwide, we need new capabilities to meet them. Incorporating our two firms’ autonomous vehicle value propositions will unlock new tools for our customers at home and abroad.”   

HII and Ocean Aero are involved in several unmanned maritime systems initiatives and exercises across the globe. Ocean Aero recently completed Digital Horizon, the U.S. Fifth Fleet Maritime Domain Awareness exercise in the Arabian Gulf, where HII’s REMUS vehicles (MK18 Mod 1 and MK18 Mod 2) have been deployed continuously since 2013. The HII-Ocean Aero team is already planning to demonstrate their combined capabilities at an upcoming event in the region, in addition to other planned events and exercises for U.S. and international partners. 

HII is the preeminent unmanned underwater vehicle manufacturer and a pioneer in the UUV industry, continuously producing REMUS vehicles since the early 2000s. HII manufactures a full range of REMUS UUVs, from small to extra-large, with endurance ranging from several hours to months at depths down to 6,000 meters. More than 600 REMUS UUVs have been sold across the globe, with a majority of those still in operational use today. Additionally, HII’s Odyssey autonomy software solution offers scalable autonomy aligned with open architecture standards, including Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture. 

Ocean Aero pioneered the world’s first and only environmentally powered Autonomous Underwater and Surface Vehicle, the TRITON, which collects data both above and below the ocean’s surface and relays it to users from anywhere at any time. Dual modalities allow users to integrate a variety of sensor payloads and communications capabilities, expanding the ocean data collection possibilities and breaking paradigms created by manned platforms. Persistent collections and real-time data transmissions are feeding the most complex models for weather, climate and ocean health and creating transformational change in the maritime space. 

Release from Coast Guard 14th District 

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HONOLULU – The Coast Guard Cutter Juniper (WLB 201) returns to homeport in Honolulu after a mission in the Pacific to deter illegal fishing and support partner nation’s sovereignty as part of Operation Blue Pacific. 

The crew of the Juniper departed Honolulu mid-January and covered approximately 8,200 nautical miles in the effort to assist Pacific Island partners in protecting maritime governance and a rules-based international order to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.  

“Combining efforts to deter illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing throughout Oceania is more important than ever,” said Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Bonner, the Juniper’s commanding officer. “It was an honor for the Juniper crew to have the opportunity to work with our Fijian partners in assisting them in patrolling their exclusive economic zone.” 

The Juniper embarked four Fijian shipriders representing Fiji’s Police Force, Ministry of Fisheries, Revenue and Customs, and the Republic of Fiji Navy who spent multiple days underway with the crew. 

With support from members of the Juniper, USCG TACLET Pacific, and a Mandarin linguist from the U.S. Marine Corps, the Fijian Shipriders were able to utilize cutter resources to patrol Fijian waters and conduct a fishery boarding in the effort to deter IUU fishing within their EEZ.  

While in Suva, Fiji, the Juniper crew hosted U.S. Ambassador Marie Damour and conducted tours for multiple agencies including Fiji’s Ministry of Fisheries, Revenue and Customs, and Maritime Safety Authority. Multiple Juniper crewmembers visited the William Cross College with representatives from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Embassy, and Republic of Fiji Navy to speak with senior-grade students and hold group discussions about the topic of overcoming gender bias. An interagency rugby match with the Republic of Fiji Navy took place that very same day at the historic Albert’s Park in Suva.  

After departing Fiji, the Juniper crew transited to American Samoa where they serviced multiple aids to navigation (ATON) in Pago Pago Harbor and on Ta’u Island. 

“It is our pleasure to support American Samoa’s maritime transportation system by utilizing our crew’s multi-mission capabilities,” said Lt. j.g. Pryor Miller, the Juniper’s operations officer. “Servicing ATON in the Pacific is essential to providing the needed infrastructure to maintain a maritime transportation system that promotes economic prosperity and an uninterrupted flow of maritime commerce.” 

Throughout the entirety of the patrol, Juniper boarding teams conducted multiple boardings and observation reports of fishing vessels under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which strives to protect the region’s fish stocks on the high seas. The WCPFC has 26 member nations and 7 participating territories, 18 of which have enforcing authority, including the United States.  

Operation Blue Pacific is an overarching multi-mission Coast Guard endeavor, promoting security, safety, sovereignty, and economic prosperity in Oceania while strengthening relationships between partner nations in the Pacific.  

