Category Archives: USCG

Coastie Update: Increasingly International

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One thread that I have noticed is that the personnel and cash-strapped U.S. Coast Guard is plugging in a lot more joint spaces, both within DOD and with international partners. While a lot of people have some sort of misunderstanding that the USCG is just a guy sitting in a fan boat on the iced-over Great Lakes in winter, or some poor shlub cleaning the weeds from a channel marker in the middle of the Ohio River, they are also spanning the globe.

Three examples:

James

The 418-foot National Security Cutter James (WMSL 754) just returned home to Charleston, following a 113-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

During the patrol, James’ crew disrupted illegal narcotics smuggling, interdicting 12,909 kilograms of cocaine and 7,107 pounds of marijuana valued at over $380 million. While in theater, James interdicted eight drug-smuggling vessels and apprehended 23 suspected traffickers, including one low-profile vessel laden with contraband.

James’ crew conducted multiple joint operations with foreign partner nations such as Ecuador and Mexico. James conducted a passing exercise with the Mexican Navy’s ARM Chiapas. During the exercise, James practiced close-quarters tactical maneuvering and landed the Chiapas’ Panther helicopter on deck. 230806-G-G0100-1001

If you take a look at the crew that shipped out on the four-month East Pac cruise, not only do you see the Coast Guard blue, but there are also four contractors (top left) for the Scan Eagle UAV, as well as a contingent of two Marines, a Soldier, and five Bluejackets (center) who most likely provided medical, commo, and terp support in the region. At the stern is a HITRON MH-65 detachment of airborne precision rifle experts. 

Coast Guard Cutter James Port Everglades, Florida, Oct 26, 2023. 231026-G-FH885-1002

Horne

The 154-foot Fast Response Cutter Terrell Horne (WPC-1131) returned home to California last week after a 52-day patrol across 4,000 miles of the Eastern Pacific, conducting operations and international engagements with Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, and Costa Rica. That’s a lot of time and distance for a 154-foot boat, a platform that is proving very adept at ranging far and wide.

The crew of the Terrell Horne deployed in support of multiple missions, including Operations Green Flash, Albatross, Martillo, and Southern Shield, within the 11th Coast Guard District’s area of responsibility. During the patrol, Terrell Horne’s crew conducted a range of missions encompassing law enforcement, counter-drug operations, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing enforcement, and search and rescue operations.

Dauntless

Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, the Portsmouth-based RN Type 45/Daring-class destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33) is currently serving as the West Indies station ship and, with a USCG Tactical Law Enforcement Team (TACLET) aboard, spent the summer running successful interdiction missions with the ship’s embarked Wildcat helicopter and RM 42 Commando snipers riding shotgun.

HMS Dauntless flies the Royal Navy Ensign and Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) flag from the sea boats prior to boarding a suspect vessel in the Caribbean Sea.

HMS Dauntless’ embarked Law Enforcement Detachment team (LEDET) go to ‘boarding stations’ after finding a suspect vessel in the Caribbean Sea.

HMS Dauntless conducting a drugs intervention/rescue mission whilst operating in the Caribbean region.

HMS Dauntless conducting a drugs intervention/rescue mission whilst operating in the Caribbean region.

HMS Dauntless’ embarked Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) leave the ship in sea boats in preparation to apprehending a suspect vessel in the Caribbean Sea.

Coast Guard Mothballing Cutters Due to Recruiting Shortfalls

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It seems the USCG, which is increasingly strung out across the globe backfilling a short-hulled/staffed Navy, is itself running on empty after years of failing to meet recruiting goals through a variety of societal and administrative reasons.

Among the austerity measures in the crew-poor Coast Guard, which is 10 percent understaffed across the board:

  • Three 210-foot Reliance class Medium Endurance Cutters (WMEC) will be placed in layup, pending decommissioning.
  • ​Seven 87-foot Patrol Boats (WPB) will be placed in layup, pending reactivation.
  • Five 65-foot Harbor Tugs (WYTL) will temporarily not be continuously manned but will be kept in a ready status in case icebreaking is needed. 
  • Two 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutters (WPC) will commence uncrewed Recurring Depot Availability Program (RDAP) at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland. The next 154′ Patrol Craft scheduled for RDAP will deliver the hull to the Coast Guard Yard and swap hulls with a cutter that has completed drydock.  
  • Crews at all 23 seasonal station smalls will transfer to their parent command.
  • The six non-response units (boat forces units without SAR responsibilities) will suspend operations and their crews will be reassigned in assignment year (AY) 2024.
  • The identified 19 stations whose SAR response capabilities are redundant will be deemed Scheduled Mission Units. Three of these 19 stations will be ports, waterways and coastal security (PWCS) level one-Scheduled Mission Units.  

