History
In 1986, Bear responded to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster by searching over 1900 square nautical miles (6,500 km²). [2] During any given patrol, Bear conducts a wide-spectrum of missions such as search and rescue, alien migrant interdiction operations, counter-drug patrols, fisheries enforcement, and international engagement—illustrating the versatile, multi-mission character of the Coast Guard and the cutter fleet. Since her commissioning she has made 25 significant drug seizures involving 12 marijuana and 13 cocaine busts. According to the Office of Maritime Law Enforcement, in 2023, Bear set the record for most interdictions in one deployment in which the crew stopped 6 go-fasts, preventing 8,500 pounds of cocaine from reaching the U.S. and keeping $90M out of the hands of criminals. [1]
In 1999, Bear was deployed with the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) Battle Group to support NATO combat operations during Operation Allied Force. During this the Bear performed various mission such as surface surveillance, provided backup Search and Rescue response, combat escort for US Army transport vessels in areas where the cutter was well within range of enemy missiles, and provided force protection for the Amphibious Ready Group operating near Albania. Vice Admiral Murphy stated how well and how seamlessly Bear and her crew performed naval operations. This was due to the Bear's interoperability, crew training and knowledge in naval warfare and naval war fighting doctrine, and adequate weaponry. Bear was awarded the Kosovo Campaign Medal and the NATO Kosovo Medal. [3] [4] In 2023, Bear's NR1 Main Diesel Engine clocked 100,000 hours, a testament to the dedication and skill of Coast Guard engineers. As of Spring 2024, Bear has deployed 74 times since launch. [5]
USCGC Acushnet (WMEC-167) was a cutter of the United States Coast Guard, homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska. She was originally USS Shackle (ARS-9), a Diver-class rescue and salvage ship commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for coming to the aid of stricken vessels and received three battle stars during World War II, before a long career with the Coast Guard. Acushnet patrolled the waters of the North Pacific and was one of the last World War II era ships on active duty in the US fleet upon her retirement in 2011.
SLNS Vijayabahu (P627) is an Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Sri Lanka Navy. The ship is named after King Vijayabahu I, the warrior king of the medieval Sri Lanka who founded the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa.
USCGC Dallas (WHEC-716) was a United States Coast Guard high endurance cutter commissioned in 1967 at the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was the sixth ship or boat to bear the name of Alexander J. Dallas, the Secretary of the Treasury under President James Madison (1814–1816). She is one of twelve Hamilton-class cutters built for the Coast Guard.
Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct counter-drug operations and support maritime law enforcement, interdiction, or security operations. LEDETs are the operational elements of the Coast Guard’s two Tactical Law Enforcement Teams (TACLETs) which are part of the Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF). As of April 2010 there are seventeen LEDETs.
The history of the United States Coast Guard goes back to the United States Revenue Cutter Service, which was founded on 4 August 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. The Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Life-Saving Service were merged to become the Coast Guard per 14 U.S.C. § 1 which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." In 1939 the United States Lighthouse Service was merged into the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard itself was moved to the Department of Transportation in 1967, and on 1 March 2003 it became part of the Department of Homeland Security. However, under 14 U.S.C. § 3 as amended by section 211 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, upon the declaration of war and when Congress so directs in the declaration, or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates as a service in the Department of the Navy.
The United States Coast Guard is the coastal defense, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces and is one of the country's eight uniformed services. It carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are:
SLNS Gajabahu (P626) is an Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Sri Lanka Navy. The ship is the second ship named after King Gajabahu I, the warrior king of the medieval Sri Lankan Kingdom of Anuradhapura.
USCGC Thetis (WMEC-910) is a United States Coast Guard Famous-class medium endurance cutter. She is the 10th ship of the Famous Class cutters designed and built for the U.S. Coast Guard and the third Coast Guard cutter to bear the name. Laid down August 24, 1984 by Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated of Middletown, Rhode Island. She was launched April 29, 1986 and named for the cutters USRC Thetis, which served from 1899 to 1916, and USCGC Thetis (WPC-115), which served from 1931 to 1947. The Greek goddess Thetis, incidentally, was the mother of Achilles. The Famous Class cutter Thetis was commissioned on June 30, 1989. She conducts patrols throughout the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Named after Harriet Lane, niece and official hostess of President James Buchanan. Harriet Lane was constructed by Tacoma Boatbuilding, Tacoma, Washington and delivered 20 April 1984.
