39 thoughts on “Status of the NSC Program”

  2. Does that mean the CG completed the survey and supportability plan for the longer deployments as required by the last authorization bill? This plan wad required prior to beginning the next hull…

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    • I cannot figure out why Joshua James is a namesake. He was in the LSS, not the RCS, and put in only about three years in the LSS. I know I’ve questioned the use of some in the past but James really did not do anything for the RCS or LSS to warrant all this acclaim. Just more wishful history of the Coast Guard.

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      • Bill, per the article, “James is credited with saving more than 600 lives during 60 years of service, from the age of 15 until his death at age 75.” Not true?

  4. Huntington Ingalls is reporting that USCGC Munro has completed builder’s trials.

    http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/national-security-cutter-munro-builders-sea-trials?hootPostID=d31395cda6d32988d193a473846054b4

    “Ingalls has delivered the first five NSCs and has three more under construction, including Munro (WMSL 755), set to deliver in the fourth quarter of this year. Kimball (WMSL 756) is scheduled for delivery in 2018, and Midgett (WMSL 757) in 2019.”

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    • Chuck

      Here is a a bit of news about USCGC Munro both WMLS- 755 & WHEC-726.

      R 071254 JUN 16
      FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-7//
      TO ALCOAST
      UNCLAS //N02000//
      ALCOAST 210/16
      COMDTNOTE 2000
      SUBJ: CGC MUNRO (WMSL 755 AND WHEC 724) PLADS
      A. CG-751 memo 4570 of 09 Feb 15 (CG-7 approved)
      1. CGC MUNRO (WMSL 755) will enter service in December 2016 and be
      commissioned in April 2017.
      2. CGC MUNRO (WHEC 724) is scheduled to remain in service until 2022.
      3. Effective immediately IAW Ref A, to account for two cutters both
      named MUNRO:
      a. CGC MUNRO (WHEC 724) PLAD is changed to “USCGC DOUGLAS MUNRO”
      b. CGC MUNRO (WMSL 755) will assume the “USCGC MUNRO” PLAD.
      4. CG-751 POC is LT Peter Lang, Email: Peter.M.Lang@uscg.mil,
      Phone: (202) 372-2343.
      5. RDML J. P. Nadeau, Assistant Commandant for Capability, sends.
      6. Internet release is authorized.

      So what do you think of that ideal?

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  17. “Midgett, the eighth national security cutter (NSC), departed today from Pascagoula, Mississippi, bound for Honolulu, Hawaii. The ship will be stationed in Honolulu along with the seventh NSC, Kimball, and fast response cutters (FRCs) Joseph Gerczak and Oliver Berry. FRC William Hart, scheduled for commissioning in late 2019, will also be stationed there.”
    https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Newsroom/Latest-Acquisition-News/Article/1872536/eighth-national-security-cutter-departs-for-homeport/

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      • Both Midgett and Kimball are to be commissioned in August. I have not heard where the commissionings will take place, but both are to be homeported in Honolulu.

  18. NSC USCGC Midgett in has joined USCGC Kimball in Honolulu. Both ships are to be commissioned Aug. 24. Currently only two NSCs are planned for 14th District. Perhaps if there is a NSC#12? As is, four in Alameda, planned for Charleston, and two for Honolulu.

    Some great photos of Midgett and Kimball underway together here.
    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCG/bulletins/2592475?fbclid=IwAR32SzKlKQzaQ9oWqywd2mmyOPrqgTAn6zSE1GskCNzTyPvY1lXSET_O4Ms

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  20. Ninth NSC launched, but will not be commissioned until FY2021.
    https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Newsroom/Latest-Acquisition-News/Article/1985052/ninth-national-security-cutter-launched/
    Ninth National Security Cutter Launched

    “Oct. 9, 2019 — Huntington Ingalls Industries launched the Coast Guard’s ninth national security cutter (NSC), Stone, on Oct. 4, 2019. The cutter is scheduled for delivery in fiscal year 2021. Its namesake, Elmer Fowler Stone, was a Coast Guard innovator and aviator who in May 1919 became the first person to pilot an aircraft across the Atlantic.”

