Imagery Available: Coast Guard decommissions 9th High Endurance Cutter after nearly 50 years

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U.S. Coast Guard 14th District Hawaii and the Pacific
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Imagery Available: Coast Guard decommissions 9th High Endurance Cutter after nearly 50 years

 The Coast Guard decommissioned its ninth High Endurance Cutter after nearly 50 years of service as part of recapitalization efforts during a ceremony at Coast Guard Base Honolulu, March 29, 2018. The Coast Guard Cutter Sherman is one of the Coast Guard’s four remaining 378-foot High Endurance Cutters still in operation. (U.S. Coast Guard b-roll video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tara Molle/Released)  

 Members of the U.S. Coast Guard ceremonial honor guard stand in front of the Coast Guard Cutter Sherman prior to the cutter’s decommissioning ceremony in Honolulu, Mar. 29, 2018. The Sherman was decommissioned after nearly 50 years of meritorious service to the United States. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew S. Masaschi.     Coast Guard Vice Adm. Fred Midgette, Pacific Area Commander, and Capt. Steven Whittrock, Coast Guard Cutter Sherman’s commanding officer, stand with Sherman crewmembers after the admiral award the cutter with the meritorious unit commendation during the Sherman’s decommissioning ceremony in Honolulu, Mar. 29, 2018. Sherman crewmembers conducted their final patrol in the Bearing Sea and overcame a multitude of engineering challenges without missing a single operational day during the patrol. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew S. Masaschi.    Coast Guard Cutter Sherman crewmembers lay ashore during the Sherman’s decommissioning ceremony in Honolulu, Mar. 29, 2018. The Sherman was the last remaining active Coast Guard war ship to have sunk an enemy ship in combat when its crew sank a North Vietnamese naval trawler during the Vietnam War by firing eight rounds from its 5” gun in 30 seconds. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew S. Masaschi.

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HONOLULU — The Coast Guard decommissioned its ninth High Endurance Cutter after nearly 50 years of service as part of recapitalization efforts during a ceremony at Coast Guard Base Honolulu, Thursday.

The Coast Guard Cutter Sherman is one of the Coast Guard’s four remaining 378-foot High Endurance Cutters still in operation. The fleet of 378-foot High Endurance Cutters is being replaced by the National Security Cutters, which will soon serve as the Coast Guard’s primary long-range asset.

Sherman’s operational resume includes action in the Vietnam War, major drug interdictions - including the largest individual cocaine seizure in U.S. history, maritime law enforcement cases, living marine resource protection, migration interdiction and numerous rescues.

“The crewmembers who’ve served aboard Sherman have contributed immensely to protecting the American public across Sherman’s nearly 50 years of meritorious service while changing the course of history through the cutter’s combat action in Vietnam and a record-setting drug seizure,” said Vice Adm. Fred Midgette, who leads the service’s Pacific fleet as the commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area in Alameda, California. “The Coast Guard remains committed to protecting the American public, our security and our economic interests wherever we are called upon to serve. Recapitalizing our vessels, aircraft, boats, and infrastructure is mission critical and our highest priority to ensure we remain ‘always ready’ to continue protecting our nation.”

Sherman was launched on Sept. 3, 1968, and was the sixth of 12 “Hamilton” class High Endurance Cutters built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans. High Endurance Cutters are the largest cutters, aside from the three major Icebreakers and National Security Cutters, ever built for the Coast Guard.

Sherman is also one of only two Coast Guard Cutters to hold the Vietnam Service Award and only Coast Guard Cutter to hold the Combat Action Ribbon for action in the Vietnam War. Sherman is the last remaining active U.S. warship in the Coast Guard to have sunk an enemy vessel in combat.

In March 2007, a boarding team dispatched from Sherman discovered seventeen metric tons of cocaine on a Panamanian flagged freighter, Gatun. This seizure remains the largest individual drug bust in U.S. history with an estimated street value of $600 million. As the record holder, Sherman proudly wears the Golden Snowflake.

Sherman is one of a few Coast Guard cutters to circumnavigate the world. The Sherman crewmembers accomplished this in 2001 after conducting U.N. sanctions enforcement duty in the Persian Gulf and goodwill projects in Madagascar, South Africa and Cape Verde.

“The Sherman has served above and beyond the cutter’s intended capabilities across her nearly half-century long service to our country," said Midgette. "Though Sherman has sailed her final patrol for the Coast Guard, a long and rich legacy has been left behind and the missions and commitment to our country will be continued by the men and women aboard future National Security Cutters who will carry the torch into the future."

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