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Alameda-based cutter returns home following 79-day deployment

March 1, 2015
Petty Officer 2nd Class Sarah Rich, a storekeeper aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, a 418-foot National Security Cutter homeported out of Alameda, Calif., embraces her daughter, Taylor Jackson, along the pier of Coast Guard Island, March 1, 2015. The crew aboard Waesche completed a 79-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean where they disrupted Transnational Organized Crime networks through joint inter-agency counter-drug operations seizing nearly 1,400 pounds of cocaine with an estimated value of more than $22 million. (U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Akiyama)

ALAMEDA, Calif. – The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche returned to homeport at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif., Sunday, following a 79-day, 13,000 nautical-mile patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Since their departure Dec. 12, 2014, the crew of Waesche patrolled international waters off the coast of Central America, disrupting Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) networks through joint inter-agency counter-drug operations seizing nearly 1,400 lbs of cocaine with an estimated value of more than $22 million.

During the last four weeks of their deployment, crewmembers aboard Waesche spent time off the coast of San Diego completing rigorous proficiency exercises geared toward sharpening the unit's readiness to conduct the many operations that are vital to the Coast Guard's military, homeland defense, and law enforcement missions. Many of these exercises included helicopter operations, gunnery, shipboard firefighting and damage control, and medical training. Additionally, they practiced national defense scenarios to ensure seamless integration with partners from the Department of Defense. As a key part of the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard plays a unique and vital role in maritime military operations. Waesche, as one of the Coast Guard's newest and most sophisticated platforms, was built specifically to perform all of these missions.

“My favorite part of Waesche is all of the different opportunities our platform offers,” said Seaman Abigail Caudill, a crewmember aboard Waesche. “The varieties of missions that we perform allow us to experience new places and work with other Coast Guard assets, different U.S. organizations, and other countries.”

“Waesche is definitely the busiest job I’ve ever had due to trying to balance performing the mission, training, and actual rated job expectations,” said Chief Petty Officer Jason Garris, a storekeeper assigned to Waesche. “Despite this, it is also the most rewarding job that I have ever had. The reward comes from knowing that we are laying the foundation for the crews of future [national security cutters]. The way we act sets the tone for [national security cutters] the next 20-30 years.”

Homeported at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif., Waesche, which is the second of eight planned national security cutters, is 418 feet long with a top speed of 28 knots and a range of 12,000 nautical miles. The cutter is equipped with a flight deck and hangars capable of housing two multi-mission helicopters, and outfitted with the most advanced command, control, and communications equipment.

To read more about the Coast Guard's role in the Eastern Pacific, please read In the Zone: Coast Guard Counter Drug 101

To read more about Waeche's patrol please check out these two blogs:

Service to shipmates

Leading the line

Tokuko Kerns and her family wait patiently along the pier on Coast Guard Island, for her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Corey Kerns, and the rest of the crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, a 418-foot National Security Cutter homeported out of Alameda, Calif., to arrive home after a 79-day patrol, March 1, 2015. The crew of Waesche patrolled international waters off the coast of Central America, disrupting Transnational Organized Crime networks through joint inter-agency counter-drug operations seizing nearly 1,400lbs of cocaine with an estimated value of more than $22 million. (U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Akiyama)

Petty Officer 1st Class Ron Lynn, a machinery technician aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, a 418-foot National Security Cutter homeported out of Alameda, Calif., is welcomed home by his children, Ron Lynn III and Annette Lynn, after completing a 79-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, March 1, 2015. Crewmembers aboard Waesche spent time off the coast of San Diego completing rigorous proficiency exercises geared toward sharpening the unit's readiness to conduct the many operations that are vital to the Coast Guard's military, homeland defense, and law enforcement missions. (U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Akiyama)

Fireman Apprentice Ayoub Innabi is greeted by his wife and 5-month-old baby after he and the crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, a 418-foot National Security Cutter homeported out of Alameda, Calif., returned home following a 79-day patrol, March 1, 2015. Crewmembers aboard Waesche spent time off the coast of San Diego completing rigorous proficiency exercises geared toward sharpening the unit's readiness to conduct the many operations that are vital to the Coast Guard's military, homeland defense and law enforcement missions. (U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Akiyama)

Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, a 418-foot National Security Cutter homeported out of Alameda, Calif., greet their family and friends along the cutters flight deck after completing a 79-day patrol, March 1, 2015. Waesche is the second of eight planned national security cutters, and is equipped with a flight deck and hangars capable of housing two multi-mission helicopters and outfitted with the most advanced command, control and communications equipment. (U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Akiyama)

 

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