Release from Northrop Grumman 

***** 

APOPKA, Fla. – Feb. 21, 2023 – The U.S. Marine Corps awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) the initial production and operations contract for the Next Generation Handheld Targeting System (NGHTS). NGHTS is a compact targeting system that provides advanced precision targeting and is capable of operation in GPS-denied environments. 

“NGHTS’ advanced technology will significantly enhance warfighters’ ability to safely complete their missions,” said Bob Gough, vice president of navigation, targeting and survivability, Northrop Grumman. “NGHTS is lightweight and combines four systems into one portable device with state-of-the-art imaging, targeting, ranging, designating and networking. This compact, multi-sensor electro-optical/infrared device lightens Marines’ loads and keeps them connected while adding precision and safety to their missions.” 

NGHTS performs rapid target acquisition, laser terminal guidance operation and laser spot imaging functions using its advanced range finder and designator. With NGHTS, ground forces have the option to call in a target, transmit the precise location or use laser designation where previously the only option was to call in target coordinates on a field radio. This single, ergonomic handheld product packed with advanced targeting capabilities will enable the Marines to quickly acquire and perform guidance against targets and generate target location data during combat operations. 

NGHTS features three sensors: a color day imager, a low-light imager and a thermal imager for creating images in total darkness. It also includes a high-precision GPS receiver and a celestial compass that provides azimuth readings (the angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system) for a target’s heading relative to NGHTS to within fractions of a degree. NGHTS allows for further targeting ranges than current legacy systems. 

NGHTS provides superior observation from even the most environmentally and physically onerous locations. During twilight, one of the most challenging times of day to see targets, the streamlined Graphical User Interface (GUI) provides a sharp and clear image. This improved user experience allows the warfighter to conduct accurate target location and laser guidance during combat operations no matter the conditions. 

Weighing less than 10 pounds, the unit is extremely durable, and will be tested under extreme conditions of temperature, vibration, salt-fog and altitude. To create efficiencies and prioritize sustainment, Northrop Grumman designed various parts for NGHTS that can be 3D printed in the field rather sending them elsewhere for repair.

Release from Coast Guard Atlantic Area 

***** 

Feb. 17, 2023 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of the USCGC Legare (WMEC 912) returned to their homeport in Portsmouth, Friday, following a 63-day deployment in the Florida Straits and Caribbean Sea. 

Legare deployed in support of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry to patrol the Coast Guard’s Seventh District area of operations. While underway, Legare’s crew conducted maritime safety and security missions while working with additional Coast Guard cutters and air assets to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal migrant ventures bound for the United States. 

During the patrol, Legare’s crew cared for 1,309 migrants interdicted at sea and rescued people from 23 different unseaworthy vessels. Notably, Legare’s crew located and interdicted 396 migrants on a single, overcrowded 50-foot vessel. 

Legare’s patrol efforts highlight the Coast Guard’s critical missions of maintaining safety of life at sea and preventing the potential for loss of life by deterring migrants from taking to the sea in dangerously overcrowded vessels in an attempt to enter the United States through non-legal channels. 

“The migrant interdiction mission can be emotionally draining,” said Cmdr. Jeremy Greenwood, Legare’s commanding officer. “Legare’s success was the direct result of the patient determination of the crew. Being deployed during the holidays is never easy, but this crew will proudly return knowing they served during a unique part of our nation’s history and saved hundreds of lives.”   

Legare is a 270-foot, Famous-class medium endurance cutter with a crew of 108. The cutter’s primary missions are counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcement of federal fishery laws and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

Release from Lockheed Martin 

***** 

Company will integrate weapon system onto U.S. Navy surface ships 

LITTLETON, Colo., Feb. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is partnering with the U.S. Navy to integrate hypersonic strike capability onto surface ships. 

