Tag Archives: fast response cutter

52 Blue Water Days on a 154 footer (with more to follow)

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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.

FRCs Roaming from San Diego to Panama, to Manila

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Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutters USCGC Douglas Denman (WPC-1149 and Forrest Rednour (WPC-1129) transit in formation during a photo exercise off the coast of San Diego, July 23, 2026.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Chris Sappey)

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman (WPC 1149) returned to her homeport at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan on Saturday, following a 41-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific. Douglas Denman conducted 42 investigative boardings and queries in support of Operation Border Trident along the sea frontier south of San Diego.

That’s a lot of time underway on a 154-foot boat.

Speaking of which, we have an update on the former PATFORSWA flotilla of six 154s that fell back from Bahrain through the Straits of Malacca and appeared in Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines since the war with Iran made their old base and mission in the Persian Gulf untenable.

It has been confirmed by U.S. Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby earlier this week in a speech during a forum organized by the Stratbase Group in Makati City, PI, that four of the former PATFORSWA boats, now designated the Expeditionary Cutter Squadron (ECS), will be in that Westpac archipelago on a rotational basis. I’d imagine the other two FRCs will be in yard/workup periods in Guam, co-located with the three 154s currently based there.

The USCG is falling back on its FRCs to fill in the gaps left by the stalled $20 billion frigate-sized Offshore Patrol Cutter. The 66th of 77 planned FRCs was delivered in June, bound to be the fourth 154 sent to Guam, set to join the family in a couple of months.

Meanwhile, another sister is roaming off the coast of Panama, winning hearts and minds.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Robert Ward (WPC-1130) alongside Mexican, Ecuadorian, Colombian and Panamanian vessels conduct tactical signaling training during Panamax in the Pacific Ocean near Panama, Aug. 7, 2026. The exercise was designed to improve interoperability, sharpen skills, and demonstrate the ability to respond and deter threats to the region and its critical waterways. (Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class William Kirk)

Coast Guard shifts PATFORSWA to Westpac, ends 24 Year Persian Gulf Mission

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With the Navy being patrol-craft-poor during OIF in the summer of 2002, Big Blue asked its poor uncle, the USCG, to temporarily shift a few 110-foot Island-class patrol boats to CENTCOM control in Bahrain.

Soon after, four East Coast-based Islands, USCGC  Adak, Aquidneck, Baranof, and Wrangell, were carried via heavy lift vessel to the Persian Gulf and eventually became Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) while four others, USCGC Bainbridge Island, Grand Isle, Knight Island, and Pea Island, were shifted to the Mediterranean as PATFORMED.

While the Med mission evaporated by 2004 due to Turkey not wanting to help support OIF and was stood down, those four cutters sent TDY to PATFORSWA never saw the U.S. again and were decommissioned there decades later, the force augmented to a full six-pack with the addition of Island-class sisters, USCGC Maui and Monomoy.

Persian Gulf (April 27, 2005) – Coast Guardsmen aboard U.S Coast Guard Cutter Monomoy (WPB 1326) wave good-bye to the guided missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 74) after the first underway fuel replenishment (UNREP) between a U.S. Navy cruiser and a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter. Antietam completed fuel replenishment with the Monomoy in about two hours and saved the 110-foot patrol boat a four-hour trip to the nearest refueling station. Antietam and Monomoy are conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the Persian Gulf as part of Commander, Task Force Five Eight CTF-58). U.S. Navy photo by Journalist Seaman Joseph Ebalo (RELEASED)

The force was recently refreshed with six brand-new 154-foot Sentinel-class cutters: USCGC Charles Moulthrope, Robert Goldman, Glen Harris, Emlen Tunnell, John Scheuerman, and Clarence Sutphin Jr arriving, and the old Islands disposed of in-theatre.

220822-A-KS490-1182 STRAIT OF HORMUZ (Aug. 22, 2022) From the left, U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutters USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144), USCGC John Scheuerman (WPC 1146), USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) and USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147) transit the Strait of Hormuz, Aug. 22. The cutters are forward-deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet to help ensure maritime security and stability across the Middle East. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Noah Martin)

Now, with the NWU-camo wearing 300-member force (six cutters, an extra crew, and 150 shoreside personnel) pulled out of the Gulf ever since February, as the 154s aren’t really built to operate against non-stop drone attacks, it seems the Navy finally threw in the towel on PATFORSWA’s mission and is shifting them to where they can win more hearts and minds, the Western Pacific.

