USCGC Forward (WMEC 911) and Royal Netherlands Navy ship HNLMS Holland (P840) steam in formation for a transfer of contraband cocaine in the Atlantic Ocean Nov. 4, 2022, presumably a previous patrol. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Amy Rodriguez)
Below is a news release found on United States Coast Guard News. Generally, it is pretty normal drug interdiction news release.
I did kind of question this.
Throughout the patrol, Forward held approximately 4,700 pounds of cocaine on deck worth an estimated $81 million. Forward intercepted three suspected narcotics smugglers earlier this month and held nine others throughout the patrol. On Tuesday, the crew conducted a further offload to partner agencies in Port Everglades, Florida.
Nowhere does it say how long the patrol was other than “multi-week,” kind of important and not something we can keep secret. Why would prisoners be transferred on board a cutter that has just arrived? The service has been criticized in the past for holding prisoners on board for long periods in conditions that are considered by many to be inhumane. I won’t get into that, but it does seem we would want to get them ashore as quickly as possible. Maintaining custody of prisoners is a strain on the ship that it is not designed or billeted for.
Also, there is an error in the news release I cannot let pass.
Part of this effort included international partnerships with the HNLMS Holland (P840) of the Royal Netherlands Navy and other U.S. military vessels, including USCGC Campbell (WMEC 909), USCGC Margaret Norvell (WPC 1105), and USS Little Rock (CL 92).
USS Little Rock (CL 92) is a museum ship moored in Buffalo, NY, a Cleveland class light cruiser first commissioned in 1945, converted to a guided missile cruiser, she was decommissioned in 1976. I am pretty sure they intended to reference USS Little Rock (LCS-9). We need to do better. If you don’t know the proper designation, just leave it off. Can’t imagine how they made this mistake, unless they just googled USS Little Rock and saw a designation without reading anything about the ship it was associated with.
USCGC Forward returns home following counterdrug patrol in the Caribbean Sea
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of the USCGC Forward (WMEC 911) returned to their home port in Portsmouth, Saturday, following a multi-week training exercise and counterdrug deployment in the central Caribbean Sea.
While underway in the Seventh Coast Guard District’s area of responsibility and in support of Joint Interagency Task Force–South, Forward traveled more than 6,000 miles conducting counterdrug operations as part of a multi-faceted approach to combatting illicit narcotics trafficking across maritime borders.
Part of this effort included international partnerships with the HNLMS Holland (P840) of the Royal Netherlands Navy and other U.S. military vessels, including USCGC Campbell (WMEC 909), USCGC Margaret Norvell (WPC 1105), and USS Little Rock (CL 92).
Throughout the patrol, Forward held approximately 4,700 pounds of cocaine on deck worth an estimated $81 million. Forward intercepted three suspected narcotics smugglers earlier this month and held nine others throughout the patrol. On Tuesday, the crew conducted a further offload to partner agencies in Port Everglades, Florida.
“The crew lived up to our namesake ‘Ever the Sentinel’ and was ready to take on any mission,” said Cmdr. Staci Rutsch, Forward’s commanding officer. “Forward’s crew demonstrated the Coast Guard’s resiliency and adaptability by maintaining proficiency in interagency and international operations while upholding the ability to meet the nation’s maritime demands. I am truly impressed and thankful for their devotion to duty.”
Forward is a 270-foot, Famous-class medium endurance cutter. The cutter’s list of mission sets include law enforcement, search and rescue, protection of living marine resources, homeland security and defense operations, international training and humanitarian operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
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