USCG to Commission 6th National Security Cutter
The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that the service's sixth national security cutter, Munro, will be commissioned April 1, 2017, at the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal in Seattle.
The cutter, which will be homeported in Alameda, Calif., is named after the Coast Guard's only Medal of Honor recipient, Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro.
The timing of the announcement coincides with the annual memorial service for Munro, a Cle Elum, Washington-native, taking place Tuesday at Laurel Hill Memorial Park in Cle Elum. Munro died on Guadalcanal Sept. 27, 1942, after volunteering to evacuate a detachment of U.S. Marines during the battle with Japanese forces holding the Pacific Island.
Each year, on Sept. 27, more than 100 Coast Guard men and women, along with representatives from the Seattle-area chapters of the Coast Guard Warrant Officer Associations, the Chief Petty Officers Association and the Coast Guard Combat Veterans Association, gather at Laurel Hill Memorial Park to honor the sacrifice and memory of Munro.
The national security cutters are replacing the Coast Guard's aging 378-foot high endurance cutters, which have been in service since the 1960s. Each NSC is 418 feet long, has a 54-foot beam and displaces 4,500 tons at full load. The vessels have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles and endurance for 60-to-90-day patrol cycles. NSCs have automated weapons systems and advanced command and control systems that enhance the Coast Guard's interoperability with its partners in the Defense and Homeland Security departments.
