The crews of the Coast Guard Cutters Midgett (WMSL 757) and Kimball (WMSL 756) transit past Koko Head on Oahu, Hawaii, Aug. 16, 2019. The Kimball and Midgett are both homeported in Honolulu. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew West/Released)

I published a list of homeports in 2022. Maybe it’s time for another. Let’s take a look at where they are now and see what has changed.

Since the Coast Guard does not seem to have a consolidated listing of ships and their homeports, and the District lists are sometimes incomplete, I relied on the Navy League’s 2026 Almanac for the information that follows. I think it is correct.

THE FORCE LAYDOWN:

NE DISTRICT: 2 WMEC270s

• Newport, RI: Tahoma (908), Legare (912)

East DISTRICT: 8 WMEC270s, one WMEC210s

• Portsmouth, VA: 8 WMEC270s: Bear (901), Tampa (902), Northland (904), Spencer (905), Seneca (906), Escanaba (907), Campbell (909), Forward (911)
• Virginia Beach, VA: WMEC210s: Dependable (626)

SE DISTRICT: 4 National Security Cutters, 2 WMEC270s, 4 WMEC210s

• Charleston, SC: 4 NSCs: Hamilton (753), James (754), Stone (758), Calhoun (759)
• Cape Canaveral: 2 WMEC210s: Vigilant (617), Alert (630)
• Key West: 2 WMEC270s: Thetis (910), Mohawk (913)
• St. Petersburg: 2 WMEC210s: Resolute (620), Venturous (625)

Heartland DISTRICT: 2 WMEC210s

• Pensacola:  Reliance (615), Diligence (616),

SW DISTRICT: 4 National Security Cutters

• Alameda, CA: 4 NSCs: Bertholf (750), Waesche (751), Stratton (752), Munro (755)

NW DISTRICT: one WMEC210

• Port Angeles, WA: Active (618)

Oceania DISTRICT: 2 National Security Cutters, one WMEC270

• Honolulu, HI: Kimball (756), Midgett (757), Harriett Lane (903)

Arctic DISTRICT: 1 WMEC283

• Kodiak, AK: Alex Haley (WMEC-39)

What has changed?

When the Program of record was devised the Coast Guard had 47 large patrol cutters and planned to replace them with 33 ships, 8 NSCs and 25 OPCs.

In the last four years the Coast Guard has gone from 37 large patrol cutters to 32, with the loss of six WMEC210s and the addition of one National security cutters. There are now 8 WMEC210s instead of 14 and 10 NSCs in addition to 13 WMEC270s and USCGC Alex Haley.

Atlantic Area has gone from 27 large patrol cutters to 23 and PAC area from 10 to nine.

I still think there is something out of balance when PACAREA, which has 84% of the US EEZ, has less than a third of the large longer ranged patrol cutters. The first four OPCs are supposed to go to San Pedro, CA, Kodiak, AK, but if they replace the current three PACAREA WMECs, there will still be only nine or ten large patrol cutters in PACAREA until Arctic Security Cutters start to arrive.

When I retired in 1991, PACAREA had ten WHEC378s and several (I think six) WMECs and we were not doing many of the things PACAREA cutters do now.