The Cutters

JUNEAU, Alaska — The USS/USCG Glacier is far from her prime and floating in a federal mothball fleet, but both of Alaska’s U.S. senators have moved to get the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration to save this piece of floating history from the scrapyard.

The ice breaker that helped found McMurdo Station on Antarctica and performed a record-breaking 39 Arctic and Antarctic deployments may become scrap despite more than a decade of repairs and studies aimed at making the ship a museum or medical and scientific ship.

A nonprofit group has invested millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to fix up some of the ship’s systems and test the Glacier’s hull soundness. The ship was once the most powerful U.S. icebreaker in the fleet and the flagship of polar explorer Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd.

The running clock on a “Save the Glacier” website has ticked down to 11 hours and change for the nonprofit Glacier Society, as the maritime administration, also known as MARAD, is poised to decide whether Glacier would join 58 other vessels marked for scrapping.

It floats among the 58 vessels in the maritime administration’s Non-Ready Reserve fleet in California’s Suisun Bay. Many other vessels, most rotting hulks, have been stripped of toxins and towed through the Panama Canal for scrapping in recent years.

The staff at Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Washington, D.C., office were “huddling up” Monday and getting to work on the issue, said Communications Director Matthew Felling.
Sen. Mark Begich’s office fired off a letter Monday to Maritime Administrator David Matsuda in the ship’s defense.

In his letter to Matsuda, Begich stated the Glacier Society has sunk $3 million into the project, structurally surveyed the heavy-hulled ship and made plans for rehabilitation at a Bay Area shipyard.

Glacier’s final destination under current plans would be Florida, where it would serve as a museum.

The ship “has a storied history of service to our nation through its polar exploration and establishment of our base at McMurdo Sound. I request MARAD return the Glacier to donor status, save it from the scrap heap, and expedite its transfer to the Glacier Society,” Begich wrote.

Efforts to save the old ship have come close before to success, but perhaps never so close to failure. Earlier plans were for the Glacier to become a medical ship serving remote communities in the Arctic Circle, as well as a floating research platform. At one point the government was poised to sign the ship over to the Glacier Society.

Glacier Society Chairman Ben Koether began a public relations blitz last month at the culmination of a 14-year rollercoaster effort to break the ship out of mothballs. His message a month ago was one of desperation.

“We are at a critical time in the life of the storied Glacier, perhaps more difficult than any passage the storied ship has made in unforgiving environments,” said Koether, chairman of the Glacier Society and once a rookie Glacier navigator. The Society credits him as discoverer of “Koether Inlet” in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica.

On Monday night, Koether was busy sending off letters.

Koether said a shipyard offered to trade another vessel for the Glacier and deliver the Glacier to its new home port in Miami, but MARAD refused.

Current plans call for the ice breaker to be towed from Suisun Bay through the Carquinez Strait as soon as Tuesday to a former Navy shipyard in nearby Vallejo, Calif., for cleanup. Within 30 days the ship could be towed under the Golden Gate Bridge and to a Gulf Coast scrapyard, he said.

In a prepared release, the scientist in charge of the Glacier Society’s museum project said the “ship has a unique role in U.S. history and its future.”

The vessel was a cold warrior, serving in “Operation Deep Freeze” in competition with Russian ice breakers as America rushed to explore the polar regions. It was the flagship for Byrd during the 1955-56 mission. The Glacier was in the Navy for years before donning Coast Guard orange in the 1960s, making its last trip to a pole in 1985. It was decommissioned by 1987.

“No other ship afloat can speak so well to the environmental issues we face both locally and on a global scale, such as rising CO2 levels affecting the Polar regions,” said Charles Green, founder of the environmental museum initiative and lead adviser to The Glacier Society. “The Glacier will be the most important museum in the world for people that want to discover information on environmental, oceanographic, polar and earth-sciences.”

Koether said the ship’s historical significance and environmental importance must be recognized and celebrated through its use as an interactive museum.

As the clock ticked, Koether vowed to keep working toward getting help from Congress or the Obama administration to make that happen.

The Foundation for Coast Guard History has announced the winners of the 2011 FCGH awards.