The U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than $2 billion, if all options are exercised, to integrate the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) weapon system onto ZUMWALT-class guided missile destroyers (DDGs). CPS is a hypersonic boost-glide weapon system that enables long range missile flight at speeds greater than Mach 5, with high survivability against enemy defenses. 

“Lockheed Martin continues to advance hypersonic strike capability for the United States through this new contract,” said Steve Layne, vice president of Hypersonic Strike Weapon Systems at Lockheed Martin. “Early design work is already underway. Our team looks forward to supporting the warfighter by providing more options to further protect America at sea.” 

Under this contract, prime contractor Lockheed Martin will provide launcher systems, weapon control, All Up Rounds (AURs), which are the integrated missile components, and platform integration support for this naval platform. The company, along with industry partners including subcontractors Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Mission Systems, is on track to provide the CPS surface-launched, sea-based hypersonic strike capability to sailors by the mid-2020s. The contract also provides for additional AURs plus canisters for the U.S. Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) testing, training and tactical employment. 

A Shared Missile

CPS shares a common AUR with the Army LRHW and can be launched from multiple platforms including surface ships, submarines, and land-based mobile launchers. 

Lockheed Martin is the prime systems integrator for the CPS and LRHW weapon systems. The company leads a team of industry, government, and academic partners to make critical progress in design and development to meet this urgent warfighter need in both land and sea domains. 

A National Imperative

Hypersonic vehicles or hypersonic missiles can travel faster than five times the speed of sound and are highly maneuverable. The combination of the CPS capability, and the stealth and mobility of the ZUMWALT-class destroyer, will provide the nation’s first sea-based hypersonic strike capability. 

Fielding CPS on the ZUMWALT-class destroyer will be a necessary and important step toward equipping the warfighter with a capability that embodies Lockheed Martin’s 21^st Century Security vision in support of our customers. 

Lockheed Martin is leveraging its corporate history of system integration on naval platforms and our more than 60 years of hypersonic strike experience to accelerate development on an unprecedented timeline. 

Release from Bell Textron 

***** 

Continues production of Foreign Military Sales Aircraft

Fort Worth, Texas (Feb. 20, 2023) – Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has completed the AH-1Z program of record (POR) for the Kingdom of Bahrain. Bell delivered the final production aircraft to Naval Air Systems Command in December of 2022. The first Bahrain AH-1Zs made their in-country debut during the Bahrain Air Show and six have been delivered in country. The final six helicopters will be prepared for shipment to Bahrain with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) before being transported to Bahrain in 2023. 

“Congratulations to the Kingdom of Bahrain on obtaining the latest generation of the AH-1Zs,” said Mike Deslatte, Bell vice president and H-1 program director. “As a leader in the region, Bahrain’s defensive capabilities will be further bolstered by the advanced technologies of the Viper.” 

The completion of the Bahrain AH-1Z program of record comes on the heels of Bell completing the U.S. Marine Corps program of record, signifying two major H-1 production milestones in one year. The AH-1Z Viper is Bell’s newest generation of dedicated attack helicopters manufactured by Bell. The U.S. Marine Corps currently operates the AH-1Z around the world, taking advantage of the minimal logistics requirements for shipboard and expeditionary operations. 

“Capabilities are only part of the equation when it comes to modernizing an aircraft fleet,” Deslatte added. “By ensuring the aircraft can operate with minimal logistics support, the Viper enables leaders to react with greater speed and agility to rapidly evolving operations.”    

Bell continues to work with Kingdom of Bahrain on post-shipping inspections and re-assembly to guarantee configuration as defined in the FMS case. In addition to manufacturing and delivering the new Vipers, Bell will support the lifecycle of the aircraft to ensure reliability, survivability and lethality on the modern battlefield.

Release from U.S. Navy 

***** 

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced today that the formerly named Maury Hall, at United States Naval Academy (USNA), has been renamed Carter Hall. 

This renaming honors former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981.  

The decision arrived after a congressionally mandated Naming Commission outlined several military assets across all branches of service that required renaming due to confederate ties. In September 2022, Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd accepted all recommendations from the naming commission and gave each service until the end of 2023 to rename their assets. 

