USCGC Joseph Doyle (WPC-1133)
The Navy League’s on line magazine, Seapower, reports,
President Trump on Dec. 27 signed into law the omnibus spending bill for fiscal Year 2021, which included funding for four more Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), allowing Bollinger Shipyards to build and deliver four more FRCs to the U.S. Coast Guard, the company said in an Dec. 28 release. This increases the total number of funded boats to 64.
This would complete funding for both the 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRC) included in the Program of Record and the six required to replace the six Island Class 110 foot WPBs currently based in Bahrain, serving with the 5th Fleet as PATFORSWA.
There has been some discussion of basing FRCs in Palau. That could mean additional ships. We could conceivably replicate the PATFORSWA organization using three FRCs in Guam and three in Palau.
This is good news. The FRC’s are proving to be a very successful design for the CG.
I like the idea of replicating the success of PATFORSWA in the Indo-Pacific. Plus, as US military focus is shifting to the Pacific, this would be a good time to bulk up CG presence. I don’t think Congress would mind giving more funding to a popular and proven program that would strengthen ties with our friends in the Pacific.
Four more FRCs would be most welcome in any area of USCG operations and should provide both a Law Enforcement, defense, and USA presence where needed, especially in ports that currently lack any form of armed maritime presence, defense, SAR, and distance patrol.
The FRCs are aptly armed and have capable features that should make their presence known.
One can’t mistake the white hulls, red stripe, and black lettering of the USCG.
Any good way to read up on what we actually ended up paying for these and everything else? I always wonder where we land from the President’s submitted budget to what actually gets passed. Much harder to figure out the Congressional side from past hunts.
Congressional Research Service documents the history of Coast Guard appropriations.
For OPCs, NSCs, and FRCs, look here
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R42567
For the Polar Security Cutter, look here:
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL34391
You will want to look at the Summary of Appropriations Actions section toward the back of the document.