May 2, 2019 —
Coast Guard Cmdr. Brian Smicklas, executive officer assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, and Derek Murphy, Huntington Ingalls Industries national security cutter program manager, hold the keys to the ship as Capt. Travis Carter, commanding officer of Project Resident Office Gulf Coast, looks on during the acceptance ceremony aboard the Midgett in Pascagoula, Mississippi, May 1, 2019. Midgett, the eighth National Security Cutter will be stationed in Honolulu. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Theodore Hart.
The Coast Guard on April 30 accepted delivery of the eighth national security cutter (NSC), Midgett, in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Midgett is scheduled for commissioning in summer 2019 at its Honolulu homeport; the seventh NSC, Kimball, will also be stationed in Honolulu.
The cutter’s name honors the Midgett family and their history of distinguished service in the Coast Guard that continues to this day. One member of the Midgett family, Chief Warrant Officer John Allen Midgett Jr., led crewmembers of his lifeboat in heroically rescuing the entire 42-member crew from the British tanker Mirlo after it was torpedoed off the coast of North Carolina in 1918. For his bravery despite the rough seas and fires from the tanker’s cargo, he was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal. The 378-foot high endurance cutter John Midgett (WHEC 726) was named in his honor.
The NSCs feature advanced command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; aviation support facilities; stern cutter boat launch; and long-endurance station keeping. The 418-foot cutters have an endurance of 60 to 90 days and can serve as operational-level headquarters for complex law-enforcement, defense and national security missions involving Coast Guard and multiple partner agency participation. They are replacing the 1960s-era 378-foot high-endurance cutters.
With the most recent delivery, the Coast Guard has taken possession of eight NSCs. Six NSCs have been commissioned into service. Coast Guard cutters Hamilton and James are stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, and Coast Guard cutters Bertholf, Waesche, Stratton and Munro are stationed in Alameda, California. The ninth cutter, Stone, is slated for delivery in 2021. The service awarded a fixed-price contract option in December 2018 for production of the 10th and 11th NSCs.
For more information: National Security Cutter Program page