“When Secretary Austin directed us to implement the recommendations of the Naming Commission, he instructed us to give proud new names. Names that echo with honor, patriotism, and history. Names that will inspire generations of service members to defend our democracy and our Constitution,” Secretary Del Toro said during a renaming ceremony. “Today, on the Friday before Presidents Day weekend, that is exactly what we are doing. I can think of no one more worthy of this renaming than President Jimmy Carter.” 

Carter was born in 1924 and grew up in Georgia. After briefly attending college, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in the Class of 1947. After graduation 1946 (his class graduated early to support the Fleet following World War II), he spent the next seven years as a submarine officer. In 1962, he returned to Georgia, entered state politics, and was ultimately elected as Governor of Georgia where he focused on government efficiency and human rights efforts regarding racial barriers. During Carter’s tenure as President of the United States he continued his efforts regarding equal rights for all, promoted economic and social development, and later received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on peaceful solutions to international conflicts. 

“As part of our mission here at the Naval Academy, we strive to graduate leaders with the potential to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship, and government.  Among all of our institution’s thousands of graduates, only one has assumed the one office that most wholly embodies each of these responsibilities, the office of the President of the United States. That graduate is, of course, our 39th President, President James Earl Carter, Naval Academy Class of 1947,” said U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Sean Buck. “We are here today to honor his legacy as one of our institution’s most distinguished graduates. By naming this building in his honor we not only recognize his great contributions, but ensure that his legacy will forever inspire our nation’s future leaders. For generations to come, when midshipmen walk the corridors of Carter Hall, I have no doubt that they will be reminded of President Carter’s example and his legacy of lifelong service, and reinvigorated with the call to serve we all answered when we took our first oath.” 

Family members of the Carter family, military and USNA leadership, and USNA students were present for the renaming ceremony. 

“It would be impossible to overstate what this Academy and the Navy has meant to my grandfather, and by extension to my family,” said Josh Carter. “It was life on the farm that gave my grandfather his work ethic and his ability to enjoy getting up at 5:30 every morning. But it was this school that taught him discipline, the value of expertise, and the importance of service. It is my hope that every student that comes through this great hall will learn the same foundational values that my grandfather learned here and through his career in the Navy.” 

Maury Hall was built and named in the early 1900s after Matthew Fontaine Maury. Maury was a leader in science and oceanography, nicknamed “pathfinder of the seas,” resigned his commission to serve in the Confederate Navy. 

Release from the U.S. Department of Defense 

***** 

Feb. 17, 2023 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced that the president has made the following nominations: 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Stephen D. Barnett for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Barnett is currently serving as commander, Navy Region Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael W. Baze for appointment to the grade of rear admiral. Baze is currently serving as commander, Navy Personnel Command; and deputy chief of naval personnel, Millington, Tennessee. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Richard T. Brophy Jr., for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Brophy is currently serving as chief of Naval Air Training, Corpus Christi, Texas. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Joseph F. Cahill III, for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Cahill is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Fifteen, San Diego, California. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Jeffrey J. Czerewko for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Czerewko is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Four, Norfolk, Virginia.  

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Brian L. Davies for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Davies is currently serving as commander, Submarine Group Two, with additional duties as deputy commander, Second Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael P. Donnelly for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Donnelly is currently serving as commander, Task Force Seven Zero; and commander, Carrier Strike Group Five, Yokosuka, Japan.   

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Kenneth W. Epps for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Epps is currently serving as commander, Naval Supply Systems Command Weapons Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Rick Freedman for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Freedman is currently serving as deputy assistant director, Operations, Strategy, and Education and Training, Defense Heath Agency, with additional duties as chief of the Dental Corps, Falls Church, Virginia. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Daniel P. Martin for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Martin is currently serving as director, Maritime Operations, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Casey J. Moton for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Moton is currently serving as program executive officer, Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC), Washington, D.C. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Richard E. Seif Jr., for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Seif is currently serving as commander, Submarine Group Seven; commander, Task Force Seven Four; and commander, Task Force Five Four, Yokosuka, Japan. 
  
Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Paul C. Spedero Jr., for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Spedero is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Eight, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Stephen R. Tedford for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Tedford is currently serving as program executive officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, Patuxent River, Maryland.  

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Derek A. Trinque for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Trinque is currently serving as commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Seven; commander, Task Force Seven Six; and commander, Amphibious Force, Seventh Fleet, Okinawa, Japan. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Dennis Velez for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Velez is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Ten, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Darryl L. Walker for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Walker is currently serving as commander, Combined Joint Task Force, Cyber, Tenth Fleet, Fort Meade, Maryland. 

Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Jeromy B. Williams for appointment to the grade of rear admiral.  Williams is currently serving as commander, Special Operations Command Pacific, U.S. Special Operations Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. 

Release from Textron Aviation 

***** 

February 16, 2023 

WICHITA, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Textron Aviation today announced it has been awarded the Multi-Engine Training System (METS) contract by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) through a full and open competition. 

Beechcraft King Air 260 Multi-Engine Training System (METS) T-54A for the U.S. Navy (Photo: Business Wire) 

The contract award is for up to 64 King Air 260 aircraft, which will be known as the T-54A. The initial Lot I award will procure 10 new Beechcraft King Air 260 commercial aircraft and associated support. Lot II and Lot III, if the options are exercised, would each procure up to 27 aircraft. Aircraft deliveries are planned from 2024 to 2026. 

The Beechcraft King Air 260 aircraft acquired under the METS contract will replace the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) fleet of T-44C Pegasus aircraft. The T-44C Pegasus aircraft is a variant of the twin-engine and pressurized Beechcraft King Air 90. The T-44 has been in service since 1977. 

“We are honored the U.S. Navy has again selected the Beechcraft King Air to fulfill its training needs,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Missions Sales for Textron Aviation. “METS will modernize multi-engine aircraft training at CNATRA, providing an intermediate and advanced training platform for U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard aviators into the P-8, EP-3, KC-130, E-6, E-2, CMV-22, CV-22 and MV-22 aircraft.” 

METS specific capabilities include factory options for TACAN (Air to Air), angle of attack (AOA), V/UHF radio, digital audio system, engine trend monitoring, condition-based maintenance plus, observer/jump seat, passenger mission seats, and full-face oxygen masks. 

“With its advanced technology, the new METS platform will be more representative of fleet aircraft,” said Capt. Holly Shoger, Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office (PMA-273) program manager. “The T-54A will include an updated avionics suite, automation qualities, and virtual reality and augmented reality devices to better prepare students for the advanced aircraft they will fly in the fleet.” 

The King Air 260 METS aircraft will be delivered in a fully compliant, METS mission ready configuration from Textron Aviation’s King Air production line in Wichita, Kansas. 

Endless Special Missions Possibilities 

When government, military and commercial customers want airborne solutions for critical missions, they turn to Textron Aviation. The company’s aviation solutions provide the high performance and flight characteristics required to address the unique challenges of special missions operations. With unparalleled quality, versatility and low operating costs, Textron Aviation products are preferred for air ambulance, ISR, utility transport, aerial survey, flight inspection, training and a number of other special operations. 

King Air Leadership 

More than 7,700 Beechcraft King Air turboprops have been delivered to customers around the world since 1964, making it the best-selling business turboprop family in the world. The worldwide fleet has surpassed 62 million flight hours in its 58 years, serving roles in all branches of the U.S. military and flying both commercial and special missions roles around the world. 

