WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate confirmed Adm. Linda Fagan Wednesday to lead the Coast Guard as its next commandant, said Kara Noto of the Coast Guard’s MYCG staff. 

Fagan will be the first woman to lead a U.S. military service branch.   

Fagan has served as the service’s vice commandant since June 2021, when she became the first woman four-star admiral in Coast Guard history.  

The White House issued the following May 12 statement from President Joe Biden: 

“It is with deep pride that I congratulate Admiral Linda L. Fagan on her confirmation by the Senate as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Admiral Fagan is the Coast Guard’s first woman to hold the rank of four-star admiral. Today, she again makes history not only as the first woman to lead the Coast Guard—but also as the first woman Service Chief of any U.S. military service. Admiral Fagan’s leadership, experience, and integrity are second to none, and I know she will advance the Coast Guard’s mission to ensure our nation’s maritime safety and security.  

“My administration is committed to seeing more qualified women in senior leadership and command roles; making sure women can succeed and thrive throughout their military careers. Today, Admiral Fagan’s confirmation as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard signals to women and girls across our nation they have a place in protecting their country at the highest level.” 

The Senate also confirmed five other significant roles:   

• Vice Commandant – Adm. Steven D. Poulin  
• Deputy Commandant for Operations – Rear Adm. Peter Gautier   
• Commander, District 14 – Rear Adm. Michael H. Day    
• Commander, Atlantic Area – Rear Adm. Kevin Lunday   
• Commander, Pacific Area – Rear Adm. Andrew J. Tiongson   

Previously announced senior leadership assignments include:  

• First District Commander – RADM J.W. Mauger  
• Fifth District Commander – RADM (Select) S.N. Gilreath  
• Seventh District Commander – RADM (Select) B.C. McPherson  
• Eighth District Commander – RADM (Select) R.V. Timme  
• Ninth District Commander – RADM M.J. Johnston  
• Eleventh District Commander – RADM (Select) A.M. Sugimoto  
• Thirteenth District Commander – RADM M.W. Bouboulis  
• Seventeenth District Commander – RADM N.A. Moore 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Coast Guard commissioned the 48th Sentinel-class fast response cutter Pablo Valent (WPC 1148) into service at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Florida, May 11, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson, commanding officer of the Coast Guard 7th District, presided over the ceremony. Ms. Cecilia Guillot, Valent’s great-niece, is the ship’s sponsor.  

The cutter’s namesake Pablo Valent was originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, and joined the United States Life-Saving Service in 1912. In September 1919, Valent helped rescue the crew of the hurricane-damaged schooner Cape Horn off the coast of Texas. For his heroic efforts, Valent received the Silver Lifesaving Medal and the Grand Cross of the American Cross of Honor Society. Valent was one of the first Hispanic Americans to receive these honors.  

The Valent is the 48th FRC and is the first to be homeported in St. Petersburg with missions including search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, coastal security, and living marine resources. There are 12 other FRCs in Florida, which operate throughout the Caribbean Sea. 

Each cutter is designed for a crew of 24, has a range of 2,500 miles and is equipped for patrols up to five days. The FRCs are part of the Coast Guard’s overall fleet modernization initiative. 

FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment as well as over-the-horizon response boat deployment capability and improved habitability for the crew. The ships can reach speeds of 28 knots and are equipped to coordinate operations with partner agencies and long-range Coast Guard assets such as the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutters. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier and Caribbean Corridor Strike Force agents offloaded 626 pounds of seized cocaine Monday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a May 10 release. 

The offload of contraband resulted from a go-fast vessel interdiction April 28, 2022, in Mona Passage waters near the Dominican Republic. 

The interdiction is the result of multi-agency efforts involving the Caribbean Border Interagency Group and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force. The seized cocaine has an estimated wholesale value of approximately $5.6 million dollars. 

During the morning of April 28, the crew of a Coast Guard HC-27J Spartan aircraft detected a suspect vessel north of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the cutter Joseph Napier that arrived on scene with the suspect vessel. Upon detecting the presence of the Coast Guard cutter, the occupants of the suspect vessel were observed jettisoning multiple bales of suspected contraband into the water and attempting to flee the area toward Dominican Republic territorial waters. Once in Dominican Republic waters, the crew of a Dominican Republic navy vessel interdicted the suspect vessel and apprehended three Dominican Republic nationals who were aboard. Meanwhile, the crew of the cutter Joseph Napier recovered 11 bales of the jettisoned suspected contraband, which tested positive for cocaine.   

