52 Blue Water Days on a 154 footer (with more to follow)
The USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) returns to homeport at Coast Guard Base Honolulu, Sept. 8, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mikaela McGee)
The crew of the 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutter Joseph Gerczak (WPC-1126) returned to Honolulu last week following a 52-day/7,500nm patrol in support of Coast Guard Oceania District’s Operation Blue Pacific.
That is a serious stint for a 150-footer.
From USCG PAO:
The Joseph Gerczak crew departed Coast Guard Base Honolulu in July and traveled more than 7,500 nautical miles, making port calls in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Fiji and American Samoa. Patrolling in support of Operation Blue Pacific, the cutter’s crew worked alongside Pacific Island partners to bolster maritime security and sovereignty, counter illicit maritime activities, and protect vital marine resources.
The Joseph Gerczak crew exercised partnerships with the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Fiji through bilateral maritime law enforcement agreements.
In total, the Joseph Gerczak crew and their Pacific partners conducted 29 bilateral maritime law enforcement boardings and eight high-seas boardings in support of Operation Island Chief, a coordinated effort to detect and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Pacific.
Stacking FRCs deep in the Pac
Gerczak is one of three FRCs in Hawaii, with sisters USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC-1124) and William Hart (WPC-1134), all of which took part in RIMPAC last month in one way or another.
Four more FRCs are in Guam under the control of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia: Myrtle Hazard (WPC-1139), Oliver Henry (WPC-1140), Frederick Hatch (WPC-1143), and Vincent Danz (WPC-1162).
A fifth FRC slated for Guam, USCGC Jeffrey Palazzo (WPC-1163), was commissioned on September 11th in New York City.
Named for a Coast Guard Reservist (after eight years of active service) who was an FDNY firefighter who died with Staten Island’s Rescue Company 5 on September 11th, the ceremony was sincere.
Incidentally, Palazzo is the 63rd FRC in Coast Guard service. She will be the 14th stationed in the Central and Western Pacific between the Guam- and Hawaii-based cutters and the six of the newly formed Expeditionary Cutter Squadron (formerly the Bahrain-based PATFORSWA), which will be based on a rotational basis in the Philippines and points west.
Of note, the PI just picked up two surplus 87-foot Marine Protector-class WPBs from the USCG as well.
Meanwhile, at least two ECS FRCs, USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) and Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141), were recently in Indonesia to take part in Super Garuda Shield 2026.
There, the cutters hosted Joes of the 124th Division Signal Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, for the installation of gee-whiz Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) stations– which is very interesting.