From USCG PAO:

The United States Coast Guard transitioned its Expeditionary Cutter Squadron (ECS), historically called Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), to operate in the Western Pacific conducting maritime security operations and cooperative maritime activities with allies and partner nations in the region, in response to national security requirements.

The Expeditionary Cutter Squadron will be capable of performing missions as part of the U.S. Joint Force. The squadron is currently operating in the U.S. Pacific Command area of operations to protect the homeland and maritime approaches, including Guam and the Pacific Islands.

For more than 20 years, the Coast Guard has provided forward-deployed capabilities to support U.S. Central Command and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command from Bahrain. The unit has successfully executed maritime security, maritime interdiction, and maritime domain awareness missions throughout the Middle East.

“Coast Guard forces have always adapted to meet urgent national needs,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, Commandant of the Coast Guard. “The Expeditionary Cutter Squadron enhances the Coast Guard’s ability to deploy our forces in support of Combatant Commanders and national security objectives. Our expeditionary cutter forces provide Combatant Commands with uniquely capable maritime assets, leveraging the Coast Guard’s military and law enforcement authorities to advance U.S. national security objectives in the Western Pacific and Western Hemisphere.”

Expeditionary Cutter Squadron forces will integrate with U.S. Combatant Commands to conduct exercises and maritime cooperative activities that enhance interoperability, strengthen strategic partnerships, and advance shared security objectives throughout the region.  The transition of the Expeditionary Cutter Squadron reflects the Coast Guard’s intent to provide agile, capable, and responsive maritime forces. These forces will rapidly support national security objectives across a range of operational theaters while leveraging the Service’s unique authorities.

This explains open-source images of the entire PATFORSWA force seen shipping past Singapore in March.

WarshipCam -Official, March 29 at 4:49 PM. All six Bahrain-based USCG Sentinel-class cutters eastbound in the Singapore Straits – USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC-1141), USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC-1142), USCGC Glen Harris (WPC-1144), USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC-1145), USCGC John Scheuerman (WPC-1146) & USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC-1147) – March 2026 SRC: X-@StraitsSights

As well as Tunnnell and Moulthrope popping up in the Philippines a couple of weeks ago exercising with the locals in the South China Sea and during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) in Thailand last week.

Philippine Coast Guard Teresa Magbanua-class multi-role response vessel BRP Melchora Aquino (MMRV 9702) and U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141) sail in formation during part of the Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, June 27, 2026. The U.S. Navy routinely operates with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and partners and allies through MCAs to continually develop, exercise, and enhance multi-domain tactical interoperability to uphold peace and security in the region. (Courtesy photo by U.S. Coast Guard)

The squadron is forward-deployed west of Guam, as noted by Janes:

“The cutters are approved to operate from Singapore and Subic Bay in the Philippines through September [2026], with command and logistics handled out of Singapore and vessels rotating through Subic Bay,” the spokesperson said. “These operations reflect a long-standing commitment to a free and open Pacific and support a region where all nations, large and small, can operate freely, safely, and lawfully at sea.”

Are they going to remain there or fall back to Guam?

Of note, the service already has three 154s currently based in Guam, replacing two aging Island-class WPBs. They have been conducting some seriously long-legged (like 5,380nm) patrols as of late.

So does this mean there will be nine 154s in Guam?

Likely not, but you could see these new-to-the-WestPac boats soon spread out across allied Operation Blue Pacific nation partners that have little-to-no maritime forces, such as the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu– most of which have very real problems with incroachng Chinese influence, smuggling and illegal fising.

Winning hearts and minds in the WestPac littoral via white hulls with racing stripes.

Myrtle Lighting the Way: 5,380 nautical miles on a 154-footer

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The USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) crew returns home Dec. 14, 2025, after completing a successful expeditionary patrol under Operation Blue Pacific, deepening partnerships with Pacific nations and bolstering maritime security in the region. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Mandy Thomas) 251214-G-G0020-7958

The tired crew of the 154-foot Sentinel (Webber)-class fast response cutter USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) returned home to Guam last week, capping a 5,380nm expeditionary patrol that lasted just under a month (17 November to 14 December) under Operation Blue Pacific. Of that, 15 days were dedicated to” providing a persistent presence in the exclusive economic zones of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.”

They also conducted five community events, including a volleyball game with locals, swimming lessons for children, and tours of the cutter.

