An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | April 2, 2018

Coast Guard Decommissions 9th High Endurance Cutter after Nearly 50 Years

By U.S. Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii Pacific  

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- The Coast Guard decommissioned its ninth High Endurance Cutter after nearly 50 years of service as part of recapitalization efforts during a ceremony at Coast Guard Base Honolulu, Thursday.

The Coast Guard Cutter Sherman is one of the Coast Guard’s four remaining 378-foot High Endurance Cutters still in operation. The fleet of 378-foot High Endurance Cutters is being replaced by the National Security Cutters, which will soon serve as the Coast Guard’s primary long-range asset.

Sherman’s operational resume includes action in the Vietnam War, major drug interdictions - including the largest individual cocaine seizure in U.S. history, maritime law enforcement cases, living marine resource protection, migration interdiction and numerous rescues.

“The crewmembers who’ve served aboard Sherman have contributed immensely to protecting the American public across Sherman’s nearly 50 years of meritorious service while changing the course of history through the cutter’s combat action in Vietnam and a record-setting drug seizure,” said Vice Adm. Fred Midgette, who leads the service’s Pacific fleet as the commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area in Alameda, California. “The Coast Guard remains committed to protecting the American public, our security and our economic interests wherever we are called upon to serve. Recapitalizing our vessels, aircraft, boats, and infrastructure is mission critical and our highest priority to ensure we remain ‘always ready’ to continue protecting our nation.”

Sherman was launched on Sept. 3, 1968, and was the sixth of 12 “Hamilton” class High Endurance Cutters built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans. High Endurance Cutters are the largest cutters, aside from the three major Icebreakers and National Security Cutters, ever built for the Coast Guard.

Sherman is also one of only two Coast Guard Cutters to hold the Vietnam Service Award and only Coast Guard Cutter to hold the Combat Action Ribbon for action in the Vietnam War. Sherman is the last remaining active U.S. warship in the Coast Guard to have sunk an enemy vessel in combat.

In March 2007, a boarding team dispatched from Sherman discovered seventeen metric tons of cocaine on a Panamanian flagged freighter, Gatun. This seizure remains the largest individual drug bust in U.S. history with an estimated street value of $600 million. As the record holder, Sherman proudly wears the Golden Snowflake.

Sherman is one of a few Coast Guard cutters to circumnavigate the world. The Sherman crewmembers accomplished this in 2001 after conducting U.N. sanctions enforcement duty in the Persian Gulf and goodwill projects in Madagascar, South Africa and Cape Verde.

“The Sherman has served above and beyond the cutter’s intended capabilities across her nearly half-century long service to our country," said Midgette. "Though Sherman has sailed her final patrol for the Coast Guard, a long and rich legacy has been left behind and the missions and commitment to our country will be continued by the men and women aboard future National Security Cutters who will carry the torch into the future."
CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM
Facebook

Like Us
X
363,179
Follow Us

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
The Pentagon Transfers Authority to the Navy to Ensure the Safe Closure of Red Hill
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 28, 2024 - The Department of Defense announced today that the Joint Task Force-Red Hill has completed its defueling mission at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawai’i and shifted command and control of the facility to the...

U.S. Marines, Sailors arrive in Darwin for 13th iteration of MRF-D
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian Mulvihill, right, the commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3, shakes hands with Royal Australian Navy Capt. Mitchell Livingstone, the commanding officer of Headquarters Northern Command at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, NT, Australia, March 24, 2024. MRF-D 24.3 is part of an annual six-month rotational deployment to enhance interoperability with the Australian Defence Force and Allies and partners and provide a forward-postured crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific. Mulvihill is a native of New York. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Cristian L. Bestul)
March 28, 2024 - A new group of Marines and Sailors arrived in the Northern Territory to begin the 13th annual iteration of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin...

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call with Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 27, 2024 - Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout...

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey Ford Concludes Visit to Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 27, 2024 - Department of Defense spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following readout...

DIU Partners With AUKUS Pillar II for International Prize Challenge
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 26, 2024 - The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is launching the first trilateral prize challenge through AUKUS Pillar II— a defense and security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (U.S.)— to...