USCGC Legare. Screen Grab from a video of Campbell’s arrival at Coast Guard Yard June 2026 in prep for its SLEP (in the video, I saw that there are still at least four WMEC210s moored at near the Yard).

Below is a news release from the Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9).

As reported below and in  previous statements, it is stated, the SLEP program will be completed in 2030. If so, the yard is going to have to pick up the pace and/or start working continuously on two ships simultaneously.

Spencer was in the yard 20 months and Legare for 24 months. They still have four ships to  SLEP and only 53 months to the end of 2030. Spencer arrived July 2023 and departed 8 March 2025. Legare arrived July 2024 and departed 22 July 2026.

At least part of the reason these are being done consecutively seems to be that the crew of incoming ship takes over the departing ship, at least that is what happened with Legare and Campbell. USCGC Campbell’s crew cross decked to Legare.

I have been surprised that neither of the SLEP’d WMEC270s have followed Harriet Lane into the Pacific, considering the extreme shortage of long ranged ships in the Theater most affected by the tyranny of distance and where 84% of the US exclusive economic zone is located. While demand has grown, there are now only nine large patrol ships home-ported in PACAREA, while there were 14 when I retired 35 years ago.

If we are going to have only 35 large patrol ships, at least half of them should be in the Pacific so,17 or 18 ships, eleven or twelve ships in addition to the six NSCs.

It only makes sense to put some of our most reliable/most capable WMECs in the Pacific where the distance is greatest and support is more limited. I would think two more WMEC270s would be a good start. Assuming the two older WMECs (Active and Alex Haley) will be replaced by the first four OPCs, adding two more WMEC270 will only bring the total to 13. (6 NSCs, 4 OPC, and three WMEC270s and that is still years away.)

The fact that they are cross decking crews and sending the SLEP’d ships back to the crews previous home port works against the idea of sending any to the Pacific, but–

Since three of the remaining four ships to be SLEP’d are home-ported in Portsmouth, Va, which nominally has six ships home-ported there, it should not be too hard to find places for them on other WMEC270s in Portsmouth. Over an at least two year period, finding experienced WMEC270 sailors, who want to go to Hawaii, to form the core of two new crews should not be too hard.

Most obvious change in the ship is deletion of the 76mm Mk75 gun and Mk92 Fire-control and combat system.

July 28, 2026 —

Coast Guard Cutter Legare, a 270-foot Famous-class medium endurance cutter, departed Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore on July 22, having successfully completed its 24-month service life extension program (SLEP). The cutter is now on the way to its new homeport in Newport, Rhode Island.

Managed by the Coast Guard’s In-Service Vessel Sustainment (ISVS) Program, the SLEP ensures mission readiness, improves reliability and reduces maintenance costs of the Coast Guard’s operational fleet. The program extends the service life of legacy cutters by replacing obsolete, unsupportable or maintenance-intensive systems, enabling the cutter to continue meeting mission demands in the most cost-effective manner.

Lt. Cmdr. Ben Morseth, ISVS assistant program manager, said the following about sustaining operational capabilities of the cutters: “Continuing to invest into the 270-foot fleet and breathe life into the systems onboard will bolster the Coast Guard’s bench strength as we await the offshore patrol cutters (OPCs) of the future.”

The SLEP for the medium endurance cutters includes updates and replacements of electrical power generation and distribution systems, main diesel propulsion engines and gun weapon systems. Legare is the second  of six medium endurance cutters scheduled to receive all major system overhauls including new main propulsion engines. This intensive work, which began in June 2024, will allow the cutter to operate for an additional decade, sustaining operational capability as the Coast Guard transitions to the OPC fleet.

Four additional medium endurance cutters – Campbell, Forward, Escanaba and Tahoma – will complete SLEPs by 2030. Seneca and Harriet Lane previously served as prototypes for the electrical and structural work but did not receive new engines. Harriet Lane also served as the prototype for the MK38 gun weapon system.

For more information: In-Service Vessel Sustainment Program page and Offshore Patrol Cutter Program page