Cutter Stratton Heads to Western Pacific

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton is scheduled to depart June 12 from its homeport in Alameda, California, for a months-long deployment to the Western Pacific in support of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees military operations in the region, the Coast Guard Pacific Area announced.

The Stratton will be the second cutter deployed to the Western Pacific this year. The crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf left Alameda Jan. 20 and remain in the region.

Operating under the tactical control of the U.S. 7th Fleet commander, the cutter is scheduled to engage in professional exchanges and capacity-building exercises with partner nations and to patrol and operate as directed.

As both a federal law enforcement agency and an armed force, the Coast Guard is positioned to conduct defense operations in support of combatant commanders on all seven continents. The service routinely provides forces in joint military operations worldwide, including the deployment of cutters, boats, aircraft and deployable specialized forces.

The Coast Guard’s role in the Indo-Pacific goes back more than 150 years. The service’s ongoing deployment of resources to the region supports U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives as outlined in the National Security Strategy.

“The United States is a Pacific nation,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area, who oversees the cutter.

“We have deep and long-standing ties with our partners in the region and, more importantly, we share a strong commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, governed by a rules-based international system that promotes peace, security, prosperity and sovereignty of all nations.”

Commissioned in 2012, Stratton is one of four Coast Guard Legend-class national security cutters homeported in Alameda. NSCs are 418 feet long, 54 feet wide and have a 4,600 long-ton displacement. They have a top speed in excess of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, endurance of up to 90 days and can hold a crew of up to 170.

The Coast Guard is scheduled to commission its seventh and eighth national security cutters, Kimball and Midgett, in August. Both will be homeported in Honolulu.

“Security abroad equals security at home,” Fagan said. “Enhancing our partners’ capabilities is a force multiplier in combating transnational criminal and terrorist organizations and deterring our adversaries.”