    Maybe this explains why the service is making moves to expand its JROTC units nationwide among other initiatives. It announced its first California-based JROTC unit last week at Mission Bay High School in San Diego.

    SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Coast Guard announces the establishment of its first California-based Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program. Photo by: Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicolas Cavana | VIRIN: 231027-G-LC063-6158

    The Coast Guard established its first JROTC unit in 1992, in Miami. Under recent federal legislation, the Coast Guard is expanding the JROTC program to each of its nine Districts by 2025. Studies show that about 20 percent of all JROTC participants go on to join the military.

    FFH Group & Surveillance Force Grenada, 1983-84

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    As a wrap of our coverage of the 40th anniversary of the 1983 invasion of Grenada, we take a look at the unique surface action group that arrived to assist in the peacekeeping phase of the operation, which ran roughly through November and December when the last U.S. combat troops were withdrawn– that of hydrofoils operating with a frigate mothership.

    Mid-November 1983 found the newly commissioned Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34), along with the two equally new Pegasus-class hydrofoil patrol boats, USS Aquila (PHM-4) and Taurus (PHM-3) in Guantanamo Bay “for the purpose of testing the feasibility of operating those types of ships in the same task organization.”

    As noted by Fitch’s DANFS entry, she assumed tactical control of the hydrofoils and jetted over to Grenada:

    Demands incident to the continuing American presence in Grenada, however, overtook the experiment and sent Aubrey Fitch and her two consorts south to the tiny republic. Duty in the waters adjacent to Grenada lasted until mid-December when the warship returned to Mayport.

    All three were eligible for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Urgent Fury.

    Aquila and Taurus would return to their homeport at Key West on 16 December and spend the rest of their career in unsung law enforcement support work in the Caribbean and off Central America, being decommissioned as a class in 1993 with their sisters and disposed of in 1996.

    Fitch lasted a little longer. Decommissioned on 12 December 1997, the frigate was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 May 1999 and sold for scrap shortly after.

    Sadly, there are no photos I can find of Fitch and her two ‘foils operating together in Cuba-Grenada Oct-Dec 1983, which is tragic, but drink in these were taken of the ships separately early in their careers.

    USS AUBREY FITCH (FFG 34) underway 1982 Bath trials DN-SC-85-04417

    USS AUBREY FITCH (FFG 34) underway 1982 Bath trials DN-SC-85-04399

    USS AUBREY FITCH (FFG 34) underway 1982 Bath trials DN-SC-85-04401

    hydrofoils USS AQUILA (PHM 4), front, and USS GEMINI (PHM 6), center, lie tied up in port with a third PHM. The Coast Guard surface effect ship (SES) cutter USCGC SHEARWATER (WSES 3) is in the background. NARA photo

    Hydrofoil patrol combatant missile ship USS TAURUS (PHM 3) race by. Navy hydrofoils are regularly used on Joint Task Force 4 drug interdiction missions.

    DN-ST-90-09381 The patrol combatant missile hydrofoils USS HERCULES (PHM 2) and USS TAURUS (PHM 3) maneuver off of Key West, Florida.

    Seattle pegasus class hydrofoil USS Taurus (PHM-3) during her acceptance trials

    USS Hercules (PHM-2) and Taurus (PHM-3) 1983

    Cue USCG

    As for what happened from a maritime perspective after Fitch and her PHMs returned home, the answer is that the Coast Guard took over the task of policing Grenada’s waters for the next year, and it should be pointed out that two HC-130s and the 378-foot Hamilton-class cutter USCGC Chase (WHEC 718), which was deployed from 23 Oct – 21 Nov 1983, served during the shooting-part of Urgent Fury, earning the deploying units the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for their service.

    The follow-on Operation Island Breeze USCG Grenada Getaway response was a WWII-era 180-foot Balsam (Iris) class buoy tender that served as the mothership for three rotating 95-foot cutters drawn from the Florida-based Seventh Coast Guard District, allowing the small boat crews to get some showers and better food as well as mechanical support from the tender’s extensive onboard workshop.

    On 8 December 1983, the Cape-class patrol cutters Cape Gull (WPB-95304), Cape Fox (WPB-95316), Cape Shoalwater (WPB 95324), and the tender Sagebrush (WLB-399) arrived off of the island of Grenada to replace U.S. Navy surface forces conducting surveillance operations after the U.S. invasion of the island earlier that year.

