ALCOAST 263/20 - JUL 2020 ELEVENTH NATIONAL SECURITY CUTTER NAMED FOR ELIZEBETH SMITH FRIEDMAN

R 071012 JUL 20
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-092//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS//N05700//
ALCOAST 263/20
COMDTNOTE 5700
SUBJ: ELEVENTH NATIONAL SECURITY CUTTER NAMED FOR ELIZEBETH SMITH FRIEDMAN
1. This ALCOAST announces the Coast Guard’s naming of its 11th Legend-Class National
Security Cutter (NSC) in honor of Elizebeth Smith Friedman.
2. Friedman was a pioneering code-breaker for the Coast Guard during the Prohibition
Era and World War II, serving as a civilian within the Coast Guard Cryptanalytic
Unit-387. She has been dubbed "America's first female cryptanalyst" and in many ways
could be considered a founder of the modern-day Coast Guard Intelligence Program. Her
work with the Coast Guard began soon after the passage of the Volstead Act, which
prohibited the manufacture, sale, or trade of alcohol in the United States. Liquor
smugglers frequently made use of radios to coordinate their activities and began to
encode their messages. Friedman was detailed from the Treasury Department to the Coast
Guard thus beginning a remarkable career. Between 1927 and 1930, she is estimated to
have solved over 12,000 smuggling messages in hundreds of different code systems, all
by hand with just pencil and paper. Her work led to 650 federal prosecutions and she
personally testified in 33 cases. During World War II, she was part of the team that
broke the codes generated by the formidable Enigma-machine used by the Germans. She
played a key role in exposing a ring of German spies in South America, effectively
denying them a foothold in the Western Hemisphere during the war. Her Cryptanalytic
Unit eventually moved from Treasury and evolved into the modern Coast Guard Intelligence
program. Only recently was her legacy fully appreciated when a journalist researched
now-declassified papers and discovered her pivotal role in the Enigma-machine code-breaking
as well as the Customs Prohibition operations.
3. The NSC is one of the largest and most technologically sophisticated vessels in the
Coast Guard fleet. The 418-foot cutter is capable of operating in the most demanding
open ocean environments, including the hazardous fishing grounds of the North Pacific
and the vast approaches of the Eastern Pacific, where much of the narcotics smuggling
originates. With robust command, control, communication, computers, intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment; stern boat launch and aviation facilities;
and long-endurance station keeping, the NSCs are exceptionally well-suited for complex
law enforcement and national security missions, and integrating multiple Coast Guard
and partner-agency units.
4. The Legend-Class of cutters has a tradition of honoring women and men who have a
legendary status in the Coast Guard’s rich history. These individuals reflect a diversity
of missions, historical periods, and career backgrounds, and continue to inspire us.
5. NSCs are replacing the 378-foot High Endurance Cutters, which have been in service
since the 1960s. There are eight Legend-Class NSCs currently in service. Coast Guard
Cutters BERTHOLF, WAESCHE, STRATTON, and MUNRO are stationed in Alameda, California;
HAMILTON and JAMES are in Charleston, South Carolina; and KIMBALL and MIDGETT are
homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii. The ninth cutter, STONE, is slated for delivery in
fiscal year 2021. On December 21, 2018, the Service awarded a fixed-price contract
option for the production of the 10th cutter, CALHOUN, and the 11th cutter, FRIEDMAN.
For more information, visit: https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant
-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Programs/Surface-Programs/National-Security-Cutter/.
6. RDML J. P. Hickey, Director of Governmental and Public Affairs, sends.
7. Internet release is authorized.