U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area

Happy Birthday U.S. Marine Corps #Theywillgetit #SemperFi #SemperParatus http://ow.ly/m4OB50CgIW4

Time to go to work Coastguardsmen assigned to Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 407 prepare to board an MH-60S Sea Hawk, assigned to the Wildcards of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) while patrolling the Eastern Pacific Ocean last month. U.S. Coast Guard Precision Marksmen are trained in basic and precision rifle marksmanship skills including operation and m...aintenance of a precision weapon system, ballistics science, mental performance skills, zeroing, data collection, precision rifle optics, environmental effects, range estimation, offset holds, moving/multiple/limited-exposure target engagement, unconventional position shooting, target engagement under stress, operation of night vision devices, and laser aiming devices. The LEDET members are deployed aboard the Gabrielle Giffords. The Gabrielle Giffords is underway in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, including counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security cooperated to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations.

On Friday, October 23rd, Lieutenant Junior Grade Morgan Garrett lost her life in the performance of duty when the T6-Texan II aircraft she was flying crashed in Alabama during a training evolution. Tragically, LTJG Garrett's U.S. Navy flight instructor, Lieutenant Rhiannon Ross, was also killed in the crash. LTJG Garrett was posthumously promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade and awarded a Coast Guard Commendation Medal for her service to our country. Our service c...ontinues to mourn the loss of LTJG Garrett. This past week members from across the Bay Area gathered on U.S. Coast Guard Base Alameda in her honor for a socially distanced CrossFit Hero WOD in remembrance of LTJG Garrett. In addition to serving as Regimental Activities Officer and being actively involved in the Women’s Leadership Council while attending the Coast Guard Academy, LTJG Garrett was a member of the New London CrossFit club. Members of her club prepared the following workout in her honor: Fly High 40*-minutes AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) 600m run** Then2 Rounds*** -10 Burpees-23 V-UPS-20 hand release push up -20 jump squats Return to run and continue for 40 minutes What it means: * 40 Minutes for 40 years of women at CGA** Morgan’s favorite workout was 12 x 600m runs *** 2 Rounds for Training Squadron 2**** 10 23 2020: Date of the accident Rest in Peace LTJG Garrett.

U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander Vice Admiral Linda Fagan recently discussed Arctic security, the threat of illegal fishing to maritime security, and U.S. Coast Guard operations and readiness during the Covid-19 pandemic with host Beverly Kirk from the Center For Strategic & International Studies. Listen to the podcast here: bit.ly/CSISPodcast

It’s not every day you see a Coast Guard icebreaker in the San Francisco Bay! The Seattle-based U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy suffered a fire in one of the ship’s main propulsion motors Aug. 18 while underway for operations in the Arctic. The cutter will undergo repairs in a Vallejo, California dry dock facility where the motor will be replaced with a new motor which is in transit from the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland.... Commissioned in 2000, Healy is one of two icebreakers in our nation’s fleet. Healy is a medium-endurance cutter while the 44-year-old U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is the nation’s sole operational heavy duty icebreaker. I commend the crew of the Healy for their quick actions to safely combat the fire, said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area commander following the fire that broke out while Healy was 60 nautical miles off of Seward, Alaska, en route to the Arctic. This casualty, however, means that the United States is limited in icebreaking capability until the Healy can be repaired, and it highlights the nation’s critical need for Polar Security Cutters. In April 2019, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard awarded a contract to VT Halter Marine Shipyard, of Pascagoula, Mississippi, for the detail design and construction of the Polar Security Cutter. The initial award includes non-recurring engineering, detail design and construction of the first Polar Security Cutter and has options for the construction of two additional hulls. Construction of the first Polar Security Cutter is scheduled to begin in early 2021 with delivery in 2024. The fiscal year 2021 President’s Budget requests full funding for the construction of the second Polar Security Cutter. Read more about Healy’s fire here: bit.ly/HealyFire 's by Pablo Fernicola