The Juniper is a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender home-ported in Honolulu and is responsible for maintaining aids to navigation, performing maritime law enforcement, port and coastal security, search and rescue and environmental protection. 

Release from Coast Guard Atlantic Area 

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USCGC Vigilant’s crew returns home following 28-day Florida Straits patrol 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The crew of the USCGC Vigilant (WMEC 617) returned to their home port in Cape Canaveral Saturday following a 28-day patrol in the Florida Straits. 

Patrolling in support of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry in the Seventh Coast Guard District’s area of responsibility, Vigilant’s crew conducted maritime safety and security missions while working to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal migrant ventures bound for the United States. 

During the patrol, Vigilant assisted with the interdiction of a grossly overloaded vessel with 311 Haitian migrants on board. The crew provided migrants with food, water, shelter and medical aid until the migrants were repatriated back to their country of origin. 

“This interdiction was a great example of the Department of Homeland Security’s outstanding interagency coordination and cooperation,” said Cmdr. Jay Guyer, Vigilant’s commanding officer. “I’m extremely proud of Vigilant’s crew in how they execute this dynamic and difficult mission with professionalism and humanity.” 

Vigilant is a 210-foot Reliance-class medium endurance cutter. The cutter’s primary missions are counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcement of federal fishery laws and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

Release from Coast Guard Atlantic Area

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The crew of the USCGC Dependable (WMEC 626) returned to their homeport in Virginia Beach Thursday following a 50-day maritime safety and security patrol in the Florida Straits and Windward Pass. 

In support of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry in the Seventh Coast Guard District’s area of responsibility, Dependable’s crew conducted multiple interdiction evolutions and collaborated with other Coast Guard cutters and task force aircraft to continue the critical mission of maintaining safety at sea. 

During the patrol, Dependable’s crew processed, cared for and repatriated approximately 500 migrants. While operating in the Florida Straits, Dependable worked with other law enforcement entities, including Customs and Border Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal ventures bound for the United States.  

“The crew has been training to conduct migrant interdiction operations since July 2022,” said Lt. Cmdr. Dana Prefer, Dependable’s executive officer. “In preparation for the recent uptick in migration ventures, we worked hard to qualify over 50 crew members to stand watch and care for the migrants embarked onboard the cutter. The training and preparation paid off as it was truly a team effort to interdict, process and care for just about 500 migrants throughout our patrol.” 

Dependable is a 210-foot Reliance-class medium endurance cutter with a crew of 70. The cutter’s primary missions include counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcement of federal fishery laws, and search and rescue in support of Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

Release from Coast Guard Atlantic Area 

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Feb. 17, 2023 

USCGC Seneca’s crew returns home following 24-day Caribbean Sea patrol 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of the USCGC Seneca (WMEC 906) returned to their homeport in Portsmouth, Friday, following a 24-day patrol in the Caribbean Sea. 

During the patrol, Seneca supported Joint Interagency Task Force – South and worked alongside the U.S. Air Force to disrupt nearly 1,350 kilograms of narcotics during two law enforcement cases in the Caribbean Sea. 

“The crew of Seneca displayed teamwork, grit and professionalism, patrolling the Caribbean Sea to deter, interrupt and interdict transnational criminal organizations smuggling illicit drugs into the United States and elsewhere,” said Cmdr. James McCormack, Seneca’s commanding officer. “Seneca rose to the challenge amidst strong winds and heavy seas to conduct surface-led interdictions in the Caribbean and stopped a drug laden go-fast vessel with three suspected drug smugglers.” 

Seneca’s crew maintained a rigorous training regimen throughout the patrol to build proficiency following a six-month dry dock availability in Brooklyn, New York. Seneca’s crew balanced damage control, engineering and navigation drills with small boat operations and flight operations. Partnering with Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, Seneca completed two aviation training evolutions that enhanced both crew’s readiness. 

“After a short, but successful, patrol in the Caribbean, we look forward to returning to our families and friends while we prepare for our next mission at sea,” added McCormack. 

Seneca is a 270-foot, Famous-class medium endurance cutter with a crew of 100. The cutter’s primary missions include counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcement of federal fishery laws and search and rescue in support of Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

Release from Coast Guard Atlantic Area 

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Feb. 17, 2023 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of the USCGC Legare (WMEC 912) returned to their homeport in Portsmouth, Friday, following a 63-day deployment in the Florida Straits and Caribbean Sea. 