The unit history awards go to the Coast Guard units, one large and one small, that best further public awareness of current activities and honor the proud and rich heritage of the U.S. Coast Guard The large unit award is awarded to uscg air station clearwater. the volunteers at air station Clearwater restored HU-16e goat CGNR 1023 after rescuing it from the now closed Pate aviation museum in Fort Worth, Texas. the restoration coincided with the 60th anniversary of the introduction of the Grumman HU-16 albatross into the coast guard fleet and the 35th anniversary of the units move from St. Petersburg to Clearwater, as well as the centennial of naval aviation. CG-1023 now commemorates the crew of the CG-1240, lost in the fog on a rescue attempt on 6 march 1967.

The small unit award is awarded to station Hatteras Inlet. Station Hatteras Inlet has helped reinstitute an american pastime, the beach cart drill as conducted by the crews of the United States Life-saving service in the years preceding the creation of the coast guard. the all-volunteer crew works in conjunction with the Chicamacomico lifesaving museum to present the drill twice per week using only tools available to 19th century lifesaving crews. the unit also works in conjunction with the North Carolina center for the advancement of teachers in presenting an annual one-week guardians of the sea seminar for visiting teachers from throughout the state, and participates in the chicamacomico lifesaving museums annual heroes day celebration, among other ongoing projects dedicated to the heritage of the service both locally and nationally.

Book awards. The winner of the best book in the category of coast guard heritage was C. Douglas Krolls book – A Coast Guardsmans history of the U.S. Coast Guard. the award committee found his book to be a unique exploration of era-specific heroes, well-researched, an easy read and an unprecedented contribution to the field of Coast Guard history. The winner of the best book in the category of Lighthouses was Steve Murray’s – Guardians of the Hereford Inlet. The award committee described his book as a prime example of how an American lighthouse history book should be written, detailing both sides of the maritime disaster prevention and search and rescue response story.

The Foundation for Coast Guard History also recognizes individuals who have made important contributions in preserving and presenting the coast guards rich and varied heritage. The recipient of this years Heritage award for achievement is Robert M. Green, USCG Auxiliary. Mr. green, the graphics branch chief of the USCG Auxiliary national staff, took it upon himself to create a Coast Guard heraldry manual. his work is comprehensive, professionally written and the first attempt at the establishment of coast guard-wide standards of heraldry guidelines to be adhered to in all situations, including use by the media.

The Foundation for Coast Guard History was formed on 4 August 1999 as a non-profit organization. Its objectives are to provide support for the Coast Guard historian, encourage studies relating to the history of our service, and accord recognition to individuals and organizations who contribute to the goals of the fcgh. inquiries and suggestions should be forwarded to the Foundation for Coast Guard history .

The Coast Guard Enlisted Memorial is planned for the grounds of Training Center Cape May, NJ, the current birthplace of the U.S. Coast Guard’s enlisted corps. 

The site will be centered around three granite walls which identify by name the 1,400 Coast Guardsmen who have perished in the performance of duty. Names are included from 1915, the year the Revenue Cutter Service and U.S. Life Saving Service were merged and Congress formalized the existence of the U.S. Coast Guard. Marble benches provided for mourning and reflection will face these walls. Also central to the site is a flagpole surrounded by plaques emblazoned with the emblems of those services which acted as precursors to the modern Coast Guard. A brass ship’s bell held in a marble enclosure will be located at the front of the site for use during ceremonies. Sponsor plaques listing those who provided substantial donations and support will be also included and positioned along the perimeter of the site. The entire memorial will be illuminated by in-ground lights. 

For more information go to: www.cgemf.org

ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard will host a seven-day leadership conference for 30 Naval Sea Cadets at Camp Rilea in Warrenton, Ore., Apr. 1-7, 2012. The conference, called the Petty Officer Leadership Academy, is funded by the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a non-profit youth organization for students aged 11-17 that wish to learn about the military with no obligation to join. The objective of the Petty Officer Leadership Academy is to provide cadets with basic leadership skills to handle more advanced roles and responsibilities. Cadets will learn military science, leadership and communication techniques, undergo team building exercises and practice military drill and physical fitness activity. The cadets attending the conference are from Oregon, Washington and California. Media interested in attending should contact Chief Petty Officer Justin Eaton at (503) 969-2998.