Happy 245th birthday to U.S. Navy! And bravo zulu to the crew of the USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) for their Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation Ribbon awa...rd! The award, presented by Capt. Alan McCabe, commanding officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, is meant to recognize the teamwork between the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy back in July which resulted in a total seizure of 990 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $26.8 million US dollars off the coast of Colombia. This seizure marked the very first interdiction for the newly delivered USCGC Midgett while the crew was on its way to homeport in Honolulu, HI. The Coast Guard and Navy have a long history of efficiently working together and look forward to doing so in the future! #navy #USCG #happybirthday #SemperParatus U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

What do you do when you need a new propulsion motor for the U.S. Coast Guard's longest cutter in the fleet? You disassemble a building and pull it out of storage! A propulsion motor onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy caught fire Aug. 18, 2020, while the ship was supporting a scientific patrol in the Arctic. Fortunately, the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore had a backup motor in storage for the service's sole operational medium icebreaker! The storage facility housing... the motor first had to be disassembled to access the unit. The motor was craned onto a barge to begin its long journey, including a transit through the Panama Canal, en route to the west coast to be installed on the ship. 's by Lt. Cmdr. Kelsey Barrion

Have you been following the @uscg Instagram account this week? The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball took over the account, and they're taking us aboard for their recent patrol conducting Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU-F) enforcement mission throughout Oceania! #dyk IUU fishing has replaced piracy as the #1 threat to the global maritime security threat? It undermines a nation's sovereignty, threatens its economic security, and has significant impacts worldwide.... The best way to stop it is to catch these bad actors in the act - out at sea. And that's where the U.S. Coast Guard, and KIMBALL, come in. The Honolulu-based KIMBALL is uniquely positioned to lead counter-IUU fishing operations through coordinated efforts with other U.S and foreign partners in the region. KIMBALL is one of six National Security Cutter's under the command of Pacific Area and one of two based in Honolulu. KIMBALL and her sister ship, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, were commissioned in August 2019 during a dual-commissioning ceremony on US Coast Guard Base Honolulu (Sand Island).

Welcome home to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf crew, who returned to Alameda, California, Saturday following a three-month, 15K mile, multi-mission patrol to the Eastern Pacific Ocean! While deployed, the crew conducted counter-narcotics operations and partnered with the Ecuadorian navy to detect and deter potential Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the vicinity of the Galapagos Islands. Bertholf’s crews interdicted more than 6,700 pounds of cocaine,... worth an estimated wholesale value of more than $115 million during their patrol! The crew also patrolled over 3,000 square nautical miles of Ecuadorian and international waters conducting the joint IUU patrol with the Ecuadorian navy. Bertholf and the Ecuadorian naval vessel LAE Isla San Cristobal (LG-30), provided persistent presence and surveillance of fishing activity throughout the region during the week-long mission. The U.S. Coast Guard will seek to galvanize global efforts to detect and deter IUU fishing on the high seas and in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of partner nations. Through the innovative use of intelligence, technology, data analysis, and information sharing, we will identify, target, and interdict illicit actors in the maritime domain to disrupt corrupt cycles of influence that enable illegal operations, said Admiral Karl Schultz following the release of the IUU Fishing Strategic outlook. On April 1, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security cooperated to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations. Read about their patrol here: bit.ly/750_RTHP_20 #BZ to the crew!

Now you see me, now you don’t! Pablo Fernicola caught these great bird’s eye view photos of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf passing through KarlTheFog as they returned to their Alameda, California, homeport this weekend following their three-month multi-mission patrol to the Eastern Pacific. Read about their patrol here: bit.ly/750_RTHP_20... Any guess where these photos were taken from? HINT: These were not captured by a drone OR from a helicopter! 's by Pablo Fernicola

