Media Advisory: Coast Guard to conduct groundbreaking for new Fast Response Cutter support building in Guam

Media Advisory

U.S. Coast Guard 14th District Hawaii and the Pacific Contacts: Lt. Jonathan Girot Mobile: 671-682-6604 Coast Guard 14th District Public Affairs Office: 808-535-3230  14th District online newsroom

Media Advisory: Coast Guard to conduct groundbreaking for new Fast Response Cutter support building in Guam

SANTA RITA, Guam — Media are invited to meet the Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Shultz and observe the groundbreaking for the new Cmdr. Carlton Skinner Building Monday, at 9: 30 a.m. 

Guam will receive three FRCs in the coming years to replace the aging 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. The FRCs are the mainstay of the Coast Guard’s recapitalized coastal patrol fleet, providing multi-mission capabilities and interagency interoperability. These cutters feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment; over-the-horizon cutter boat employment to reach vessels of interest; and improved habitability and sea-keeping characteristics. They are each crewed by 24 members eager to conduct Coast Guard operations and serve the residents and mariners of the Pacific.

The Indo-Pacific is a region of critical strategic importance. The Coast Guard is committed to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. Our specialized capabilities and expansive network of international partnerships enable us to build partner-nation capacity and model the rules-based values and behaviors that we want to see in the region. The new FRCs will help the Coast Guard accomplish this sustained effort.

Cmdr. Skinner served in the U.S. Coast Guard, at times incorporated into the Navy, from 1941 to 1945. He championed desegregation efforts by successfully sailing with the first fully integrated crew in the history of the Coast Guard and Navy. President Truman appointed Cmdr. Skinner as the first non-military Governor of Guam, a post he held from 27 September 1949 until 20 January 1953. He wrote and secured passage of the Organic Act of 1950 – Guam’s Constitution. The act established local government and self-rule as an unincorporated territory of the United States and remains in use today. After leaving the governor’s post in 1953, he served as the chief financial officer for American President Lines, Colt Industries, and Fairbanks-Morse. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson appointed Skinner to two consecutive terms on the South Pacific Commission. Nearly 60 years after he left office, Skinner remains one of Guam’s most recognized former governors. 

WHO: The Commandant of the Coast Guard and Commander Coast Guard Sector Guam. 

WHAT: Will conduct a groundbreaking for the new FRC building on the Naval Base.

WHEN: Monday, July 22. Media should arrive at Naval Base Guam Visitor Control Center no later than 8 a.m. to get through security and proceed with an escort to the Coast Guard facility. 

WHERE: Coast Guard Sector Guam, Victor Pier at Naval Base Guam.

Please RSVP to Lt. Jonathan Girot by phone or text at 671-682-6604 by 3 p.m., Wednesday.

Media outlets are encouraged to send representatives that already have Naval Base Guam access via DBIDS (Defense Biometric Identification System) card.  Those with existing Naval Base Guam (NBG) access, please advise ahead of time. All guests must have a valid form of identification (i.e., Real ID-compliant driver’s license, U.S. passport). Media without DBIDS card access but interested in attending please ensure early coordination with Lt. Girot and that the member has a Read ID-compliant diver's license or U.S. Passport.

More: https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/jrm/installations/navbase_guam/about/installation_guide/visitor_information.html

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