“Safeguarding the nation’s southernmost maritime border is among our top priorities,” said Capt. Gregory H. Magee, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander. “You can expect to see many more of these interdictions from the Coast Guard, federal and local law enforcement, and from our Dominican Republic Navy partners as we work together to stop drug smuggling go-fast vessels at sea and prevent them from making landfall in Puerto Rico.” 

Special Agents supporting the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force are leading the investigation into this case.   

Cutter Joseph Napier is a 154-foot fast response cutter that is homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Coast Guard will commission the 48th Sentinel-class fast response cutter Pablo Valent (WPC 1148), into service at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg on May 11, the Coast Guard 7th District said May 6. 

Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson, commanding officer of the Coast Guard 7th District, will preside over the ceremony. Cecilia Guillot, Valent’s great-niece, is the ship’s sponsor.  

The cutter’s namesake Pablo Valent was originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, and joined the United States Life-Saving Service in 1912. In September 1919, Valent helped rescue the crew of the hurricane-damaged schooner Cape Horn off the coast of Texas. For his heroic efforts, Valent received the Silver Lifesaving Medal and the Grand Cross of the American Cross of Honor Society. Valent was one of the first Hispanic Americans to receive these honors.  

The Cutter Valent is the 48th FRC and is the first to be homeported in St. Petersburg with missions including search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, coastal security and living marine resources. There are 12 other FRCs in Florida, which operate throughout the Caribbean Sea. 

Sector St. Petersburg is one of the Coast Guard’s largest commands, with an area of responsibility encompassing over 400 nautical miles of coastline along Florida’s west coast. 

PORT ANGELES, Wash. — The Coast Guard decommissioned Coast Guard Cutter Cuttyhunk (WPB 1322) May 5 during a ceremony held at Air Station Port Angeles that was presided over by Capt. Mark McDonnell, 13th Coast Guard District Chief of Response. 
 
Cuttyhunk was one of the Coast Guard’s 37 remaining 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. The fleet of Island-class cutters is being replaced by 154-foot Sentinel-class cutters. 
 
Commissioned in 1988, the Cuttyhunk was the 22nd of 49 110-foot patrol boats built in support of the Coast Guard’s maritime homeland security, migrant and drug interdiction, fisheries enforcement and search and rescue missions. Cuttyhunk was built by Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana, and commissioned on Oct. 5. Cuttyhunk was named after Cuttyhunk Island, the site of the first English settlement in New England, located off the southern coast of Massachusetts. 
 
Over the past 34 years of service, Cuttyhunk’s crew conducted a wide range of operations. The cutter’s crews completed over 1,000 operations ranging from law enforcement boardings to search and rescue responses throughout the Pacific Northwest. Cuttyhunk assisted U.S. Naval Base Kitsap Bangor in several submarine escorts before Coast Guard Maritime Force Protection Unit Bangor was established to ensure the safe transport of Ship Submersible Ballistic Submarines. 
 
Nicknamed “The Pest of the West,” Cuttyhunk assisted in one of the largest maritime drug seizures in the Pacific Northwest, near Cape Flattery, Washington, in December of 1997. More than 3,500 pounds of marijuana, estimated at a street value of $15 million, was recovered from the OK Jedi, a 60-foot sailboat with three people onboard. 
 
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve alongside the final crew of Coast Guard Cutter Cuttyhunk,” said Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Garver, commanding officer. “During my time onboard, there have been many engineering challenges on our aging 110-foot ship, and I have witnessed the resiliency of our crew as they spent time away from families in selfless service to our country. I am grateful for the crew’s dedication which echoes the hard work put forth by our predecessors during the cutter’s 34 years of service.” 

Cuttyhunk’s crew is scheduled to transit to Ketchikan, Alaska. There, the crew will spend several weeks preparing to bring Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa (WPB 1335) south to Port Angeles. Anacapa is also a 110-foot Island-class patrol boat, and was previously stationed in Petersburg, Alaska. She will be shifting homeports to Port Angeles to serve the Pacific Northwest. The Anacapa will be arriving after completing an overhaul in Ketchikan. 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg received its first 154-foot fast response cutter on May 1. 