Justice served! On February 19, 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast interdicted a go-fast vessel in international waters about 378 nautical miles south of Acapulco, Mexico, while conducting a counterdrug patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This week U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven from the Middle District of Florida's U.S. Attorneys office sentenced Jesus Soto-Martinez (41, Michoacan, Mexico) to 21 years and 3 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribut...e and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, forcibly interfering with a lawful boarding, and knowingly using fire to commit a felony offense. The suspected smugglers were carrying trafficking ~4,400 pounds of cocaine. During the vessel's pursuit, Jose Varges-Merida, a co-defendant, refused to comply with the Steadfast crew's commands to stop and steered the GFV in the direction of the USCG vessel carrying its law enforcement detachment, causing the USCG vessel to significantly alter course and momentarily become unstable. The coxswain was forced to make evasive maneuvers to avoid the GFV from running over the USCG vessel and its crewmen. The USCG was then able to stop the GFV by using several rounds of disabling fire. During the boarding of the GFV, Soto-Martinez intentionally started a fire onboard the GFV by lighting one of the fuel barrels on fire. After jumping off the GFV, Soto-Martinez clung to the side of the GFV and lifted the tarp covering the cocaine bales, seemingly to ensure the nearby fire spread to the load of drugs. Almost immediately, the fire spread out of control and eventually engulfed the entire vessel. It took 90 minutes to extinguish. The majority of the GFV was burned to the waterline and the vast majority of cocaine was burned to an unsalvageable extent. "I am extremely grateful to our U.S. Attorney partners for helping us complete the cycle of justice," said Rear Admiral Brian Penoyer, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Southwest District commander. "This case demonstrates the lengths smugglers are willing to go to avoid getting caught and the dangers U.S. Coast Guard men and women face as we continue to keep these drugs off the streets and out of our homes."

Training for the worst-case scenarios better prepares U.S. Coast Guard crews to overcome some of the most challenging situations they may encounter. Before the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche crews battled the stack fire aboard the cutter, they trained and honed their skills together as a crew, preparing them for what they'd hope they'd never have to use. This video was shot weeks ago as the crew conducted multiple training scenarios as they transited from San Diego to Hawaii... on their way to the U.S. 7th Fleet's area of operations. The cutter deployed to the region under the tactical control of U.S. 7th Fleet as part of routine presence operations in support of the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. by PA3 Aidan Cooney - U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Southwest public affairs; deployed aboard Waesche

If you have never served at Sea, it hard to know what life is like underway. That’s why I invited CAPT Holly Harrison, Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guar...d Cutter Kimball, to write a guest post about the cutter’s recent deployment. #SeaStories #GlobalCoastGuard While the global pandemic has significantly slowed daily life for many, the U.S. Coast Guard has been busy, including the Coast Guard’s newest fully operational National Security Cutter USCGC KIMBALL. Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fishing has replaced piracy as the #1 threat to the global maritime security threat. It undermines a nation’s sovereignty, threatens its economic security, and has significant impacts across the world. This past patrol, KIMBALL worked in partnership with other nations to shine a light on this threat, including New Zealand, Fiji, France, and Australia. KIMBALL’s crew deployed aboard the cutter for four months. Life underway can be challenging in good times, let alone during a global pandemic. When we did pull into port for fuel and food, no one was allowed to leave the ship. Imagine being at work 24/7 for four months and having little to no control over when and how to relax? We knew going in it would be difficult so we worked hard to find ways to make it better. Supervisors adjusted work and downtime around an individual’s duties. Bingo, trivia, and casino nights were popular, as were ice cream socials and video/card game tournaments. Memes about the patrol were also popular, and a good sense of humor went a long way. We initiated 104 shipmates into the Realm of the Golden Shellback when we crossed the X (dateline & equator). We continued to develop our crew-wide Leadership and Inclusion professional development efforts and held team-building challenges disguised as fun, such as Damage Control Olympics. Serving in the cutter fleet is not always easy, but it is extremely rewarding. With some ingenuity and forethought, my shipmates rose to the challenge to get KIMBALL ready for and execute her first mission to protect our oceans from illegal fishing despite the new pandemic obstacles thrown our way, just as good Coasties do every day whether it be for a hurricane, oil spill, or search and rescue. We were and remain Semper Paratus Always Ready." -CAPT. Holly Harrison Commanding Officer USCGC KIMBALL