Tag Archives: HITRON

In Coast Guard News…

In honor of 4/20 (haha), this seemed appropriate.

Just catching folks up on the operations of the country’s most unsung maritime force.

How about this cutter task group steaming in the Florida Straits, 23 March 2026. They include the 1960s-vintage 210-foot Reliance class cutters Vigorous (WMEC 627), left, and Resolute (WMEC 620), right, with the center being held by two much newer 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class FRCs Raymond Evans (WPC 1110), center-forward, and William Flores (WPC 1103), center-rear.

It is a decent little OPV SAG, with 200~ assorted Coasties embarked and spots for two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters (and/or assorted UAVs), four RIBs (two 26-foot OTH-IVs and two 19-footers), making it capable of some serious littoral interdiction.

If things get kinetic, they have four (two stabilized Mod 2 and two older Mod 0) Mk 38 25mm mounts and 16 crew-served .50-cals to fall back on, plus well-stocked small arms lockers for their boarding teams.

Of note, Vigorous, seen above, just returned to her home port in Virginia Beach last week following a 26-day patrol.

Busy Tampa

Speaking of returning from patrol, the 270-foot Famous (Bear) class cutter USCGC Tampa (WMEC 902) just offloaded “enough cocaine to kill more than 1.4 million Americans” in Miami after two interdictions in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean through Operation Pacific Viper on a 74-day patrol.

Note that she is one of the last cutters with a Mk 75 76mm OTO. Her sisters are getting them replaced with a Mk 38 Mod 2 25mm (!) during refits

Typical of such patrols, Tampa had a HITRON helicopter detachment aboard, who surgically riddled several go-fast outboards with .50 cal rounds from afar.

They brought back the engine covers for trophies:

Coast Guard Cutter Tampa’s (WMEC 902) crew poses for a group photo during a drug offload at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, April 16, 2026. Tampa’s crew offloaded nearly $28.7 million in illicit narcotics interdicted in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)

Bertholf returns after 80 days

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) departs the San Francisco Bay on Jan. 21, 2026. Bertholf departed for a deployment to the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard Courtesy photo) 260121-G-G0200-1001

Likewise, the class-leading 418-foot Legend-class USCGC Bertholf (WMSL 750) just returned to her Alameda homeport after an 80-day counter-narcotics deployment to the Eastern Pacific.

Bertholf departed Alameda on Jan. 21 to support Operation Southern Spear in the Caribbean, but prior to transiting the Panama Canal, the cutter was retasked to remain in the Pacific theater, shifting focus to counter drug trafficking and transnational criminal threats on the high seas in support of Operation Pacific Viper.

Bertholf traveled nearly 20,000 nautical miles during the deployment, crossing the equator multiple times while patrolling maritime smuggling routes from Central and South America. The cutter conducted 24 approaches or boardings of suspected drug trafficking vessels and responded to two search and rescue cases, including a vessel fire near Costa Rica.

Bertholf’s crew conducted more than 180 flight operations with helicopter aircrews from Air Station San Francisco, Air Station Ventura, and Air Station San Diego, refining proficiency in shipboard landings, in-flight refueling, and vertical replenishment. The crew completed more than 120 hours of small boat training, strengthening the capabilities of law enforcement teams and cutter boat pursuit crews. Additionally, Bertholf executed two live-fire gunnery exercises, employing minor caliber weapons as well as major weapon systems including the 57 mm and the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System.

In other news, the service just announced it intends to homeport the first two (of up to 11) new Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska, a change from basing polar vessels in Seattle.

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

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)

Getting it Done, While Missing Some Names on the Watch Bill

Check out this great moto shot of the 270-foot Bear (Legend) class USCGC Escanaba (WMEC 907) as she offloaded more than 3,400 pounds of cocaine and 4,410 pounds of marijuana with a combined assessed street value of approximately $50 million in Port Everglades (Miami) last week after an East Pac patrol under JIATF-South tasking.

USCG Photo 240823-G-FH885-1001 by Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric Rodriguez

Taking a closer look, you see the six camouflaged gents minus nametapes which would be hardlegs of Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 107 from Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team – Pacific (PAC TACLET).

Going further, you see the six Nomex-clad Airedales of Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) Jacksonville in front of their MH-65 Dolphin.

Then, counting heads in blue smurf suits and caps, you have about 80 officers and ratings of Escanaba’s crew, including the two wearing LE belts and plate carriers which are probably MEs (Maritime Enforcement Specialists).