About the King Air 260 

The King Air 260 brings state-of-the art technology to the cockpit and offers greater ease of flight. The cockpit features the Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S) ThrustSense Autothrottle system, which supports pilots in their critical mission of delivering people or cargo by automatically managing engine power from the takeoff roll through the climb, cruise, descent, landing, and go-around phases of flight. This enhancement reduces pilot workload and is designed to prevent over-speed or under-speed, over-temp and over-torque conditions. 

The King Air 260 cockpit also features a digital pressurization controller, which automatically schedules cabin pressurization during both climb and descent, reducing pilot workload and increasing overall passenger comfort. The pressurization gauges have been integrated with the powerful Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion flight deck. 

The aircraft includes the Collins Multi-Scan RTA-4112 weather radar, providing pilots with a fully automatic system that is optimized to detect short, mid and long-range weather.

Release from Commander Task Force 71 

***** 

16 February 2023 

From Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15 Public Affairs 

YOKOSUKA, Japan - USS Barry (DDG 52) departed Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan Feb. 17, as part of a scheduled homeport shift following six years of service forward-deployed to U.S. 7th Fleet. 

Barry operated in the Indo-Pacific while assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. 

“Barry and her crew stood the watch in the Western Pacific for nearly seven years,” said Capt. Walt Mainor, commodore, CTF 71/DESRON 15. “She leaves with an incredible legacy of being the Navy’s oldest destroyer who still accomplished the mission. She held the line and provided incredible firepower to our team without fail. We will miss the fight and determination of the Barry Bulldogs, but look forward to seeing her provide that same fire power to her new squadron-mates in DESRON 31.” 

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will move to Everett, Washington — where the ship will undergo routine maintenance, joining the U.S. 3rd Fleet. Barry will be part of the Ke Koa O Ke Kai of DESRON 31 after her transit across the International Date Line. Barry arrived in Yokosuka in 2016 and successfully participated in numerous multilateral maritime exercises such as MALABAR, Maritime Counter Special Operations Exercise (MCSOFEX), Bilateral Advanced Warfare Training (BAWT), working alongside Allies and partners from Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Great Britain, and the Philippines, to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

Barry’s performance during Integrated Ship and Air Team Training (ISATT), Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT), and presence and Carrier Strike Group Operations with USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), resulted in Barry’s receipt of the Meritorious Unit Commendation Award during the COVID-19 pandemic while assigned to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5 during the 2020 deployment. 

Barry’s list of accolades continues, as she was the first ship to be awarded the Spokane Trophy and the Battenberg cup in 2020, the Battle Efficiency “Battle E”, the Unit Tactics Award, and Bloodhound Anti-Submarine Warfare award in 2021. 

“The ship and crew got the job done. Barry is leaving the 7th Fleet family on a high note.” said Cmdr. Grant Bryan, commanding officer, USS Barry. “Our families will miss Japan, and our Sailors will miss sailing alongside our nation’s strongest Allies.” 

While assigned to CTF 71, USS Barry participated in seven Allied and coalition exercises, 12 foreign port visits, and sailed nearly 3.8 million miles across the Pacific. 

“There’s nothing quite like serving alongside so many friends and partners in such a dynamic region of the world,” said Bryan. “Only 7th Fleet can provide the unique and unforgettable experiences to our Sailors that they will carry with them for the rest of their careers.” 

Boatswains Mate 3rd Class Jonathan Perezbaez has served onboard Barry for five of the six years in Japan, and said, “This ship has been through a lot, but every single challenge we met them head-on and we came out on top. Attitude reflects leadership, and every one of us onboard knows that our team is the greatest of all time.” 

7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. 

Release from Austal USA 

***** 

FEBRUARY 16, 2023 

MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA delivered Expeditionary Fast Transport USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) to the U.S. Navy, today. This is the 2nd Navy ship named after the coastal Florida city; both ships were built in Mobile. 

EPF 13 is now the largest surface ship in the U.S. Navy fleet with autonomous capability. EPF 13 went to sea five times over a several-month duration allowing Austal USA and their industry partners, L3Harris and General Dynamics Mission Systems, to test and analyze not only her typical ship systems but those resulting from autonomous design and construction contract modifications required by the Navy to establish EPF 13 as an autonomous prototype.  