    Commissioned on 1 April 1944, Sagebrush spent most of her service life home-ported in San Juan, Puerto Rico, earning four USCG Unit Commendations before she was decommissioned on 26 April 1988.

    USCGC Cape Fox (WPB 95316) celebrating Christmas 1983 off Grenada 1983.

    Note the two mounted M2 .50 cals, rare for Capes in the 1980s, as well as the Christmas tree on deck.

    The Capes used three crews, Green, Blue, and Red, rotating out every 30 days, and used backpack HF radio sets borrowed from the Army to communicate with the forces ashore. Support shoreside for the roughly 100-man force came from two 20-foot containers in port converted into shops.

    For air support, they had HC-130Hs out of Clearwater fly over occasionally, taking off and recovering at CGAS Borinquen, as well as a weekly logistics run.

    They would remain on station until 3 February 1984 when replaced by a similar group, a task that would run through the end of the year.

    The WPB/WLB force was rotated out roughly every three months in 1984 and saw the buoy tender USCGC Mesquite (WLB 305), her sister USCGC Gentian (WLB 290), and the 140-foot icebreaker (!) Mobile Bay (WTGB 103) which sailed from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the number of WPBs was cut from three to two. 

    The sum, as detailed by ADM James S. Gracey, USCG:

    After a few days, the Navy figured out that patrolling around the island to keep people from coming on or going off, additional people coming on or other people from escaping, wasn’t working very well with Navy PCs or whatever they were using, whereas our smaller patrol boats would do the job very well. So we took over. We were there long after everybody else had gone home doing this operation and other things that the Coast Guard always does when we are someplace. That was Grenada.

    A lasting legacy of the USCG in Grenada was the reformation of the Grenadian Coast Guard, an organization that endures today, with a little help from its northern neighbor.

    Coasties in New Places…and with new Cutters

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    Last week, the 154-foot Sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143), based in Guam, visited Tacloban in the Philippines on the occasion of the 79th Leyte Gulf Landing Anniversary while the larger frigate-sized USCGC Stratton (WMSL 752) called in Manila.

    Hatch is the first of her class to visit the Philippines and will certainly not be the last as the FRCs are sailing far and wide, increasingly roaming around the West Pac. If you are curious, while calling at Tacloban she was 1,300 miles away from home, certainly within range as they have been logging patrols as long as 8,000nm in recent months. 

    Colleagues from the Philippine Coast Guard prepare to receive the crew of the USCGC Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143) at the pier in Tacloban, Philippines, on Oct. 19, 2023. In a historic first, the USCGC Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143) visited Tacloban, Philippines, from Oct. 19 to 23, 2023, and the crew conducted engagements marking a significant milestone in the enduring relationship between the United States and the Philippines. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Cmdr. Ryan Crose)

    From the CG PAO:

    “The expanded capabilities of the Fast Response Cutter represent more than just advanced technology; they symbolize the bridge of cooperation and goodwill between nations. The FRCs and their dedicated crews regularly play a pivotal role in international diplomacy. These vessels, along with their highly trained and professional crews, are ambassadors of peace and collaboration, said Capt. Nick Simmons, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam. “They foster understanding and trust across borders, making the seas safer not only for our own nations but for all nations that rely on the freedom of navigation and maritime security.”

    Hatch is the 43rd FRC and was commissioned in July 2021, so she is a new hull.

    The class has been around since 2012 when the leader, USCGC Bernard C. Webber (WPC 1101) was commissioned and sent to Miami.

    Of relevance, the fourth of the class commissioned, USCGC Robert Yeard (WPC 1104) joined the fleet in 2013 and is currently out of the water at the CG Yard in Maryland where she is getting an overhaul, offering some great shots of her hull form.

    As detailed by the cutter’s social media page:

    Every three years the Yered gets hauled out for some much-needed maintenance including a top-end overhaul of the mains and a full paint job. For the next 140 days, it will be stripped, sprayed, welded, shafts and props dropped replaced, and cleaned. As hard as this ship works and runs, it needs it.

    For reference, all of the FRCs are built by Bollinger in New Orleans and the current program of record is 65 hulls, although plans are for at least two to be placed in uncrewed a Recurring Depot Availability Program (RDAP)– otherwise known as “ordinary” back in the day, due to empty billets across the USCG. 

    OPC Progress

    Meanwhile, the future USCGC Argus (WMSM-915), the lead ship of the Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter program and the sixth cutter to carry the name, is set to side-launch at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Nelson Shipyard near Panama City, Florida on Friday and proceed to finish fitting out in prep for commissioning.