Coast Guard Cutter Pablo Valent, a Sentinel-class vessel, will arrive at its new homeport where the crew will begin training to become certified in law enforcement and rescue operations. Pablo Valent is scheduled to be officially commissioned on May 11. 

Pablo Valent will operate throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys. There are 12 other FRCs in Florida, which operate throughout the Caribbean Sea. 

FRC’s are multi-mission ships designed to conduct drug and migrant interdictions; ports, waterways and coastal security operations; fisheries and environmental protection patrols; national defense missions; and search and rescue. 

Each cutter is designed for a crew of 24, has a range of 2,500 miles and is equipped for patrols up to five days. The FRCs are part of the Coast Guard’s overall fleet modernization initiative. 

FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment as well as over-the-horizon response boat deployment capability and improved habitability for the crew. The ships can reach speeds of 28 knots and are equipped to coordinate operations with partner agencies and long-range Coast Guard assets such as the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutters. 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147), Patrol Forces Southwest Asia’s sixth 154-foot Sentinel-class cutter, into service at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City on April 21, the Coast Guard Atlantic Area said in a release. 

Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander, presided over the ceremony. 

The cutter’s namesake is Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Clarence Sutphin Jr., a New York native who served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1941 to 1945. During this time, Sutphin served as landing craft coxswain on board the attack transport USS Leonard Wood (APA 12), a landing craft supporting our troops in North Africa and Sicily. 

In November 1941, just weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 18-year-old Sutphin enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. After enlisting, Sutphin attended boot camp at the Coast Guard Yard near Baltimore. He then received orders to the North Carolina coast to train in amphibious operations and landing craft, also known as Higgins Boats, landing troops in North Africa and Sicily. 

When that operation was complete, the boat transited to the Pacific theater. During the Battle of Saipan in 1944, Sutphin helped oversee boat operations, including landing, loading, and salvaging landing craft as the USS Leonard Wood endured the heavy fire. During the conflict, he repeatedly risked his life to save others. He swam a towline to a landing craft stranded on a reef, saved another boat stuck on the beach under enemy fire, and came to the aid of eight Marines who a mortar round had struck. He provided first aid to the survivors and evacuated them to the nearest aid station. 

Sutphin stayed aboard the Leonard Wood through May 1945 and participated in its eight primary amphibious operations. Sutphin was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his “exceptional bravery under fire” during the Battle of Saipan. 

The Clarence Sutphin Jr. was officially delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard on Jan. 6 in Key West, Florida. It is the 47th Sentinel-class fast response cutter. While the ship is commissioning in New York City, it will be homeport in Manama, Bahrain, part of U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia.

Puerto Rico — Coast Guard Cutters’ Joseph Tezanos and Heriberto Hernandez crews offloaded approximately 1,289 pounds of cocaine and transferred custody of six suspected smugglers at Coast Guard Base San Juan April 18, following two separate vessel interdictions near Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

These interdictions are the result of multi-agency efforts involving the Caribbean Border Interagency Group and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force. The seized cocaine has an estimated wholesale value of approximately $11.7 million. 

The most recent interdiction occurred during a routine patrol April 11, 2022, after the crew of a Customs and Border Protection multi-role enforcement aircraft sighted a suspect vessel in waters northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the cutter Heriberto Hernandez that arrived on scene and interdicted a 25-foot go-fast vessel. The vessel was carrying four men — Dominican Republic nationals — and six bales of suspected contraband, which tested positive for cocaine. The cutter crew apprehended the suspects and seized the contraband. 

During a routine patrol April 6, 2022, the crew of a Customs and Border Protection multi-role enforcement aircraft sighted a suspect vessel north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the cutter Joseph Tezanos that arrived on scene and interdicted a 30-foot go-fast vessel. The vessel was carrying three men — Dominican  Republic nationals — and eight bales of suspected contraband, which tested positive for cocaine. The cutter crew apprehended the suspects and seized the contraband. One suspected smuggler from this group, who required medical care ashore, was medically evacuated Thursday to a hospital in Puerto Rico. 

“Safeguarding the nation’s southernmost maritime border is among our top priorities,” said Capt. Gregory H. Magee, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander. “You can expect to see many more of these interdictions from the Coast Guard and from our local and federal partners as we work together to stop drug smuggling go-fast vessels from making landfall in the Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.” 