“The patrol went beyond simple transit. It focused on building maritime security, engaging directly with Pacific partners, and enforcing international maritime law through shared operations,” notes the service.

Keep in mind that the FSM and Palau are being highly courted by Chinese interests, as are just about every island chain between Guam and the Philippines and Australia and Taiwan. So this is truly a hearts and minds mission in addition to showing the flag.

That’s why the two dozen Coasties aboard the 154-footer are punching above their weight class.

Hazard is the 39th FRC, named in honor of the first enlisted woman in the U.S. Coast Guard who served as an electrician and radio operator in the Great War.

She is one of three cutters of her class currently based in Guam and arrived there five years ago, replacing two aging 110-foot Island-class WPBs.

Santa Rita, Guam (Sept. 24, 2020) Coast Guard Cutter Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) enters Apra Harbor before arriving at its new homeport in Santa Rita, Guam. The new Fast Response Cutter (FRC) is the first of three scheduled to be stationed on Guam and is replacing the 30-year old 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. FRCs are equipped with new advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems and boast greater range and endurance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class MacAdam Kane Weissman)

USCG Ups 154-foot Cutter Buy to 77 Hulls, PSU Boat Raiders, and HITRON Marks 1,000 ‘kills’

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The Coast Guard’s 2004 Program of Record for its planned Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter (FRC) program was “24 to 36 hulls.”

That was then.

Envisioned to replace 49 aging 110-foot 1980-90s vintage Island class patrol cutters (WPBs), 12 of which had been ruined in a botched lengthening modification, the new ships would be 30 percent longer, at 154-feet, and nearly twice the tonnage.

110-foot Island class cutters compared to the new 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class FRCs

Powered by two 5,800 shp MTU diesels (double the plant of the 110s), the FRCs also had 50 percent greater unrefueled range (2,900nm vs 1,882nm), a much better cutter boat (a stern dock launched jet drive 26-footer vs a davit deployed 18-footer with an outboard), better habitability, sensors, commo, and better guns (a gyro-stabilized remote fired Mk 38 Mod 2/3 25mm with an EO/IR sensor system and 4-6 M2s/Mk19s vs an unstabilized eyeball-trained Mk 38 Mod 0 and two M2s).

Plus, they had larger crews, at 4 officers, 4 POs, and 16 ratings, vs 2/2/12, which meant more hands could be sent away on landing details.

This meant they would be rated as WPCs instead of WPBs, akin to the Navy’s similar 170-foot Cyclone-class PCs.

MIAMI — The Coast Guard Cutter Webber, the Coast Guard’s first Sentinel Class patrol boat, arrives at Coast Guard Sector Miami Feb. 9, 2012. The 154-foot Webber is a Fast Response Cutter capable of independently deploying to conduct missions such as ports, waterways, and coastal security, fishery patrols, drug and illegal migrant law enforcement, search and rescue, and national defense along the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Sabrina Elgammal.

The lead FRC delivered, USCGC Bernard C. Webber (WPC-1101), commissioned in April 2012, while the last 110s to leave Coast Guard service did so this summer, at which point the FRCs, which have proven extremely handy, even on long-ranging blue water cruises in the Pacific, had 58 hulls in service with another nine under contract.

A big jump from 24-36!

The truth is, the USCG is pressing these new 154-footers into the gap left by their aging 210-270-foot blue-water medium-endurance cutter fleet. Mission whackamole.

Classmember USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC-1124) completed a nearly 9,300-nautical-mile, 45-day round-trip patrol from Hawaii to Guam in 2020 and followed it up with a 46-day patrol in 2024. At the same time, several of these hulls are self-deploying 7,700 miles from Key West to new home ports in Alaska.

There have been repeated calls for the Navy to purchase members of the class for use in littoral operations, as the cutter has sufficient weight and space to mount a Naval Strike Missile box launcher with four tubes at the stern.

Now, the CG has upped the $65 million per-cutter Sentinel class program to 77 hulls, with a 10-ship buy announced this week.

“Since its introduction to the fleet in 2012 as the successor to the 110-foot Island class patrol boat, the Fast Response Cutter has consistently proven its capabilities, adaptability, and effectiveness in a wide range of maritime environments and Coast Guard missions,” said RADM Mike Campbell, the Coast Guard’s Director of Systems Integration and Chief Acquisition Officer.

PSU Boat Raiders!