“Austal USA is proud to deliver this ship to our Navy – it’s innovative and is going to be a critical asset as unmanned capabilities continue to push boundaries and redefine how missions are achieved,” commented Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh. “Apalachicola will also be the first EPF with the ability to conduct V-22 flight operations, and launch and recover 11 meter Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs). A lot of capability is being delivered to our warfighters with this ship and I’m incredibly proud of our team of shipbuilders.” 

With a shallow draft and high-speed, the EPF’s agility provides a positional advantage in the littorals and makes it an ideal candidate to prototype large vessel autonomous operations, including logistics, tendering and adjunct magazine mission profiles. 

Fundamental to the autonomy effort was Austal USA’s highly automated in-house designed machinery control system (MCS), which allows the ship to be minimally manned by centralizing machinery operations to the bridge. All Spearhead-class EPFs built to date incorporate the Austal USA MCS design which is secure, scalable, distributive and reconfigurable for multiple propulsion configurations. 

Combined with the already highly automated hull, mechanical & electrical systems installed on EPF class ships, Austal USA added automated maintenance, health monitoring, and mission readiness to provide EPF 13 with the capability to conduct up to 30 days of operation without human intervention. 

EPF 13 is also the first Expeditionary Fast Transport vessel to be delivered to the Navy with enhanced capabilities to support V-22 flight operations and launch and recover 11 meter RHIBs. These upgrades along with EPF’s speed, maneuverability and shallow water access are key enablers for support of future Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations around the world. 

Autonomous vessel capability has been identified as an area of strategic importance by the Navy. Austal USA is working to advance autonomous capability and is partnered with L3Harris on the MCS upgrade of Overlord vessel, Mariner (OUSV 3), and construction of Vanguard (OUSV 4), and with Saildrone, Inc. on the manufacture of Surveyor unmanned surface vehicles. Combined with investments from academia in uncrewed technology, south Alabama is quickly becoming the epicenter of autonomous naval architecture.

Release from United States Coast Guard

***** 

Feb. 15, 2023 

Editor’s Note: For b-roll of Bear’s patrol, click here; homecoming footage can be viewed here. 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of the USCGC Bear (WMEC 901) returned to their homeport in Portsmouth Wednesday after completing a 60-day deployment in the Florida Straits and Windward Passage. 

Bear’s crew supported Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry in the Coast Guard’s Seventh District area of operations. While underway, Bear’s crew conducted maritime safety and security missions while working to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal migrant ventures bound for the United States. 

Within the first days of patrol, Bear interdicted an overloaded Cuban rustic vessel in the Florida Straits and transferred 27 migrants on board the cutter. 

Bear also spent part of the patrol acting as a visual deterrence to illegal migration in the region by operating close to Haiti’s shore, which resulted in the interdiction of two overloaded migrant voyages. Both vessels were approximately 50 feet in length and each carried more than 200 migrants. After providing food, water, and medical care, Bear’s crew repatriated the migrants back to Haiti. 

Throughout the deployment, Bear’s crew members cared for and provided medical attention to 502 migrants on board the cutter before repatriating them to their country of origin. 

“Bear’s mission was to deter illegal maritime migration and rescue those in distress before the sea claimed their lives,” said Cmdr. Brooke Millard, Bear’s commanding officer. “This deployment was challenging. It’s tough to witness fellow humans risk all for a better way of life in an unforgiving sea. Know that your Coast Guard is ‘all in’ to protect our maritime border as well as save lives.” 

Since the fiscal year began in October, Coast Guard crews have interdicted over 7,100 Cubans and Haitians at sea. 

Bear is a 270-foot, Famous-class medium endurance cutter with a crew of 100. The cutter’s primary mission areas include homeland security, law enforcement, counter drug, search and rescue, migrant interdiction, and fisheries enforcement in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.