Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk file photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Murray
KEY WEST, Fla. — The Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk (WMEC 913) and crew are scheduled to return to their homeport Monday following a 92-day, United States Africa Command deployment.
Mohawk’s crew departed Key West, Florida in June and forward-deployed to the U.S. Naval Forces Europe –Africa area of operations, where they were employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests.
Mohawk began its deployment as surface action group commander, leading the transatlantic escort of two newly commissioned 154-foot fast response cutters, Coast Guard Cutter Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147) and Coast Guard Cutter John Scheuerman (WPC 1146) from Key West, Florida to the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations. Clarence Sutphin Jr. and John Scheuerman continued on to their new homeport in Manama, Bahrain, where they will be employed by U.S. Fifth Fleet.
While on deployment, Mohawk made significant advances in combating piracy and illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing conducting multinational law enforcement operations at sea in the Atlantic basin. Their efforts served to strengthen existing relationships with African nations, and prioritized opportunities for new partnerships with allies who share common interests in the region. Mohawk’s crew worked closely with eight partner nation navies, sailing nearly 19,000 nautical miles in support of American interests abroad. Leading training exercises at-sea and in port, Mohawk also hosted diplomatic engagements and participated in community relations events during port visits to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Portugal, Senegal, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. Mohawk was the first United States warship to moor in The Gambia since 1994.
Commissioned in March 1991, Mohawk is the 13th and last of the Famous-class Coast Guard cutters. It is named for the Algonquin tribe of Iroquoian Indians who lived in the Mohawk Valley of New York, and is the third cutter to bear the name. Mohawk is homeported in Key West, Florida.
Photos from Mohawk’s deployment are available here.
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