Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz meets with Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan in Nome and Port Clarence, Alaska to discuss the construction of deep-draft ports in western Alaska, Aug. 13, 2018. Coast Guard photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – For now, the Coast Guard is focused on being sea-based in the high latitudes even as talk of building a deep-water Arctic port gains support in Washington.
A curious Adelie penguin stands near the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star on McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, Jan. 7, 2016. During their visit to Antarctica for Deep Freeze 2016, the U.S. military’s logistical support to the National Science Foundation-managed U.S. Antarctic Program, the Polar Star crew encounters a variety of Antarctic marine life, including penguins, whales and seals. U.S. Coast Guard photo
The Coast Guard’s long-sought heavy icebreaker, the Polar Security Cutter, was among the programs to receive funding when Congress passed a spending package on late Thursday.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Shannon Eubanks (left) instructs Petty Officer 2nd Class Ed Traver (right) on ice rescue techniques on Oct. 3, 2018, about 715 miles north of Barrow, Alaska, in the Arctic. US Coast Guard Photo
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2018. This story is part of a series; please also see U.S. Marine Corps Operations and U.S. Navy Operations.
For the U.S. Coast Guard, 2018 started and ended with news about the service’s new fleet of polar icebreakers.
USCGC Healy (WAGB-20), a polar-class icebreaker, transits Southeast Alaskan waters on Nov. 24, 2018. US Coast Guard Photo
This post was updated with additional information about the partial federal government shutdown.
A looming partial government shutdown will not directly affect the Department of Defense operations, but several agencies that work with DoD will either have to stop or severely curtail their activities.
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star participate in various activities on the ice about 13 miles from McMurdo Station, Antarctica on Jan. 26, 2018. US Coast Guard Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard’s funding for a polar icebreaker is set to be postponed yet again, after Congress and President Donald Trump again failed to reach an agreement on Fiscal Year 2019 funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the Senate today began work on passing another short-term continuing resolution. Read More
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star participate in various activities on the ice about 13 miles from McMurdo Station, Antarctica on Jan. 26, 2018. US Coast Guard Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz is guardedly optimistic his service will get funding for a new Polar Security Cutter in time to start construction in 2019. Read More
Crew of U.S Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10) in 2014. US Coast Guard Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard changed the name of its heavy icebreaker program to highlight its importance to national security, as funding for the first-in-class ship may be in jeopardy.
The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22), left, Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768), center, and the Royal Navy hunter killer submarine, HMS Trenchant (S-91) surface through the ice during the multinational maritime Ice Exercise (ICEX) in the Arctic Circle on March 21, 2018. ICEX 2018 is a five-week exercise that allows the Navy to assess its operational readiness in the Arctic, increase experience in the region, advance understanding of the Arctic environment, and continue to develop relationships with other services, allies and partner organizations. US Navy photo
CAPITOL HILL — The Navy will release a new Arctic strategy this summer to reflect the potential for “blue-water Arctic” operations, service leadership said today. Read More
A curious Adelie penguin stands near the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star on McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, Jan. 7, 2016. During their visit to Antarctica for Deep Freeze 2016, the U.S. military’s logistical support to the National Science Foundation-managed U.S. Antarctic Program, the Polar Star crew encounters a variety of Antarctic marine life, including penguins, whales and seals. U.S. Coast Guard photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Coast Guard plans to release its request for proposal for the service’s new heavy icebreaker on Friday, Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft said.
USCGC Healy underway in the Chukchi Sea during an annual Arctic deployment on July 28, 2017. Coast Guard Photo
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The request for proposals to build the nation’s next generation heavy icebreaker is expected to be released by the end of the month, the U.S. Coast Guard commandant said on Thursday.