    Offshore Patrol Cutter ARGUS in launch position. Photo Eastern Shipbuilding Group

    Offshore Patrol Cutter ARGUS in launch position. Photo Eastern Shipbuilding Group

    The Heritage class is so-called as they are all to be named for historic cutters, a move I for one support and wish the Navy would take a hint when it comes to naming conventions. For example, the initial cutter Argus was one of the first 10 ships assigned to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, a predecessor service to the Coast Guard in 1791. Of the 10 original cutters assigned to the RCS, Argus spent the longest time in service. Subsequent cutters Argus were commissioned in 1804, 1809, 1830, and 1850.

    Interestingly, the first OPC’s sponsor is not a politician but  Capt. Beverly Kelley, USCG, (Ret). She was the first woman to command an American military vessel when she was piped aboard the 95-foot Cape-class patrol boat USCGC Cape Newagen in 1979.

    Kelly, a University of Miami alum who graduated from OCS in 1976, seen on Cape Newagen’s bridge back in the day when the USCG still allowed beards without a profile. She went on to skipper the 270-foot cutter Northland (WMEC-904) as well as the 378-foot cutter Boutwell (WHEC-719) before retiring in 2006, capping a 30-year career that included 18 in sea-going billets.

    More on the Heritage (Argus) class

    OPC Characteristics:
    • Length: 360 feet
    • Beam: 54 feet
    • Draft: 17 feet
    • Sustained Speed: 22 Plus knots
    • Range: 8500 Plus nautical miles
    • Endurance: 60 Days

    The main armament is an Mk 110 57mm gun forward with an MK 38 25mm gun over the stern HH60-sized hangar, and four remote .50 cal mounts. 

    I say replace the Mk38 with a C-RAM, shoehorn a towed sonar, ASW tubes, an 8-pack Mk41 VLS crammed with Sea Sparrows, and eight NSSMs aboard, then call it a day.

    But no one listens to me…

    Current spending on the overbudget and overtime project puts the ships at $704 million per hull. Hopefully, this can be amortized out now that a second yard (Austal in Mobile) is working on the cutters and a big reason why Eastern is so far behind is a mix of teething issues with the brand-new design (in particular non-compliant shafts delivered by Rolls-Royce for the first to hulls) and the 2021-22 supply chain/Covid slow down.

    As the OPC program of record is for 25 cutters– replacing the smaller 13-strong Bear class and 16-member Reliance classes of cutters– and, knowing the Coast Guard will be the backbone of the force in blue water for the next 40 years, it is important to get it right.

    Masters of the Ice

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    Some 64 years ago this month: The last U.S. Coast Guard Boeing PB-1G “Flying Lifeboat” CG-77254 parked next to the first Coastie Lockheed SC-130B Hercules; beyond them is a Coastie R5D Skymaster seen at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, in 1959. The final PB-1G, the last B-17 Flying Fortress in U.S. military service, as far as I can tell, was not withdrawn from service until October 1959.

    USCG photo

    Converted B-17G bombers, the PB-1G carried no armament and, in addition to Loran, fitted a surface search radar in place of the chin mount, but still toted the Norden bombsight. It came in handy when dropping the self-bailing lifeboat it carried under the belly.

    As noted by the USCG Aviation History Association:

    Eighteen B-17Gs were set aside by the USAAF for transfer via the US Navy to the Coast Guard to be used as search and rescue aircraft. Rework began to convert the aircraft in question for search and rescue duties. On 1 January 1946, the Coast Guard was returned to the Treasury Department, but nevertheless, the Navy continued to rework the B-17s and transferred the first of 18 to the Coast Guard in July 1946. These aircraft were Lockheed-Vega and carried Navy serial numbers. An additional PB-1G was obtained directly from the USAAF in 1947 and it served with a truncated AAF serial number. Two additional aircraft PB-1R configured for VIP operation and one aircraft configured for photo mapping were also provided.

    The PB-1Gs were stationed throughout the hemisphere and were used primarily for search and rescue purposes. They were also used for Ice Patrol. The photo aircraft carried a nine-lens, $1.5 million dollar, aerial camera for mapping purposes. Interestingly, the Norden bombsight, used by the B-17s in the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany was retained and was used to pinpoint targets for the camera.

    They saw lots of use on the Ice Patrol.