Legare deployed in support of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry to patrol the Coast Guard’s Seventh District area of operations. While underway, Legare’s crew conducted maritime safety and security missions while working with additional Coast Guard cutters and air assets to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal migrant ventures bound for the United States. 

During the patrol, Legare’s crew cared for 1,309 migrants interdicted at sea and rescued people from 23 different unseaworthy vessels. Notably, Legare’s crew located and interdicted 396 migrants on a single, overcrowded 50-foot vessel. 

Legare’s patrol efforts highlight the Coast Guard’s critical missions of maintaining safety of life at sea and preventing the potential for loss of life by deterring migrants from taking to the sea in dangerously overcrowded vessels in an attempt to enter the United States through non-legal channels. 

“The migrant interdiction mission can be emotionally draining,” said Cmdr. Jeremy Greenwood, Legare’s commanding officer. “Legare’s success was the direct result of the patient determination of the crew. Being deployed during the holidays is never easy, but this crew will proudly return knowing they served during a unique part of our nation’s history and saved hundreds of lives.”   

Legare is a 270-foot, Famous-class medium endurance cutter with a crew of 108. The cutter’s primary missions are counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcement of federal fishery laws and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

Release from United States Coast Guard

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Feb. 15, 2023 

Editor’s Note: For b-roll of Bear’s patrol, click here; homecoming footage can be viewed here. 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of the USCGC Bear (WMEC 901) returned to their homeport in Portsmouth Wednesday after completing a 60-day deployment in the Florida Straits and Windward Passage. 

Bear’s crew supported Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry in the Coast Guard’s Seventh District area of operations. While underway, Bear’s crew conducted maritime safety and security missions while working to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal migrant ventures bound for the United States. 

Within the first days of patrol, Bear interdicted an overloaded Cuban rustic vessel in the Florida Straits and transferred 27 migrants on board the cutter. 

Bear also spent part of the patrol acting as a visual deterrence to illegal migration in the region by operating close to Haiti’s shore, which resulted in the interdiction of two overloaded migrant voyages. Both vessels were approximately 50 feet in length and each carried more than 200 migrants. After providing food, water, and medical care, Bear’s crew repatriated the migrants back to Haiti. 

Throughout the deployment, Bear’s crew members cared for and provided medical attention to 502 migrants on board the cutter before repatriating them to their country of origin. 

“Bear’s mission was to deter illegal maritime migration and rescue those in distress before the sea claimed their lives,” said Cmdr. Brooke Millard, Bear’s commanding officer. “This deployment was challenging. It’s tough to witness fellow humans risk all for a better way of life in an unforgiving sea. Know that your Coast Guard is ‘all in’ to protect our maritime border as well as save lives.” 

Since the fiscal year began in October, Coast Guard crews have interdicted over 7,100 Cubans and Haitians at sea. 

Bear is a 270-foot, Famous-class medium endurance cutter with a crew of 100. The cutter’s primary mission areas include homeland security, law enforcement, counter drug, search and rescue, migrant interdiction, and fisheries enforcement in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

Release from U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area 

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The crew of the USCGC Confidence (WMEC 619) returned to their home port in Cape Canaveral Friday following a 40-day patrol in the Florida Straits. 

Confidence deployed in support of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry to conduct counter drug and maritime safety and security missions in the Coast Guard’s Seventh District area of operations. While underway, Confidence’s crew worked with additional Coast Guard cutters and air assets to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal migrant ventures bound for the United States. 

During the patrol, Confidence’s crew interdicted and cared for 496 migrants. Notably, Confidence worked with numerous Coast Guard air assets to rescue a group of 17 Cuban nationals stranded on islands within Cay Sal Bank, Bahamas. 

Confidence’s patrol efforts highlight the Coast Guard’s critical missions of maintaining maritime safety and preventing the potential for loss of life by deterring migrants from taking to the sea in dangerously overcrowded vessels while attempting to enter the United States through non-legal channels. 

“During this patrol, Confidence responded to record high migration in the Florida Straits,” said Cmdr. Thomas Martin, commanding officer of Confidence. “I am proud of the work the crew did to prevent the loss of life at sea and safeguard our borders.” 

Confidence is a 210-foot, Reliance-class medium endurance cutter with a crew of 82. The cutter’s primary missions include counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcement of federal fishery laws and search and rescue in support of Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

For information on how to join the U.S. Coast Guard, visit GoCoastGuard.com to learn about active duty and reserve, officer and enlisted opportunities. Information on how to apply to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy can be found here. 

