USCGC Myrtle Hazard

	USCGC Myrtle Hazard arrives at Guam
History
United States
Name	Myrtle Hazard
Namesake	Myrtle Hazard
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Acquired	May 28, 2020
Commissioned	July 29, 2021
Homeport	Santa Rita, Guam
Identification	Hull number: WPC-1139
Motto	First to Serve
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Sentinel-class cutter
Displacement	353 long tons (359 t)
Length	46.8 m (154 ft)
Beam	8.11 m (26.6 ft)
Depth	2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion	2 × 4,300 kW (5,800 shp); 1 × 75 kW (101 shp) bow thruster;
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi)
Endurance	5 days
Boats & landing ; craft carried	1 × Cutter Boat - Over the Horizon Interceptor
Complement	4 officers, 20 crew
Sensors and ; processing systems	L-3 C4ISR suite
Armament	1 × Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm automatic gun; 4 × crew-served Browning M2 machine guns;
Notes	First Commanding Officer LT Tony Seleznick

USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC-1139) is the United States Coast Guard's 39th Sentinel-class cutter.

Like her sister ships she was built in the Bollinger Shipyards, in Lockport, Louisiana.

Design

Like her sister ships, Myrtle Hazard is designed and created to perform search and rescue missions, port security, and the interception of smugglers.^[1] She is armed with a remotely-controlled, gyro-stabilized 25 mm autocannon, four crew served M2 Browning machine guns, and light arms. She is equipped with a stern launching ramp, that allows her to launch or retrieve a water-jet propelled high-speed auxiliary boat, without first coming to a stop. Her high-speed boat has over-the-horizon capability, and is useful for inspecting and checking out other vessels, and deploying boarding parties.

The crew's drinking water needs are met through a desalination unit.^[2] The crew mess is equipped with a television with satellite reception.

Operational career

The vessel was given to the Coast Guard base in Key West for her acceptance trials on May 28, 2020.^[3] It took the Myrtle Hazard two months to sail from Key West, where she completed her acceptance trials, to her homeport of Santa Rita, Guam.^[4] She was formally commissioned in Guam along with her sister ships Oliver Henry and Frederick Hatch on July 29, 2021.^[5] In 2022, the Myrtle Hazard took part in Operation Blue Pacific, conducting sovereignty and fisheries patrols in five Pacific island nations.^[6] In late May 2022, the Myrtle Hazard was diverted from Operation Blue Pacific to the Solomon Islands to patrol its Exclusive Economic Zone while the Royal Solomon Islands Police Vessel Taro was undergoing maintenance.^[7]^[8]

Namesake

In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was formerly the United States Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism.^[9]^[10] The Coast Guard chose Myrtle Hazard, their first female sailor, as the namesake of the 39th cutter.^[3] Hazard worked as a radio operator and electrician.

References

^ "FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. May 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-03. All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
^ Jacqueline L. Urgo (November 19, 2016). "Coast Guard to get 'game changer' cutter to save lives and catch criminals". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-19. Although the cutter is far from luxurious, its crew quarters provide slightly more room and comfort than earlier models, with larger staterooms, more toilets and sinks, greater storage space, and DirecTV access in the mess areas.
^ ^a ^b "Coast Guard takes delivery of Fast Response Cutter Myrtle Hazard". Coast Guard News. 2020-05-30. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
^ Wyatt Olson (2020-09-24). "Guam Coast Guard receives first of three fast-response cutters planned for the island". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2020-09-24. The crew of the Myrtle Hazard sailed from Key West, Fla., to the cutter's new homeport in Santa Rita, the Coast Guard said in a statement Thursday.
^ "U.S. Coast Guard Conducts Triple Commissioning". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
^ "Coast Guard assists in patrolling Solomon Islands EEZ | Coast Guard News".
^ "While China makes Pacific islands tour, US Coast Guard is already on patrol". CNN. 2 June 2022.
^ "Coast Guard assists in patrolling Solomon Islands EEZ | Coast Guard News".
^ Susan Schept (March 22, 2010). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
^ "U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". March 22, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.