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  22. ALCOAST announcing the name of NSC#10: Master Chief Calhoun did get around:

    R 191116 NOV 19
    FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-092//
    TO ALCOAST
    UNCLAS//N05700//
    ALCOAST 362/19
    COMDTNOTE 5700
    SUBJ: NEW NATIONAL SECURITY CUTTER NAMED FOR MCPOCG CHARLES L. CALHOUN
    1. The Coast Guard named the 10th Legend-Class National Security Cutter (NSC) for the first
    Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, Master Chief Charles Luther Calhoun.
    2. Master Chief Calhoun volunteered for service with the U.S. Navy in 1943. Aboard the escort
    carrier USS LUNGA POINT, he experienced firsthand the toughest battles fought in the Pacific
    Theater: Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. USS LUNGA POINT was awarded the
    Presidential Unit Commendation Award for “extraordinary heroism and action against enemy
    Japanese forces in the air, ashore, and afloat.” After being honorably discharged as a
    Torpedo man Second Class on February 21, 1946, Calhoun enlisted as a Boatswain’s Mate
    Second Class in the U.S. Coast Guard on September 20, 1946. During his illustrious 30 years of
    active service, Calhoun served 14 years at sea including a tour aboard the USCGC POINT
    ORIENT in Vietnam. On their first patrol, the crew sighted and exchanged fire with an enemy
    company of soldiers ashore, becoming the first Coast Guard cutter to fire a shot in that war.
    On August 27, 1969, in a somewhat quiet, yet monumental moment in our Service’s history,
    Calhoun “assumed the watch” as the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, a
    position he held from August 2, 1969, until he retired on August 1, 1973. He crossed the bar in
    2002.
    3. The NSC is the largest and most technologically sophisticated vessel in the Coast Guard fleet.
    The 418-foot cutter is capable of operating in the most demanding open ocean environments,
    including the hazardous fisheries of the North Pacific and the vast approaches of the eastern
    Pacific, where much of the American narcotics traffic originates. With robust command, control,
    communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; stern boat
    launch and aviation facilities; and long-endurance station keeping, the NSCs are exceptionally
    well-suited for complex law enforcement and national security missions integrating multiple
    Coast Guard and partner-agency units.
    4. The Legend-Class has a tradition of honoring women and men who have a legendary status in
    the Coast Guard’s rich history. These individuals reflect a diversity of missions, historical
    periods, and career backgrounds, and they continue to inspire us to this day.
    5. These ships are replacing the 378-foot High Endurance Cutters, which have been in service
    since the 1960s. There are eight Legend-Class NSCs currently in service. Coast Guard Cutters
    BERTHOLF, WAESCHE, STRATTON, and MUNRO are stationed in Alameda, California;
    HAMILTON and JAMES are in Charleston, South Carolina; and KIMBALL and MIDGETT are
    in Honolulu, Hawaii. The ninth cutter, STONE, is slated for delivery in fiscal year 2021. On
    December 21, 2018, the Service awarded a fixed-price contract option for the production of the
    10th and 11th NSCs. For more information, visit: https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-
    Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Programs/Surface-
    Programs/National-Security-Cutter/.
    6. RADM Melissa Bert, Director of Governmental and Public Affairs, sends.
    7. Internet release is authorized.

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  24. News Release

    U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters
    Contact: Headquarters Public Affairs
    Office: (202) 372-4630
    mediarelations@uscg.mil
    Headquarters online newsroom