    Coast Guard PB-1G (B17) ice patrol plane, 1958

    Original caption: “Somewhere in the region of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, taking a Loran fix in a Coast Guard PB-1G (B17) ice patrol plane, is John D. Murphy, Aviation Electronics man, 3rd class, working in close coordination with his navigator and the observer. By means of Loran, the navigator plots the plane’s position frequently over the fog-wrapped area under survey. Loran fixes enable the observer to check the exact location of icebergs along the course after they have been sighted. Working out from a Coast Guard attachment located at Argentia, Newfoundland, a four-engine PB-1G’s ordinary search flight lasts 10 or 11 hours and covers approximately 1,500 linear miles. The 1954 International Ice Patrol season began in February and extended into August.” NARA 026-g-051-005-001

    Original caption: “Framed in the plexiglass nose of a Coast Guard PB-1G (B17) ice patrol plane, Ensign Theodore J. Wojner, USCG, Observer, with binoculars scans the ocean for field ice, growlers, and icebergs, in the vicinity of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. In this position, the observer has unrestricted visibility from beam to beam. Although Radar and Loran are used on International Ice Patrol aerial surveys, the observer knows that the human eye is still the most dependable instrument for detecting icebergs. Only after he sights an iceberg does he use the radar instrument shown here at his elbow, to determine the distance of the berg, which he enters in his log with the time. After the flight, the observer’s log entries are checked against the Loran fixes obtained by the navigator along the flight track. From this data, the location of the bergs is accurately determined. Working out of the Coast Guard Air Detachment at Argentia, Newfoundland, a PB-1G’s normal flight lasts 10 or 11 hours. During that time the observer constantly watches the area under survey.” NARA 026-g-051-003-001

    The Forts were replaced by C-130s in the early 1960s, and the USCG still rocks the big Hercules.

    Original caption: “The SC-130B is the first turbin[e]-propelled aircraft to enter U.S. Coast Guard Aviation. Built by Lockheed, this was the second accepted early in 1960 as the first step in the Coast Guard’s program of modernizing its air fleet and is station in Honolulu. A four-engine, all-weather, high-speed, long-range land plane, its primary mission is search and rescue but can also be used for transporting personnel, emergency equipment, and cargo. The “Hercules” replaces the old PB-1G (B-17) long-ranged model planes used since World War II.” National Archives Identifier 205576270

    As detailed by the USCG Historian’s Office:

    The final flight of the last PB-1G in Coast Guard service ended at 1:46 p.m. on Wednesday 14 October 1959 when PB-1G 77254 landed at AIRSTA Elizabeth City. She had faithfully served the nation’s oldest continuous sea service for fourteen years.

    News from Pascagoula…

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    Ingalls has been busy in the past couple of weeks.

    The 10th national security cutter Calhoun (WMSL 759) was signed over to the U.S. Coast Guard last Friday.

    How about some great images from Ingalls on the cutter’s sea trials earlier this summer?

    Calhoun (WMSL 759) pictured in the Gulf of Mexico during builder’s trials in June 2023. HII photo

    Calhoun (WMSL 759) pictured in the Gulf of Mexico during builder’s trials in June 2023. HII photo

    Calhoun (WMSL 759) pictured in the Gulf of Mexico during builder’s trials in June 2023. HII photo

    NSC 10 is named to honor Charles L. Calhoun, the first master chief petty Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard. Calhoun served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946 as a torpedoman’s mate petty officer 2nd class. He enlisted in the Coast Guard that same year and held varying positions of leadership over the course of his career.

    The NSCs have been very busy, especially in Alaskan waters and in West Pac cruises, where they have essentially been clocking in as frigates, types the Navy no longer has.

    The 11th NSC, the future USCGC Friedman (WMSL 760) is under construction and long lead materials for an unfunded 12th NSC have been purchased, although some $300 million was included in last year’s NDAA for the thus-far-unordered cutter. As the line is still hot and the first of the planned Constellation-class FFGs are expected to start hitting the water until at least late 2026, pulling the trigger on NSC 12 just makes sense. 

    Bougainville hits the water

    The Navy’s third America-class amphibious assault ship (and the first with a well deck) the future USS Bougainville (LHA 8) was launched from its floating dock into the Pascagoula River earlier this month after the 40,000-ton vessel translated from land to the company’s floating dry dock using translation railcars to support the ship in September.

    As noted by Ingalls:

    Bougainville is the first ship in the America class to be built with a well deck. The ship will retain aviation capabilities while adding the surface assault capability of a well deck and a larger flight deck configured for F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and MV-22 Osprey aircraft. These large-deck amphibious assault ships also include top-of-the-line medical facilities with full operating suites and triage capabilities.