The problem is, every journal and spec sheet on the 270s says it rates a 100-member crew and can add extra ship riders and a heli/UAV det on top of that.

Sure, somebody had to take the picture (although it was likely a District PAO from ashore) and there may be a couple of engineering guys down below but it still seems like Escanba was sailing about 15-20 percent light– on an operational deployment from Charleston SC to the Eastern Pacific and back.

No bueno. 

Meanwhile, in the Pacific…

 
At the same time, Bear-class sister USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) last week returned to Honolulu following a 68-day patrol in support of Coast Guard District 14th Operation Blue Pacific in Oceania. The 13,400 nm patrol saw the cutter make port calls in Tonga, American Samoa, Samoa, the Cook Islands, and French Polynesia. While at anchor on 4 July following the Royal Tongan Navy’s International Fleet Review to celebrate King Tupou VI’s 65th birthday and the 50th anniversary of the Tongan Navy, her crew got in a good moto shot, complete with crisp Tropical Blues, glad rags flying, and lots of shades. 
 
All 72 of them. 
 

Notice Harriet Lane has landed her 76mm OTO MK 75 in favor of a Mk 38 25mm mount, which can account for a GMG rate or two, but she is still running a little light. (U.S. Coast Guard photo 240704-G-G0214-1001, courtesy Cutter Harriet Lane)

Compare the above to crew-only shots of sisters USCGC Tampa (WMEC-902) and Forward (WMEC-911) in 2019 while at Port Everglades doing drug offloads after patrols. In each of these, well over 90 personnel can be seen.

While the USCG has a well-advertised personnel shortage– which it has addressed by laying up cutters that otherwise should still be in service– sailing this light is probably going to catch up in a bad way.

Bravo Zulu, HITRON

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, or HITRON, is celebrating its 20th anniversary and shows no signs of slowing down. In 1999, six pilots and four newly USMC-trained aviation gunners were brought together to prove the concept of armed helicopters — a mission the USCG had steered away from in the past.

Armed with stun grenades as well as M16A2 rifles and an FN M240 general-purpose machine gun for warning shots, they carried a Robar RC50 long-range heavy rifle for disabling fire. During this early phase, the group encountered five go-fasts and stopped all five with disabling fire. They arrested 17 smugglers — none of whom were injured thanks to the accurate fire of the Coasties.

After this test, the Coast Guard gave the go-ahead to move forward with a full-scale squadron sized unit and HITRON was born.

Starting with a leased helicopter (an MD Explorer dubbed the MH 90 Enforcer), they eventually moved to field eight sweet Augusta AW109s (also leases) designated as MH-68A Stingrays from 2000 to 2008.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (June 1, 2003)–The Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) patrols the skies over the Los Angeles Harbor. The MH-68A helicopter is specially equipped with M-16 rifles, an M240 machine gun, and the RC50 laser-sighted 50-caliber precision rifle. HITRON’s primary missions are drug interdiction and Home Land Security. USCG photo by PA3 Dave Hardesty

Today, more than 200 USCG personnel are currently assigned to the squadron, based at Cecil Field’s Hangar 13 in Jacksonville, Florida. From there, helicopters and crews are deployed to wherever they are needed most, now using the standard Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin.

The Chase, by James Consor, USCG art program

The precision heavy hitter of the aviation gunner today is the Barrett M107A1 .50-caliber heavy rifle. Braced against the doorframe and the strap of the rescue hoist, the 28-pound Barrett can be balanced in a way that’s familiar to any rifleman using a standard sling just on a much larger scale, providing a surprisingly stable platform from which to shoot.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Ð Petty Officer 2nd Class (AMT2) Lee Fenton of Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron takes aim with a decommissioned .50 caliber precision rifle during training in the St. Johns River, Fla., March 26, 2008. Lee is one of several gunners getting qualified on the new MH-65C dolphin helicopter. HITRON started receiving the new helicopter in September 2007. Some additional features on the new helicopter include a forward-looking infrared device and heads-up-display to enhance night operations and an electro-optical sensor system to enhance detection capabilities. Coast Guard photograph by PA2 Bobby Nash.

The gunners train with M33 ball ammo to hit a 16×16-inch target — roughly the engine housing of an outboard motor.

The engine housings of a go-fast boat sports bullet holes, June 25, 2019, in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. A Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron precision marksman used disabling-gunfire to stop the boat during a Coast Guard interdiction. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

HITRON is the only unit of its kind in the U.S. military and officials say they have stopped more than $21 billion worth of illegal drugs in the last 20 years.