As part of Arctic Edge 2025, an element of 3rd Bn, 4th Marines, 1st MARDIV teamed up with Long Beach, California-based USCGR Port Security Unit 311 to use their 32-foot Transportable Port Security Boats to conduct a boat raid on a “simulated enemy port” at Port Mackenzie, Alaska.

A sort of budget SWCC/SEAL kind of arrangement.

The SWCC we have at home, if you will.

U.S. Coast Guardsmen with Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, depart after conducting an amphibious raid on a simulated enemy port during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) at Port Mackenzie, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Earik Barton)

U.S. Coast Guardsmen with Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, conduct an amphibious raid on a simulated enemy port during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) at Port Mackenzie, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2025. The raid was conducted to demonstrate joint-service interoperability in an austere environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Earik Barton)

U.S. Coast Guardsmen with Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, conduct an amphibious raid on a simulated enemy port during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) at Port Mackenzie, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2025. The raid was conducted to demonstrate joint-service interoperability in an austere environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Earik Barton)

U.S. Coast Guardsmen with Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, conduct an amphibious raid on a simulated enemy port during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) at Port Mackenzie, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2025. The raid was conducted to demonstrate joint-service interoperability in an austere environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Earik Barton)

Keep in mind that something like this could be in the toolbox in a future conflict.

Capable of 45 knots on a pair of inboard diesels, the TPSBs carry two .50 cals and two M240B GPMGs. Girded with ballistic panels, they have shock-mitigating seats and can carry as many as eight passengers in addition to a four-man crew. It looks like each carried a half-squad or so of Marines. Each PSU has six TPSBs, allowing a theoretical raid force of 72, exclusive of crews.

The boats have an over-the-horizon capability and range of 238nm, meaning they can be used as an easily deployable blocking/interdiction force in a littoral if needed.

HITRON hits 1K

Finally, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Jacksonville-based Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) achieved a significant milestone in its counter-drug mission, completing its 1,000th interdiction of suspected narco-trafficking vessels on 25 August.

Since its founding in 1999, HITRON has interdicted $33.2 billion in illicit drugs during operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and over the past 26 years, it has averaged one interdiction every nine days.

Not bad numbers for less than 200 Coasties, including reservists and auxiliaries, and a dozen MH-65E Dolphins, whose base airframes are 40 years old!

Coast Guard crews from the Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team – South, Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757), helicopter tie-down members, and unmanned aerial vehicle personnel pose for a group photo aboard Midgett from behind three bullet-damaged outboard engine cowlings while underway in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Aug. 28, 2025. On Aug. 25, HITRON used airborne use of force to stop the non-compliant vessel, marking the unit’s 1,000th drug interdiction since the unit’s inception in 1999, which resulted in Midgett crew members seizing approximately 3,606 pounds of suspected cocaine worth an estimated $46 million and apprehending six suspected narco-traffickers. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Pacific Patrol

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The crew from the USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) patrols the Northern Mariana Islands on the cutter’s 26-foot Over the Horizon (OTH-IV) cutter boat, April 23, 2024.

Coast Guard photo by Tim Cusak, courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. VIRIN: 240423-G-G0020-8601A

The 154-foot Sentinel (Webber)-class Fast Response Cutter is one of four assigned to U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia at Santa Rita, Guam, and roams all across the Central and West Pac on 14 and 28-day patrols.

While the draft on the FRCs is just 9.5 feet, allowing them to operate well inside the Pacific littoral, its stern-launched OTH-IV, powered by a 500 hp Cummins diesel inboard with a Hamilton jet drive, can get inshore in style.

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.

    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.

    Cyclones almost gone

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    Built in the late 1990s, the Navy’s Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships (PC) are almost all gone. Built by Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana, the same yard that has constructed over 170 similar albeit smaller cutters for the Coast Guard over the years, the 170-foot Cyclones were originally to replace the old 65-foot MKIIIs used by Naval Special Warfare and were equipped with two 25mm chain guns and a stern boat ramp for frogman use.

    While 16 were planned, only 14 were slowly completed and the Navy by and large didn’t even really want them, loaning five to the Coast Guard in the early 2000s and giving the class leader to the Philippines when she was just 11 years old.

    Then, following a series of naval stand-offs between Iranian Revolutionary Guards speedboats and U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz in December 2007 and January 2008, the Pentagon called up the Coast Guard and pulled their boats back and soon stood up Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 in the Persian Gulf with 10 of the PCs.

