Coast Guard commissions 61st fast response cutter, Olivia Hooker

Coast Guard Cutter Olivia Hooker, at its homeport of Pascagoula, Mississippi, during its commissioning on Jan. 22, 2026. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

The Coast Guard commissioned its 61st fast response cutter (FRC), Coast Guard Cutter Olivia Hooker, on Jan. 22 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Olivia Hooker is the second FRC to be homeported at Coast Guard Station Pascagoula. 

Presiding at the commissioning were Rear Adm. Will E. Watson, commander of the Coast Guard Heartland District, and Rear Adm. Zeita Merchant, assistant commandant of workforce management. Among the attendees were relatives of the vessel’s namesake, Dr. Olivia Hooker. 

Hooker was a pioneering figure in the history of the Coast Guard as the first African American woman in the service. In February 1945, Hooker enlisted in the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, also known as SPARs (an acronym derived from the Coast Guard’s motto, “Semper Paratus – Always Ready”). Hooker supported the service’s critical operations during a time of global conflict and was honorably discharged in 1946.   

Following her military service, Hooker pursued higher education, earning a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University and a doctorate in psychology from the University of Rochester. She went on to have a distinguished career as a psychologist and educator.  

In 2015, at the age of 100, she was honored by the Coast Guard for her service and legacy. Hooker passed away on Nov. 21, 2018, at the age of 103. 

The Sentinel-class FRCs replaced the 1980s Island-class 110-foot patrol boats and possess state-of-the-art command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, with improved habitability and seakeeping. Each FRC is named after an enlisted Coast Guard hero who performed extraordinary service in the line of duty. Seventy-seven FRCs have been ordered to date to perform a multitude of missions that include drug and alien interdictions, joint international operations and national defense of ports, waterways and coastal areas.  

For more information: Fast Response Cutter Program page