Just hailing a ride on a Narco Sub

In the bonkers short video below, you see a U.S. Coast Guard Deployable Specialized Forces TACLET guy deployed on the U.S. Coast Guard Legends-class National Security Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) going for a ride on a 31-foot Long Range Interceptor “somewhere in the Eastern Pacific.”

Said Coastie makes a perfect landing on what JIATF-South calls “a self-propelled semi-submersible suspected drug smuggling vessel (SPSS)” but best just known as a Narco-Sub. The below happened June 18, 2019.

This is the SPSS when surfaced, to give a scale at just how much of the hull was below the sea:

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) crew members inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible June 19, 2019, in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. U.S. Coast Guard photo

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) crew members inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible June 19, 2019, in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. U.S. Coast Guard photo

Just two weeks after the above video was shot, crewmembers of the USCGC Mohawk (WMEC 913) and Tactical Law Enforcement Team South interdicted a second SPSS while conducting counter-trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific.

(Coast Guard Photos)

The Coast Guard hasn’t been this busy fighting submarines since the Germans!

A look at JIATF South

CBS takes an in-depth look at Joint Interagency Task Force South. Based out of Key West, it’s commanded by a USCG flag officer but includes assets from throughout USSOUTHCOM and 4th Fleet. It’s a neat video with a lot of access granted. They go inside the CIC of a National Security Cutter– USCGC James (WMSL-754)– see HITRON fire some rounds, and get a close up of Bigfoot, the narcosub over at Truman Annex that everyone poses for pictures with.

HITRON hits 500

When the U.S. Coast Guard stood up the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) in late 1998 as an experiment in Airborne Use of Force (AUF), they did so with a handful of volunteers out of Cecil Field and a few leased MD900 and MD902 Enforcer helicopters (dubbed MH-90s) with stock M16A2s and a mounted M240G.

Isn’t it cute

The proof of concept, shooting to warn, then disable go-fasts, led to the squadron going live with eight leased Augusta A109E Power helicopters, type classified as MH-68A Stingrays/Makos and the M16 was swapped out for the more effective bolt-action Robar RC-50 .50-caliber rifle and later the Barrett M107A1 semi-auto with a EBR’d M14 as back up.

Airwolf! Official caption: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Oct. 24 2001)– The HITRON, the Coast Guard’s latest drug enforcement weapon, is out on patrol aiding in port security over St. John’s river. The Coast Guard recently unveiled its new MH-68 Mako helicopter which is specifically designed to encounter the “go-fast” drug smuggling boat. USCG photo by PA3 Dana Warr

By 2008, they had switched to the new and improved version of the SA.365, classed as the MH-65C Dolphin and haven’t looked back. HITRON is the single CG source of forward-deployed armed aircrews and helicopters. Some figures estimate that this one unit has accounted for more than 10 percent of all drugs seized coming into the US since their introduction.

Last week they stopped their 500th drug interdiction when a deployed crew stopped a drug-laden go-fast vessel at 1:30 a.m. in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, March 11, 2017.

From the CG’s presser:

This is a historic benchmark for the Coast Guard as HITRON has successfully interdicted 500 vessels transporting approximately 422,000 kilograms of cocaine and 27,000 kg of marijuana with a wholesale value of more than $16.7 billion.

“This achievement is a direct reflection of the training, perseverance, and teamwork from our aircrews, support personnel and other deployed forces and partner agencies that support this dynamic mission and work together to achieve remarkable results in a joint effort countering illegal drug smuggling,” said Capt. Kevin P. Gavin, commanding officer of HITRON.

The aircrew of the Florida-based Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron stand for a photo after the 500th recorded drug bust in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, March 11, 2017. U.S. Coast Guard photo. Note the M107A1 with mounted AN/PEQ-15 aiming laser in the foreground, the M110 7.62x51mm sniper rifle with can in the background, and the fact that the crew names and weapons’ serials have been blurred for OPSEC/PERSEC.

A 7-page history of the unit from 1998-2004 via the USCG Historian’s Office is here.

Combat Gallery Sunday: The Martial Art of James Consor

Much as once a week I like to take time off to cover warships (Wednesdays), on Sundays (when I feel like working), I like to cover military art and the painters, illustrators, sculptors, photographers and the like that produced them.

Combat Gallery Sunday: The Martial Art of James Consor

James Consor graduated with a bachelor’s of fine arts in illustration from Syracuse University. Upon graduation, he moved to New York City and entered the advertising business. His spare time was spent drawing and painting with an eventual emphasis on maritime subjects. Since 1998, he has had many one-man shows of marine art and exhibited in several galleries including Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut.