    The other three boats were stationed at Mayport, left behind as just about the 4th Fleet’s only regular assets.

    150317-N-SF508-627 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) leads other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) in formation during a divisional tactics exercise. PCRON-1 is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released)

    150317-N-SF508-274 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) and other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) transit in formation during a divisional tactics exercise.PCRON 1 is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released)

    They are among the smallest ships in the fleet and get ridden hard.

    They were augmented with the MK-60 Patrol Coastal Griffin Missile System to help defend against Iranian swarm attacks if needed. The system uses the AGM-176 Griffin, a 35-pound four-foot-long Frankenstein cobbled together from the Javelin and Sidewinder– but it carries a 13-pound blast fragmentation warhead and has a range of 5 miles, which will scratch the paint job of a Boghammar speedboat pretty good while outraging the RPGs, Dhsk guns and unguided rockets typically carried by those asymmetric crafts by a bit.

    ARABIAN GULF (Nov. 05, 2021) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Firebolt (PC 10) fires a Griffin missile during a test and proficiency fire in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 5, 2021. Firebolt, assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 55, is supporting maritime security operations and theatre security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Aleksander Fomin) 211105-A-PX137-0082

    Now, that has almost all come to an end. Only USS Monsoon (PC-4) and USS Chinook (PC-9) remain in Bahrain under Task Force 55, and that will soon change.

    PCRON-1 was reflagged Naval Surface Squadron (CNSS) 5 in 2017.

    USS Zephyr (PC-8), USS Shamal (PC-13), and USS Tornado (PC-14) were decommissioned in Mayport in 2021 and the first two are set to be scrapped with Tornado slated for transfer to an overseas ally.

    NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. (Feb. 16, 2021) Sailors conduct a decommissioning ceremony aboard the Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Shamal (PC 13) at Naval Station Mayport, Fla. Shamal is one of three Cyclone-class patrol ships being decommissioned at Naval Station Mayport. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Austin G. Collins)

    I happen to know the resting place of Tornado’s sideboard from ger USCG days based at NAVSTA Pascagoula!

    As well as Shamals

    USS Tempest (PC-2), USS Squall (PC-7), USS Firebolt (PC-10), USS Whirlwind (PC-11), and USS Typhoon (PC-5), were decommissioned and transferred to the Royal Bahrain Naval Forces in March 2022.

    This week, USS Hurricane (PC-3), USS Sirocco (PC-6), and USS Thunderbolt (PC-12) were transferred to the Egyptian Navy. This came after sailing from Bahrain to Egypt during a month-long journey around the Arabian Peninsula, January through February.

    SUEZ CANAL – SUEZ CANAL (Feb. 10, 2023) Patrol coastal ship USS Sirocco (PC 6) transits the Suez Canal, Feb. 10, 2023, en route to Alexandria, Egypt. 230210-N-NO146-1001

    As noted by the Navy, “During the 4,000-mile transit to Alexandria, U.S., and Egyptian crewmembers worked side-by-side safely navigating the three ships on a voyage that included port visits to Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates; Duqm, Oman; Djibouti; and Berenice, Egypt.”

    It seems that the Navy is content to let the Coast Guard’s new 158-foot Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutters be the white-hulled muscle for the 4th and 5th Fleet when it comes to coastal vessels.

    The Sentinel-class is suddenly everywhere

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    The Coast Guard’s very successful Fast Response Cutter (FRC) program, the 154-foot Sentinel-class patrol craft, just keeps ticking along, with lots of important milestones this month. It makes you wish the Navy could get on board with a similar shipbuilding impetus.

    50th Delivered

    Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana– builder of the 110-foot Island-class and 87-foot Maritime Protector class patrol boats for the Coast Guard going back some 35 years– on 4 August delivered their 176th hull to the service, the future USCGC William Chadwick (WPC-1150). Chadwick, as the hull number points to, is the 50th FRC delivered since the first, USCGC Bernard C. Webber (WPC-1101), was contracted in September 2008. All in all, not a bad record for just under 14 years.

    USCGC Chadwick will be the first of six FRCs to be homeported in Sector Boston, which is known as “The Birthplace of the Coast Guard.” Photo via Bollinger.

    Based on the Dutch Damen Stan 4708 patrol vessel, the Coast Guard expects to order 64 of the increasingly useful vessels.