USCGC Tampa (WMEC-902) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. She was commissioned 16 March 1984. Her motto, "Thy way is the sea, thy path in the great waters", matches the inscription that is engraved on the memorial at Arlington National Cemetery for the 131 persons lost following the sinking of a previous cutter Tampa on September 18, 1918.
USCGC Northland (WMEC-904) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid down in 1981 and she was launched in 1982 by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company of Tacoma, Washington. She was commissioned on December 17, 1984.
USCGC Spencer (WMEC-905) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid on 26 June 1982 at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated, Middletown, Rhode Island. She was named for John Canfield Spencer, United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1843 to 1844 under President John Tyler and launched on 17 April 1984 and was commissioned into service on 28 June 1986.
USCGC Escanaba (WMEC-907) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter based in Portsmouth, Virginia. Her keel was laid on April 1, 1983, at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated, Middletown, Rhode Island. She was launched February 6, 1985 and is named for her predecessor, USCGC Escanaba (WPG-77) which sank during World War Two, and was named for the Escanaba River and Escanaba, Michigan. Escanaba (WMEC-907) was formally commissioned August 29, 1987 in Grand Haven, Michigan, the home port of her predecessor.
USCGC Campbell (WMEC-909) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter based at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. Campbell is the sixth Coast Guard Cutter to bear the name and is assigned to the Atlantic. The ship bears the distinction of having made some of the largest narcotics seizures in Coast Guard history as well as being the command ship for the TWA 800 recovery effort.
USCGC Valiant (WMEC-621) is a United States Coast Guard multi-mission medium endurance cutter in service since 1967. Valiant is home ported in Jacksonville, Florida and operates in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico for the Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area. Missions include search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection, and national defense operations.
USCGC Active (WMEC-618) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Active was launched at Christy Corporation, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on July 31, 1965. Commissioned on September 1, 1966, she is 210 feet (64 m) long, has a 34-foot (10 m) beam, displaces 1108 tons, and draws 13 feet (4.0 m) of water. She is powered by two diesel engines, combined for a total of 5,000 hp (3,700 kW). Quarters are provided for up to 12 officers and 70 enlisted members. Active's cruising range is 5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h), designed with an operating endurance of about 30 days. At her top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h), Active has an approximate range of 2,200 nautical miles (4,070 km). Active's armament consists of a single 25 mm gun on the forecastle. The forecastle, bridge and fantail can also mount .50 caliber machine guns. The Active has a flight deck which allows for the deployment of a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin. USCGC Active has received several awards in recent years for its outstanding service to the maritime community, including oil spill clean ups in Prince William Sound, Alaska during the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
USCGC Venturous (WMEC-625) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. The vessel was constructed by the American Shipbuilding Company in Lorain, Ohio in 1967 and commissioned in 1968. The ship has served on both the west and eastern coasts of the United States. The vessel is used for search and rescue, fishery law enforcement, border enforcement and smuggling interdiction along the coasts and in the Caribbean Sea.
USCGC Adak (WPB-1333) was a United States Coast Guard cutter that received her name from Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Built at Bollinger Shipyard in Lockport, Louisiana, Adak was placed in commission on 18 August 1989 in New Jersey and decommissioned on 30 June 2021 in Manama, Bahrain after almost 32 years of service.
USCGC Monomoy (WPB-1326) was a United States Coast Guard Island class patrol cutter. She was the 26th ship of her class. The second ship of the Coast Guard to bear the name, Monomoy was named after Monomoy Island which lies off the coast of Cape Cod.
The United States Coast Guard established Patrol Boat Squadrons to manage the 110-foot long Island-class patrol boats. Squadron ONE was established in Miami Beach, Florida, and Squadron TWO was established in Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. Their message traffic plain language addresses were COGARD PATBOATRON ONE and TWO, respectively. Created during the end of the Cold War, they were expeditionary squadrons modeled after the successful Coast Guard Squadron One employed during the Vietnam War. They provided a modernized template for the creation of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) and Patrol Forces Mediterranean (PATFORMED) during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
United States