The artist has been sent on two artist deployments by the Coast Guard.

In 2008, he was deployed aboard the Cutter Diligence from which he observed migrant and illegal drug interdictions off Florida’s West Coast.

In 2011, he was once again sent to Florida, this time to Jacksonville to observe Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron training exercises.

Ready, Aim, Fire by James Consor During training exercises, the gunner's mate aboard a helicopter sights his rifle on a boat suspected of carrying illegal drugs. He is a member of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) from Jacksonville, Fla. HITRON members undergo rigorous training to support counter-narcotics and homeland security missions. HITRON crews are often embarked on cutters patrolling the Drug Transit Zone, a six million square mile area, including the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Pacific.

Ready, Aim, Fire by James Consor
During training exercises, the gunner’s mate aboard a helicopter sights his rifle on a boat suspected of carrying illegal drugs. He is a member of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) from Jacksonville, Fla. HITRON members undergo rigorous training to support counter-narcotics and homeland security missions. HITRON crews are often embarked on cutters patrolling the Drug Transit Zone, a six million square mile area, including the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Pacific.

The Chase, by James Consor Members of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) from Jacksonville, Fla., conduct training exercises aboard an HH-65 helicopter. Here, crew members simulate an interdiction of a motor boat suspected of carrying illegal drugs. HITRON forward deploys armed helicopters to high threat drug trafficking and high risk security areas. HITRON crews are often embarked on cutters patrolling the Drug Transit Zone, a six million square mile area, including the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Pacific

The Chase, by James Consor
Members of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) from Jacksonville, Fla., conduct training exercises aboard an HH-65 helicopter. Here, crew members simulate an interdiction of a motor boat suspected of carrying illegal drugs. HITRON forward deploys armed helicopters to high threat drug trafficking and high-risk security areas. HITRON crews are often embarked on cutters patrolling the Drug Transit Zone, a six million square mile area, including the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Pacific

In this work from the U.S. Coast Guard Art Program 2014 Collection, "Above the Seneca," ID# 201404, the USCGC Seneca (WMEC 906) patrols in the Straits of Florida. Homeported in Boston, the Seneca's missions range from protecting and enforcing laws for living marine resources to deploying in support of joint agency intercepts of drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Coast Guard Art Program work by James Consor.

In this work from the U.S. Coast Guard Art Program 2014 Collection, “Above the Seneca,” ID# 201404, the USCGC Seneca (WMEC 906) patrols in the Straits of Florida. Homeported in Boston, the Seneca’s missions range from protecting and enforcing laws for living marine resources to deploying in support of joint agency intercepts of drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Coast Guard Art Program work by James Consor.

A member of the Society of Illustrators for over 40 years, he has also been active in the Air Force Art Program at the Society of Illustrators since the 1980’s and the US Coast Guard Art Program (COGAP) for about 10 years. The rest of his painting is devoted to the sailboats.

Weathermark by James Consor, via Mystic Seaport.org

Weathermark by James Consor, via Mystic Seaport.org

You can see more of his work here.

Thank you for your work, sir.

MII Board clears HITRON shoot

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Petty Officer 2nd Class Anthony Phillips, a precision marksman at Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, shows a group of VIPs the weaponry used at HITRON during missions Tuesday Feb. 23, 2010. The VIPs were at HITRON to view an advanced screening of an upcoming episode of Top Sniper featuring HITRON on the Military Channel Thursday at 9 p.m. EST. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Bobby Nash.)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Petty Officer 2nd Class Anthony Phillips, a precision marksman at Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, shows a group of VIPs the weaponry used at HITRON during missions Tuesday Feb. 23, 2010. The VIPs were at HITRON to view an advanced screening of an upcoming episode of Top Sniper featuring HITRON on the Military Channel Thursday at 9 p.m. EST. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Bobby Nash.)

The U.S. Coast Guard last week announced the fatal shooting of an Ecuadorian man was in accordance with U.S. and international law and fully complied with the agency’s tactics and procedures.

Javier Darwin Licoa Nunez, 35, of Ecuador, was killed during a law enforcement operation 195 miles north of the Galapagos Islands Aug. 30, 2016. The USCG’s Major Incident Investigation Report made public this week found that Nunez, part of the crew of a suspected “go-fast” cocaine smuggling boat, died from fatal internal injuries caused by bullet fragments after a helicopter-borne Coast Guard marksman fired 10 rounds into the engines of the vessel while attempting to stop the craft.

More in my column at Guns.com.