    At a cost of about $65 million for each hull, the entire program of record is set to come in at under $4 billion which sounds like a lot but keep in mind the Navy has sunk nine times that much, over $36 billion, into the Littoral Combat Ship program already (even with the “cost savings” of decommissioning ships only a few years old, hyping that each LCS hull costs $70 million per year to keep in the water).

    Besides a 25mm MK 38 Mod 2 forward, the FRCs have at least four mounts for M2 .50 cals, a decent C4ISR suite for their size, a 28-knot flank speed, and the capability to sortie over 2,000 nm on a two-week patrol without refueling or re-provisioning. They also have a stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot, over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat.

    Douglas Denman arrives in Alaska after a 7,000-mile cruise

    Set to be commissioned at her new home port at Ketchikan in September, the future USCGC Douglas Denman (WPC-1149), the Coast Guard’s 49th Fast Response Cutter, traveled nearly 7,000 miles from the most southeastern city in the U.S. to the most southeastern city in Alaska, transiting through the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal, and up the west coast of Central America and the U.S. in a 36-day voyage.

    USCGC Douglas Denman (WPC-1149) via Bollinger

    After delivery from Bollinger, FRCs and their plankowner crews spend almost two months at Key West where there is no shortage of missions in the Florida Straits on which to sharpen up.

    From the 17th Coast Guard district on that process:

    Following production of the ship in 2020, the first crewmember arrived in Ketchikan summer of 2021. Since then, the crew has undergone a year of administration and training in preparation to take ownership of the cutter. The engineering department alone attended a total of three months of school in addition to the crew’s seven weeks of familiarity training in Lockport, La., and seven weeks of Post Delivery Availability phase in Key West, Fla.

    Full FRC six-pack in the Middle East

    On 23 August, USCGC John Scheuerman (WPC 1146) and USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147), joined four other examples of the newest Sentinel-class fast response cutters as part of the Coast Guard’s long-standing Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), stationed in Bahrain where U.S. 5th Fleet is headquartered.

    The two FRCs completed a 10,000-nautical-mile transit to Bahrain, escorted by 270-foot medium endurance cutter USCGC Mohawk (WMEC-913), which acted as a mothership, rather than having to be loaded as float-on cargo.

    The Coast Guard has been using more of these mini surface action groups (or “Surface Asset Group” in USCG parlance), such as in the response to 2017’s Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and you can easily imagine such white-hulled SAGs in the event of a conflict.

    Scheuerman and Sutphin were met by two other FRCs of the Coast Guard’s Persian Gulf squadron– USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144) and USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145)— flying their characteristic oversized U.S. ensigns, for a great photo op through the Straits.

    220822-A-KS490-1182 STRAIT OF HORMUZ (Aug. 22, 2022) From the left, U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutters USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144), USCGC John Scheuerman (WPC 1146), USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) and USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147) transit the Strait of Hormuz, Aug. 22. The cutters are forward-deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet to help ensure maritime security and stability across the Middle East. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Noah Martin)

    Harris and Tunnell only recently arrived in Bahrain themselves, joining USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC 1142) and USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141), to retire the six aging Reagan-era Island-class cutters that had been there since 2002 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Legacy 110 foot Island class cutters compared to the new 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class FRCs

    Besides their stabilized MK 38 25mm gun and half-dozen (up from four as seen on stateside FRCs) M2 mounts, the Sentinels in Bahrain are equipped with the CG-HALLTS system, a hailer that has laser and LRAD capabilities, as well as a special S-band Sierra Nevada Modi RPS-42 pulse doppler with full-time 360-degree coverage, and other goodies to include four dedicated Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) on the O-1 deck. Additionally, the already experienced cutter and boarding crews of PATFORSWA have to go through 5-6 weeks of Pre Deployment Training (PDT) with the service’s Special Mission Training Center at Camp Lejune and undergo more training once they reach Bahrain.

    Hosting RIMPAC Marines ISR team

    Finally, it should be pointed out that the FRC USCGC Cutter William Hart (WPC 1134)— who has been working with embarked teams of Hawaii-based Marines for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance tests in the littoral since 2021– apparently did more of the same in the recently-concluded RIMPAC exercises.

    Hart has been very active in presence missions in Oceania, recently completing a 10-day voyage to Samoa last winter in Operation Kurukuru and then operating alongside ships from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and France to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (often from Chinese trawlers) in the region while on a 39-day patrol— which is a long time to spend on a 154-foot ship.

    Still, they are getting it done and on the cheap at that.

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