    Ingalls has delivered 15 large-deck amphibious ships to the U.S. Navy. The shipyard delivered the first in the new America class of amphibious assault ships (LHA 6) in 2014. The second ship in the America class, USS Tripoli (LHA 7), was delivered to the Navy in early 2020. In addition to Bougainville, Fallujah (LHA 9) is also under construction, and the company authenticated the keel during a ceremony in September 2023.

    First Flight III Burke joins the fleet

    The U.S. Navy commissioned the first Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the Pascagoula-built USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), on Sat., Oct. 7, 2023, in Tampa, Florida. The shipbuilder has delivered 35 Burke-class destroyers to the U.S. Navy, with four currently under construction.

    Sailors man the rails during the commissioning ceremony for the Arleigh Burke class Flight III guided-missile destroyer USS Jack H Lucas (DDG 125) in Tampa, Florida Oct. 7, 2023. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)

    The new destroyer carries a superb name. 

    Jacklyn Harold “Jack” Lucas was a great man, earning the MoH at age 17 as a Marine on Iwo Jima. I met him years ago at an event in Hattiesburg and he was humble and gregarious. 

    Coasties Getting their Polar on

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    Two recent USCG reports from the Far North have some great imagery associated with them. Like recruiting poster-level stuff, here.

    First, the 270-foot Famous (Bear) class medium endurance cutter (basically a 1980s patrol frigate) USCGC Forward (WMEC 911) recently returned to her home port in Portsmouth following a 10,500-nm/78-day deployment in the high North Atlantic Ocean that had some very chilly vibes and an interesting UUV deployment in the region.

    The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Forward (WMEC 911) steams near an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean, on Aug. 22, 2023. Forward deployed in support of Op Nanook, an annual Canadian-led exercise that offers an opportunity to work with partners to advance shared maritime objectives. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Mikaela McGee)

    As detailed by USCG PAO, emphasis mine:

    Throughout the deployment, Forward supported the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic Strategy and partnered with allied nations and agencies during Operation Nanook 2023, an annual Canadian-led military exercise to strengthen maritime objectives in the high northern latitudes.

    Alongside Canadian and French forces navigating the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, Forward’s crew performed training evolutions including towing and formation steaming, replenishment at sea, visual communications tactical signaling, and cross-deck exercises. In addition, an attached team from Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team Pacific conducted a boarding exercise with French Navy vessel BSAM Garonne to demonstrate at-sea capabilities and assist in enhancing partner training curriculums.

    Forward collaborated with embarked U.S. Navy personnel from the Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Flotilla-1 team to launch their Razorback UUV. The undersea vehicle, equipped with mapping and sonar capabilities, deployed deeper than any U.S. Navy submersible and traveled to a depth of nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters).

    Members from the U.S. Navy’s Afloat Training Group Atlantic were also embarked aboard Forward to help build their service’s Arctic Vision Initiative, which will serve to inform U.S. Navy training entities of seamanship, navigation, engineering, and medical considerations necessary for operating naval vessels in the polar regions.

    Plus, how about this massed shot of 270s collected pierside at Portsmouth. Keep in mind just 13 of these vessels were completed.

    Family and friends of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Forward’s (WMEC 911) crew watch the cutter approach the pier, Sept. 26, in Portsmouth, Virginia. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Hillard)

    Next, the one-of-a-kind medium (as in, it’s not going to clear a path to McMurdo) icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB 20) has been on a five-week-long NSF mission from Kodiak, Alaska to Norway over the top of the world supporting the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System (NABOS). She just called at Tromso in Norway, and prior to that rendezvoused with the Norwegian Coast Guard Vessel Svalbard in the ice-covered waters northwest of the Svalbard archipelago.

    The two ships transited together toward Tromsø while crew members participated in an exchange on each other’s vessel to foster a deeper understanding of the other service’s operations.

    The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) transits the Tromsøysundet Strait alongside the Norwegian Coast Guard Vessel Svalbard near Tromsø, Norway, Oct. 1, 2023. The U.S. shares a decades-long stalwart partnership with Norway built upon shared values, experiences, and vision. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Charly Tautfest)

    Speaking of Svalbard, aka Spitsbergen, the frozen archipelago that was once the stomping grounds of the Tirpitz and is the current home to the end-of-the-world seed bank, life has been getting tense due to the co-located Soviet err Russian mining outpost there as of late.

    First All-ASEAN Naval Ex Wraps up

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    The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently concluded its first joint naval exercises that, importantly, did not include a big outside power.