Special Agents supporting the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force received custody of the detainees and the seized contraband, and they are leading the investigation into this case. The apprehended smugglers are facing federal prosecution in Puerto Rico on criminal charges of Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance Aboard a Vessel Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States. The charges carry a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life. 

Cutters Heriberto Hernandez and Joseph Tezanos are 154-foot fast response cutters homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The 140-member crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) returned to the United States and entered dry dock Friday after completing a 147-day deployment in support of the U.S. Antarctic Program and national interests in Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said April 8. 
 
The Polar Star’s crew departed their Seattle homeport on Nov. 13, 2021, for the cutter’s 25th Operation Deep Freeze deployment and traveled 24,300 nautical miles to Antarctica and back. 
 
This year marks the 66th iteration of Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military service mission in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program. Since 1955, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Coast Guard have provided air and maritime support across and around the Antarctic continent. 
 
The cutter made several international port calls including stops in Wellington and Lyttelton, New Zealand, and Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Polar Star’s crew hosted the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and members of the Royal New Zealand Navy while in New Zealand. 
 
While in Antarctica, Polar Star transited through more than 450 miles of pack ice and broke a 37-mile channel through seven-foot-thick fast ice to McMurdo Station to allow the safe transit and offload of supply vessels Ocean Giant and Maersk Peary.  
 
Polar Star also partnered with the Royal New Zealand Navy to escort the ice-capable logistics ship HMNZS Aotearoa for its first trip to McMurdo Station. 
 
Polar Star transited to the Bay of Whales Feb. 17, setting a record for the furthest south any vessel has navigated, reaching 78 degrees 44 minutes 1.32 seconds south latitude, keeping about 500 yards from the ever-shifting Ross Ice Shelf. The cutter also surveyed 396 nautical miles of the ice shelf for future navigational use. 
 
Polar Star spent a total of 65 days in Antarctica, making it the longest Operation Deep Freeze deployment completed by a Coast Guard polar icebreaker in 18 years. 
 
After completing operations in Antarctica, Polar Star moored in Hobart and hosted Tasmanian Gov. Barbara Baker, and U.S. Consul General Kathleen Lively, along with several other government and military officials that are dedicated to supporting scientific efforts in Antarctica. 
 
“I am so proud of this crew and their accomplishments,” said Capt. William Woityra, commanding officer of the Polar Star. “They overcame constant challenges to complete the mission and set records along the way. They epitomize the values on the Antarctica Service Medal: courage, sacrifice, and devotion. I can think of no better team to lead future expeditions and new icebreakers as the Coast Guard invests in Polar Security Cutters.” 
 
Polar Star did not return to its homeport of Seattle, instead the crew proceeded directly to dry dock in Vallejo, California, to immediately start work on the second phase of a five-year, $75 million Service Life Extension Program. The Coast Guard will replace antiquated technology to ensure the longevity of the nation’s only operational heavy icebreaker while in dry dock this year, supporting the Coast Guard’s enduring commitment to Antarctic operations. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden nominated Adm. Linda L. Fagan to serve as the 27th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Upon confirmation, Adm. Fagan will be the first woman to serve as commandant of the Coast Guard, the service said April 5. 

Fagan currently serves as the 32nd vice commandant, having assumed the duties on June 18, 2021. The vice commandant is the vice service chief and chief operating officer, responsible for executing the Commandant’s Strategic Intent, managing internal organizational governance, and serving as the Component Acquisition Executive. 

Previously, Fagan served as commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area overseeing operations from the Rocky Mountains to the waters off the East Coast of Africa. Fagan is the Coast Guard’s first-ever Gold Ancient Trident, as the officer with the longest service record in the Marine Safety field. 

Pending confirmation, Fagan is expected to relieve the current commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Karl L. Schultz, during a change of command ceremony planned for June 1, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Schultz will retire following the change of command this summer. 

“Adm. Fagan is an exceptional senior Coast Guard officer and nominee, possessing the keen intellect, the depth of operational experience, and the well-honed leadership and managerial acumen to serve with distinction as our Service’s 27th commandant,” said Schultz. 

Fagan has selected and the president has nominated Vice Adm. Steven D. Poulin as the Coast Guard’s 33rd vice commandant. Poulin currently serves as the commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area and is responsible for all Coast Guard missions from the Rocky Mountains to the Persian Gulf.

Pending confirmation, Poulin is expected to relieve Fagan as vice commandant of the Coast Guard during a change of watch ceremony planned for May 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C.