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ARLINGTON, Va. — Three U.S. Navy ships, a Military Sealift Command ship, and three Coast Guard cutters have sortied from the U.S. East Coast and are participating in the search and recovery effort for the payload of the Chinese balloon that was shot down over U.S. territorial waters off South Carolina. 

The Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) took up station to track the descent of the balloon’s payload as it fell into the water.  

The ships now include the USNS Pathfinder (T-AGS 60), an oceanographic survey ship operated by the Military Sealift Command. 

The Coast Guard also has deployed to the salvage area three cutters — USCGC Venturous (WMEC 625), USCGC Richard Snyder (WPC 1127), and USCGC Nathan Bruckenthal (WPC 1128) — as well as small boats and aircraft to ensure the safety of the salvage area. 

According to the Defense Department, the payload fell into a depth of 47 feet of water, a depth easily accessible to divers. 

Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, briefing reporters Feb. 6, said that the recovery effort was being led by Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command and U.S. Naval Forces, U.S. Northern Command.  

VanHerck said the Navy ships in the vicinity of the splashdown of the balloon are collecting and categorizing debris.  

“The Pathfinder is a ship that conducts survey operations using sonar and other means to map out the debris field,” VanHerck said. “It’s capable of conducting oceanographic, hydrographic, bathymetric surveys of the bottom of the ocean to do that. And they’ll eventually produce us a map — they’re in the process of doing that, and I expect to have much more today — of the full debris field. But we expect the debris field to be of the rough order of magnitude of about 1,500 meters by 1,500 meters, and so, you know, more than 15 football fields by 15 football fields. But we’ll get a further assessment of that today.” 

VanHerck said that “[y]esterday’s sea states did not allow us to conduct some of the operations that we would have liked to have conducted such as underwater surveillance. And so those forces that provide the explosive ordnance disposal to make sure the scene is safe, they’re out today, this morning, and they went out in what’s called a rigid hull inflatable boat this morning, Eastern time approximately 10:00 o’clock, to proceed to the — the area to utilize unmanned underwater vehicles using side scan sonar to further locate sunken debris. And so, we expect them to get on there and to do some additional categorization of potential threats such as explosives that may be on, hazardous materials that could be in batteries, et cetera, so we’re working very hard. 

The Military Sealift Command operates two dedicated salvage ships, but both are based in the Pacific Ocean.  

The balloon, floating at about 60,000 feet above sea level, was launched by China on Jan. 21 and crossed into U.S. airspace over the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28. It crosses over Canada and into the continental United States over Idaho on Jan. 31. President Joe Biden gave the order to shoot down the balloon on Feb. 1.  

“Military commanders determined that there was undue risk of debris causing harm to civilians while the balloon was over land,” a senior Defense Department official said in a Feb. 5 briefing to reporters. ”As a result, they developed a plan to down the balloon once it was over water in U.S. territorial airspace. That mission has now been successfully completed. At the direction of the president, the U.S. military, at 2:39 p.m. this afternoon, shot down the high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina and within U.S. territorial airspace.”  

According to Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen Patrick Ryder, the Chinese balloon was steerable, and therefore able to be guided over sensitive U.S. defense bases. 

On Feb. 4, the balloon was intercepted by two F-22A Raptor fighters launched from Joint Base Eustis-Langley, Virginia. One of the F-22As fired an AIM-9X air-to-air heat-seeking missile that deflated the balloon and sent the balloon’s solar panels and payload crashing into the ocean off Myrtle Beach. 

“We have multiple U.S. Navy vessels and Coast Guard vessels in the region right now, establishing a security perimeter, conducting search for any debris that may be on the water to ensure the safety of U.S. civilians, any maritime activity that is ongoing out in the water,” a senior military official said in the Feb. 5 briefing. “We will provide, under NORTHCOM [U.S Northern Command] command and control, a salvage vessel, United States Navy, which will be on-scene within a couple of days. The debris is in 47 feet of water, primarily. The recovery, that will make it fairly easy, actually. We planned for much deeper water.”  

The downing of the balloon is the first aerial kill attributed to the F-22A. The two F-22As in the intercept used the callsigns Frank One and Luke One in apparent reference to Frank Luke Jr., the U.S. Army Air Service ace who was credited with downing 14 German observation balloons as well as four airplanes during combat over the Western Front during World War I. Luke died on Sept. 28, 1918, from German machine fire from the ground.