    Crew Singapore’s RSS Vigour (92), a Victory-class corvette, waving their ballcaps during the sailpast to the Royal Brunei Navy’s KDB Darulehsan (left, background) and the  Sudirohusodo-class hospital ship KRI dr. Radjiman Wedyodiningrat of the Indonesian Navy. (Singapore Navy Photo)

    The drills, focused on disaster response, took place near waters China claims as its own and are seen by some as a dress rehearsal for a Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) if things ever got too tense in Taiwan, where 730,000 ASEAN nationals are working.

    The exercise included ships from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, while the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and East Timor sent observers.

    While ASEAN is not a military alliance per se, the group has held joint AUMX exercises with U.S. forces in the past.

    The ASEAN naval ex included Singapore transferring a refurbished 500-ton Fearless-class patrol vessel, ex- RSS Dauntless (99) to Brunei as Al Faruq. (Singapore Navy Photo)

    Simultaneously, the 30th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) was successfully completed over the weekend. 

    RSS Stalwart, RSS Tenacious, and RSS Valour participated in a series of exercises in the southern reaches of the South China Sea within international waters alongside Indian Navy frigates INS Ranvijay and INS Kavaratti. (Singapore Navy Photo)

    Also, of note, the white hull U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) has been in the region at the same time, playing well in the South China Sea with the rebooted British Pacific naval force in the area, as part of CARAT 2023 with ASEAN member Brunei.

    Royal Navy vessel HMS Spey (P234) (foreground) conducts coordinated ship maneuvers with U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) on Sept. 17, 2023, in the South China Sea. Munro is deployed to the Indo-Pacific to advance relationships with ally and partner nations to build a more stable, free, open, and resilient region with unrestricted, lawful access to the maritime commons. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Brett Cote)

    Upsizing Bushmaster

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    Of interest to small boat naval gun guys is this notice from Thursday’s and Friday’s DOD Contracts announcements (emphasis mine):

    MSI Defence Systems US LLC, Rock Hill, South Carolina, is awarded a $23,463,149 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 15 MK88 MOD4 Gun Mounts, associated hardware, and spares. Work will be performed in the United Kingdom (90%) and Rock Hill, South Carolina (10%) and is expected to be completed by March 2025. Fiscal 2023 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,621,453 (50%); fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,991,450 (38%); and fiscal 2023 weapons procurement (Coast Guard) funds in the amount of $2,850,246 (12%), will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1), (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.) Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00174-23-C-0015).

    MSI-Defence Systems US LLC,* Rock Hill, South Carolina, is awarded a $29,263,267 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of the MK 48 Mod 2 Electro-Optical Sight (EOS), EOS spare parts and transportation cases, and evaluation and repair of EOS subassemblies in support of the MK 38 Mod 4 Machine Gun System for the Navy, Coast Guard, and Military Sealift Command. Work will be performed in Norwich, United Kingdom (56%); and Rock Hill, South Carolina (44%), and is expected to be completed by September 2026. Fiscal 2023 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,601,246 (57%); and fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,700,936 (43%), will be obligated at time of award; the funding will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured via the sam.gov website, with one offer received. This is a sole source action in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, only one responsible source. MSI-Defence Systems US LLC is the original equipment manufacturer of the systems and the only company who can provide the systems and perform the required evaluation and repairs. No other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N0016423DJQ13).

    MSI makes the MK38 Mod 4 on a standard M88 mount, perhaps the best version of the Bushmaster. Whereas the first version was crew-manned, this one is a “fully integrated Naval Gun controlled via a Combat Management System (CMS) or Electro-Optic Fire Control System (FCS) using a remote independent Electro-Optical Sight System (EOSS)” which really ups the hit factor.

    Plus, rather than just a M242 25mm cannon, the Mod 4 carries the MK44S 30mm cannon with the option to coaxially mount the 12.7mm M2HB Heavy Machine Gun to the main gun, providing additional engagement capability.

    The 30mm MK44S has 70% of the same parts as the M242 while increasing the firepower by as much as 50% with the 20% increase in caliber size, making it a much more powerful option with a 4,000m range versus the 25mm’s 2,000m range.

