Imagery Available: USCGC Escanaba (WMEC 907) returns home to Portsmouth after historic 50-day patrol

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USCGC Escanaba (WMEC 907) returns home to Portsmouth after historic 50-day patrol

Escanaba crewmembers greet families  Escanaba arrives to Portsmouth Escanaba crew handle lines

Editors' Note: To view more or download high-resolution photos and b-roll video, click on the photos above.
To see more on Op Nanook please visit Op Nanook 21 on DVIDS by clicking here.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of USCGC Escanaba (WMEC 907) returned home to Portsmouth on Tuesday following a historic 50-day patrol in support of Operation Nanook in the Arctic region and the Labrador Sea.

Operation Nanook supports the Coast Guard Arctic strategy to develop international relations with like-minded Arctic states, enhance maritime domain awareness, and expand service capabilities within the region.

Escanaba deployed with the 154-foot Sentinel-class fast response cutter Richard Snyder and an embarked members of the Maritime Security Response Team East. The operation expanded the logistical boundaries of the FRC fleet and further refined the modular capabilities of deployable special forces to enhance a cutter’s organic law enforcement capabilities.

Operation Nanook was made up of two phases, Tuugaalik and Tatigiit. The Tuugaalik phase brought the crews of Escanaba, Richard Snyder, and the Royal Canadian navy together to exercise best practices and demonstrate responsive capabilities to potential terrorist or adversarial threats. The training exercises included were a live-fire surface gunnery exercise, close-quarters formation steaming, towing, small boat approaches, and communication drills. In the following phase, Tatigiit, the Escanaba, and Richard Snyder teams participated in a mass casualty and pollution event along the shores of Baffin Island. Both cutters crews seamlessly supported the Royal Canadian navy in rescue and assistance procedures and creating search and rescue patterns.

In addition to conducting law enforcement operations, Escanaba’s crew participated in Frontier Sentinel, a training event with the U.S. and Royal Canadian navies. The exercise simulated a multi-national response to a maritime threat and strengthened interoperability between all three services.

USCGC Escanaba is a 270-foot Famous-class medium endurance cutter, previously known as "The Pride of Boston, now re-homeported to Portsmouth.

-USCG-