Media Availability: Coast Guard Commandant to recognize USCGC Midgett (WMSL 757) for first drug busts

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 08/19/2019 07:41 PM EDT

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U.S. Coast Guard 14th District Hawaii and the Pacific
Contact: 14th District Public Affairs
Office: (808) 535-3230
After Hours: (808) 265-7748
14th District online newsroom

Media Availability: Coast Guard Commandant to recognize USCGC Midgett (WMSL 757) for first drug busts

Crew members from the pre-commissioned Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757) sit atop a suspected low-profile go-fast vessel interdicted by the crew July 31 in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The crew seized more than 4,600 pounds of cocaine from the suspected drug-smuggling vessel. U.S. Coast Guard photo. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757) transits past Dimond Head on Oahu, Hawaii, Aug. 16 2019. The Midgett is the Coast Guard's newest national security cutter and is the second one homeported in Honolulu. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew West/Released)

Editors' Note: Click on images to learn more or download a high-resolution version.

HONOLULU — The media are invited to observe the Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz recognize the USGCG Midgett (WMSL 757) crew for their first drug busts Wednesday at Coast Guard Base Honolulu. 

Media will have the opportunity to capture the event and ask questions of the Commandant, and the USCGC Midgett Commanding Officer, Capt. Alan McCabe. The cutter crew will receive their first drug bust decal for the ship. 

The Midgett's transit to Hawaii was punctuated by two interdictions of suspected low-profile go-fast vessels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the first July 25 and a second July 31. The boardings resulted in a combined seizure of over 6,700 pounds of cocaine, estimated to be worth over $89 million.

"The national security cutter gets you further faster and delivers more capability once on-scene than any other cutter in the history of our service," said McCabe. "I am incredibly proud of the crew's efforts making these two seizures possible, and we are eager to conduct future operations throughout the Pacific."

Midgett arrived in Honolulu from Pascagoula, Mississippi, Friday. The Legend-class national security cutters are some of the Coast Guard's newest additions to the fleet and are a capable platform for a wide range of missions including homeland security and defense. Midgett will be commissioned alongside its sister ship USCGC Kimball (WMSL 756) in a ceremony at the base Saturday, Aug. 24.

Who: Adm. Karl Schultz and Capt. Alan McCabe.

What: Observe the Midgett crew recognition for their first drug bust and ask questions about the new ships, the Coast Guard and the national and international significance. 

When: Wednesday, Aug. 21. Media is asked to show up to Coast Guard Base Honolulu no later than 12:30 p.m. 

Where: Coast Guard Base Honolulu, 400 Sand Island Parkway, Honolulu, HI, 96819.

Media will be met at the front gate and escorted.

Please RSVP to Coast Guard 14th District External Affairs by noon Tuesday, at 808-535-3230 or 808-282-7809.

More on Midgett's arrival available at http://bit.ly/MidgettOahu

-USCG-