May 27, 2026 —
The Coast Guard commissioned its latest fast response cutter (FRC), Coast Guard Cutter Frederick Mann, on Feb. 13 in Kodiak, Alaska. Frederick Mann is the third of three FRCs to be homeported at Coast Guard Base Kodiak.
Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the Coast Guard Arctic District, presided over the event. Members of the Mann family were also in attendance, including the cutter’s sponsor, Mrs. Eugenia “Jeannie” Mann Hyder, niece of Frederick Mann.
Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who performed extraordinary service in the line of duty. Frederick “Fred” Dean Mann was a decorated Coast Guard World War II veteran who received the Presidential Unit Citation from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as the Silver Star.
During the 1942 Battle of Guadalcanal, Mann led efforts to extinguish a fire aboard USS George F. Elliott, a Navy vessel to which he was assigned. A Japanese bomber crashed into the ship, spilling fuel that ignited a massive blaze. Mann ran a fire hose into a nearby troop ammunition magazine and pumped it full of water. Despite excessive smoke, a lack of oxygen and superheated bulkheads, Mann repeatedly returned to the compartment to keep the hose in place. His actions prevented the ammunition from detonating and allowed the crew and embarked troops to evacuate before the ship sank.
After the war, Mann returned stateside and served at numerous shore commands during his 31-year Coast Guard career. He died in 2017 at age 98.
The Sentinel-class FRCs replaced the 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. 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