    Eleventh National Security Cutter Named for Elizebeth Smith Friedman
    WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard is naming the 11th Legend-Class National Security Cutter (NSC) in honor of Elizebeth Smith Friedman.
    Friedman was a pioneering code-breaker for the Coast Guard during the Prohibition Era and World War II, serving within the Coast Guard Cryptanalytic Unit-387. She has been dubbed “America’s first female cryptanalyst” and in many ways could be considered the founder of the modern-day Coast Guard Intelligence Program.
    Her work with the Coast Guard began soon after the passage of the Volstead Act, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or trade of alcohol in the United States. Liquor smugglers frequently made use of radios to coordinate their activities and began to encode their messages. Friedman was detailed by the Department of Treasury to the Coast Guard thus beginning a remarkable career. Between 1927 and 1930, she is estimated to have solved over 12,000 smuggling messages in hundreds of different code systems, all by hand, with just pencil and paper. Her work led to 650 federal prosecutions and she personally testified in 33 cases.
    During World War II, she was part of the team that broke the codes generated by the formidable Enigma-machine used by the Germans. She exposed a ring of German spies in South America, effectively denying them a foothold in the Western Hemisphere during the war. Her Cryptanalytic Unit eventually moved from Treasury and evolved into the modern Coast Guard Intelligence program. Only recently was her legacy fully appreciated when a journalist researched declassified papers to learn that she was pivotal in the German Enigma machine code-breaking as well as the Customs Prohibition operations.
    The NSC is one of the largest and most technologically sophisticated vessels in the Coast Guard fleet. The 418-foot cutter is capable of operating in the most demanding open ocean environments around the globe, from the hazardous fishing grounds of the North Pacific to the vast approaches of the Eastern Pacific where it’s crews battle transnational crime.
    With robust command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, multiple small boat and aviation capabilities including unmanned aerial systems, the NSCs are exceptionally well-suited for complex law enforcement and national security missions while integrating multiple Coast Guard and partner agencies.
    Legend-Class cutters honor women and men who have a legendary status in the Coast Guard’s rich history. These individuals reflect a proud diversity of missions, historical periods, and career backgrounds, and continue to inspire us.
    NSCs are replacing the 378-foot High Endurance Cutters, which have been in service since the 1960s. There are eight Legend-Class NSCs currently in service. The Coast Guard Cutters Bertholf, Waesche, Stratton, and Munro are stationed in Alameda, California, Hamilton and James are in Charleston, South Carolina, and Kimball and Midgett are homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii. The ninth cutter, Stone, is slated for delivery in fiscal year 2021. On December 21, 2018, the Coast Guard awarded a fixed-price contract option for the production of the 10th cutter, Calhoun, and the 11th cutter, Friedman.
    For more information the National Security Cutter, visit: https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Programs/Surface-Programs/National-Security-Cutter/.

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  27. Steel cut for NSC#11,
    https://www.marinelink.com/news/ingalls-starts-fabrication-national-487554

    “NSC 11 is named to honor Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a code breaker during the Prohibition Era who, as a civilian, intercepted and solved coded messages from racketeers and gangs and delivered them to the Coast Guard. During World War II, she worked against German espionage communications and developed information that was critical to counterintelligence work in the Southern Hemisphere. Friedman’s work resulted in hundreds of criminal prosecutions, saved thousands of lives and laid the groundwork for the science of cryptology and the establishment of the modern day National Security Agency.”

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  28. From CG-9, https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Newsroom/Latest-Acquisition-News/Article/2706850/coast-guard-authenticates-keel-for-10th-national-security-cutter/

    Coast Guard authenticates keel for 10th national security cutter

    July 26, 2021 —

    Ship sponsor Christina Calhoun Zubowicz puts her initials onto a steel plate that will be welded inside the Coast Guard’s 10th national security cutter, which will be named Calhoun in honor of her grandfather, Charles L. Calhoun. Also present are (from left) George Nungesser, Ingalls Shipbuilding vice president of program management; Christopher Tanner, a structural welder at Ingalls; and Capt. Peter Morisseau, commanding officer, U.S. Coast Guard Project Resident Office Gulf Coast. Courtesy photo by Lance Davis/HII.

    The Coast Guard and Ingalls Shipbuilding authenticated the keel for the 10th national security cutter (NSC), Calhoun, in Pascagoula, Mississippi, July 23.

    Cutter sponsor Christina Calhoun Zubowicz, granddaughter of the cutter’s namesake, Master Chief Petty Officer Charles Calhoun, was present at the event, which ceremonially marks the beginning of Calhoun’s construction. Her initials were affixed onto a steel plate that later will be fastened to the ship’s structure to authenticate that the keel was “truly and fairly laid.”

    The cutter’s namesake served as the first master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard, from August 1969 to August 1973. The master chief petty officer is the senior enlisted member of the service and the principal adviser to the commandant of the Coast Guard on matters affecting the enlisted ranks. During his tenure, Calhoun was a member of the board that created the Coast Guard cutterman insignia, established an advisory program to hear enlisted personnel concerns, expanded career counseling programs and was instrumental in the development of the Coast Guard’s service dress uniform. Calhoun passed away in 2002.

    The NSC acquisition program addresses the Coast Guard’s need for open-ocean patrol cutters with the seakeeping, habitability, endurance and technological advancement to serve as command and control centers in the most demanding maritime environments. The 418-foot NSC features advanced command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; aviation support facilities; stern cutter boat launch; and long-endurance station keeping.

    Delivery of Calhoun is scheduled in fiscal year 2023. Nine NSCs are currently in service. Coast Guard cutters Hamilton, James and Stone are stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. Coast Guard cutters Bertholf, Waesche, Stratton and Munro are stationed in Alameda, California. Coast Guard cutters Kimball and Midgett are stationed in Honolulu.

    For more information: National Security Cutter Program page

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