    The Mk 48 Mod 2 MSI-DS Electro-Optical Sight System (EOSS) includes long-range Day/Night All Weather sensors, has an auto-tracking mode for long endurance surveillance of targets, can be mounted on superstructure or mast positions, and interfaces with the ship’s Combat Management System or Integrated Bridge via existing common consoles or a standalone Remote Operator Console and HD display monitor. Plus, since it is not on the gun mount itself, it doesn’t spook those it observes. Meanwhile, as it is all-optical/IR it doesn’t light up a radar warning receiver/ECM set, which could be a nice benefit in ambush attacks

    As for where they are going, the USCG has gone on record as saying they plan on mounting one or two of these on each of the new icebreakers (Polar Security Cutter) but, as these mounts are only negligibly heavier and fit the same footprint as earlier MK38s, there is a definite logic in mounting these on the 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutters operating in the Persian Gulf and Western Pacific, swapping out the MK38 Mod 2s currently fitted on the bow. 

    As 15 mounts are on order, maybe that is the plan…plus the MSC notation is very interesting.

    Coastie 154s Keep Chugging in the West Pac

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    At a time when China is applying a lot of soft pressure to make friends in places like the Solomon Islands (won with $730 million in financial aid) important strides are being made with a hardscrabble trio of new U.S. Coast Guard cutters roaming West from their home in Guam, where they have been pulling 8,000-mile patrols lasting as long as six weeks, which is impressive for 154-foot patrol craft. 

    From USCG Pacific Area PAO:

    U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam’s Fast Response Cutters conducted four patrols over 44 days, enhancing safety and prosperity in the Pacific Islands region while combatting illicit maritime activity, including illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing and the illegal and unsafe transport of passengers.

    Lt. j.g. Sims and Ensign Salang welcome the Marine Corps Detachment in Chuuk for Operation Koa Moana aboard the USCGC Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143) for a tour while visiting Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia, on July 28, 2023. The crew conducted a patrol in FSM in support of Operation Rematau. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

    The crews of USCGC Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143), USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139), and USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140):

    • Conducted seven boardings and five observation reports.
    • Completed over 20 training evolutions.
    • Qualified 18 new shipboard members.
    • Supported the investigation into the transport of 11 people aboard an overloaded vessel transiting to Guam from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on an illegal charter following their rescue by DoD partners.
    • Supported operations such as Operation Blue Pacific, Operation Rematau, Operation Nasse, and Operation Koa Moana.
    • Operational Achievements and Highlights
    • USCGC Frederick Hatch (June 21 – July 2 and July 18 – Aug. 3): Enhanced international relations, streamlined boarding processes, qualified new personnel, and improved communication with FSM Maritime Police.
    • USCGC Myrtle Hazard (July 3 – 16): Strengthened connection with CNMI, ensured maritime law enforcement presence in less patrolled areas, and enhanced collaboration with customs and public safety departments.
    • USCGC Oliver Henry (July 18 – 23): Increased U.S. presence, enforced fishing regulations, and fostered crew readiness with weapons proficiency and collaboration.

    Myrtle Hazard has also been invited by Papua New Guinea (PNG) to join their lead in maritime operations to combat illegal fishing and safeguard maritime resources during August 2023. This comes after Oliver Henry became the first U.S. Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter to call on port in Papua New Guinea during their southern expeditionary patrol in the fall of 2022 to build relations, conduct engagements, and resupply and the two countries inked a security agreement a couple of months ago.

    The crew of the USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) arrive in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on Aug. 20, 2023. The U.S. Coast Guard is in Papua New Guinea at the invitation of the PNG government to join their lead in maritime operations to combat illegal fishing and safeguard maritime resources following the recent signing and ratification of the bilateral agreement between the United States and Papua New Guinea. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir)

    Via USCG:

    This collaborative effort marks the first time a joint patrol effort will be executed at sea since the signing and ratification of the recent bilateral defense agreement between PNG and the United States, which allows the U.S. to embark ship riders from PNG agencies aboard the ship to conduct at sea boardings on other vessels operating in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under their national agency authority. This is the U.S. Coast Guard vessel deployment first announced during Secretary of Defense Austin’s engagement with Prime Minister James Marape in July.

    The Coast Guard has ordered 65 Sentinel (Webber)- class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) to date.

    With the recent commissioning of USCGC Patterson (WPB 1153) in Portland Maine earlier this month–the fourth of six FRCs to be stationed in Boston– 53 FRCs are in service: 13 in Florida; seven in Puerto Rico; six in Bahrain with PATFORSWA; four each in California and Massachusetts; three each in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Texas and New Jersey; and two each in Mississippi and North Carolina. Future FRC homeports include Astoria, Oregon; and Kodiak and Seward, Alaska.

    At least one more FRC will be sent to Guam, where she will no doubt be put to good use. 

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