The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Active, a 210-foot Medium-Endurance Cutter, returned home to Port Angeles, Washington, Tuesday, following a successful 65-day counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The Active’s crew patrolled the region in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South, a National Task Force under U.S. Southern Command.
U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo.
During the patrol, the Active’s 75-member crew deployed off the coast of Central America, intercepted numerous vessels, detained suspected drug smugglers, and seized more than 1,500 kilograms of cocaine valued at more than $49 million.
The cutter’s crew also participated in myriad other missions including conducting an at-sea refueling of the Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry, one of the Coast Guard’s newest assets and the first Fast Response Cutter to conduct a Pacific Ocean crossing and refuel at sea. While in Los Angeles for Fleet Week, the crew provided public tours of the cutter, and participated in various public affairs events alongside members from the U.S. and Royal Canadian Navies and the U.S. Marine Corps. The Active’s crew also engaged in a formation steaming exercise and crew exchange at sea with HMCS Ottawa, a Canadian frigate home-ported across the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Esquimalt, British Columbia, and the Mexican Navy patrol craft Avior, fostering partnerships with our closest neighbors and allies.
The Active’s crew also volunteered at a local orphanage in Mazatlan, Mexico, where they improved the habitability and safety of the children’s play yard, and maintained the grounds throughout the facility. The crew painted thousands of square feet of perimeter walls, hand-cleared weeds and grass, removed rocks and trash, and recovered and repaired lost toys and playground equipment for the children.
“The Active’s crew performed superbly in every assigned mission,” said Cmdr. Chris German, commanding officer, Coast Guard Cutter Active. “They seized every opportunity and tackled every challenge from working with our Canadian and Mexican Navy counterparts off the coast of Mexico, to sailing halfway to Hawaii and refueling the Coast Guard’s newest cutter with one of its oldest, to expertly interdicting suspected drug smugglers off the coast of Central America. I couldn’t be prouder of my crew and sincerely appreciate the invaluable support from family and friends in Port Angeles and around the country that enabled us to focus on the mission at hand.”
JIATF-S oversees the detection and monitoring of Transnational Organized Crime operations and assists U.S. and multi-national law enforcement agencies with the interdiction of illicit traffickers. Interdictions at sea are executed through the partnerships between U.S. Coast Guard personnel, U.S. government agencies, and international agencies in support of JIATF-S. The law enforcement phase of interdiction operations are conducted under the tactical command of the 11th Coast Guard District headquartered in Alameda, California.
Source: USCG