Coast Guard Cutter Stratton file photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Garrett Raitt
ALAMEDA, Calif. – The crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton are scheduled to depart Wednesday from their homeport in Alameda 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 Stratton will be the second Coast Guard cutter deployed to the Western Pacific this year. The crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf departed 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 uniquely 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 U.S. Coast Guard has an enduring role in the Indo-Pacific, going back over 150 years. The service’s ongoing deployment of resources to the region directly 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.
National security cutters feature advanced command and control capabilities, aviation support facilities, stern cutter boat launch and increased endurance for long-range patrols to disrupt threats to national security further offshore.
The Coast Guard is scheduled to commission its seventh and eighth national security cutters, the Coast Guard Cutters Kimball and Midgett, in August. Both cutters will be homeported in Honolulu and enhance the Coast Guard’s presence throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
“Security abroad equals security at home,” said Fagan. “Enhancing our partners’ capabilities is a force multiplier in combating transnational criminal and terrorist organizations and deterring our adversaries.”