The 9th Coast Guard District has concluded Operation Taconite, its ice-breaking operation in the western Great Lakes, officially bringing the 2011 to 2012 icebreaking season to a close.

Under control of Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Operation Taconite is carried out in Lake Superior, the St. Mary’s River, the Straits of Mackinac, and northern Lake Huron.

Operation Taconite began Dec. 21, 2011. Working together during this year’s ice-breaking season were crews aboard: U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Mackinaw; Alder; Hollyhock; Mobile Bay; Neah Bay; Katmai Bay; Biscayne Bay; and Thunder Bay, temporarily assigned to the Great Lakes from its homeport of Rockland, Maine.

Together these eight cutters spent 1,668 hours breaking ice and assisted more than 60 vessels.

Although ice has melted from the waterways and air temperatures may be mild, water temperatures are still extremely cold and can cause hypothermia and death within a matter of minutes. Recreational water users are advised to dress for the water temperature and not the air, and to consider these factors before venturing out onto the water.

KEY WEST, Fla. – Two advisory boards meeting jointly this week decided that whatever the future Truman Waterfront park looks like, it will include the historic U.S. Coast Guard cutter Ingham.

Since 2009, the 327-foot Ingham — officially the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Ingham Maritime Museum & National Historic Landmark — has been berthed along the East Quay Wall and open to visitors. The city is in lease negotiations with the Meisel Spottswood Marina Management Co. to develop a marina in the same space.

But on Tuesday the Truman Waterfront Advisory Board and Bahama Village Redevelopment Advisory Committee agreed that the Ingham, the only Coast Guard cutter in history to receive two Presidential Unit Citations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy, would remain where it is.

Bill Verge, the Ingham operator and a former city commissioner, asked advisory board members to choose between preserving history or potentially making a little more money.

“Are we strictly going to go for dollars?” Verge asked. “How many boats we can cram down there, or do we go for some history?”

He noted that in 1980 during the Mariel Boatlift, which saw more than 125,000 Cuban nationals leave the communist island for freedom in South Florida, the then-active Ingham offloaded thousands of refugees “in roughly the same spot she’s sitting in now.”

Bob Kelly, a former member of the Waterfront Board, expressed his concern that as more time passes, the park design less and less resembles the open green space community members have pushed for since the late 1990s.

“Parks, in most rational places, are just parks,” he said. “It keeps shrinking and shrinking. I see it disappearing. I think this is going to be my swan song for having anything to do with this anymore.”

The U.S. Navy gave the 33-acre waterfront to the city in 2002 as an economic development conveyance, part of a larger base reuse and closure process.

The Ingham, which was decomissioned in 1988 after 52 years of service, saw combat in the Pacific during World War II and also in Vietnam, where she conducted surveillance and gunfire support missions off the coast, according to the Coast Guard’s history of the ship.

A MEMORIAL CEREMONY WILL BE HELD TO REMEMBER AND HONOR THE CREW OF

CGNR 6535 ON THURSDAY, 8 MARCH AT 1000 CST IN HANGAR NUMBER TWO AT

USCG AVIATION TRAINING CENTER, 8501 TANNER WILLIAMS ROAD, MOBILE, AL,

36608.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF COAST GUARD MEMBERS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND.

GUESTS ARE REQUESTED TO ARRIVE NLT 0915 CST, AND BE SEATED NLT 0945

CST DUE TO EXPECTED HEAVY TRAFFIC. CAR POOLING IS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED

AS PARKING WILL BE LIMITED

MOBILE, Ala.— The Coast Guard continues recovery operations, Saturday, for the missing crewmember of the MH-65C helicopter that crashed in Mobile Bay.

The activities are being hampered by high winds and heavy seas. Air operations and shoreline patrols will continue to be conducted Saturday, and the Coast Guard Cutter Stingray remains onscene to enforce the safety zone. Divers and boat crews equipped with side-scanning sonar will resume operations Sunday.

“Our priority is to find the missing crewmember and the debris associated with the aircraft,” said Capt. Donald J. Rose, commander of Coast Guard Sector Mobile. “But we must ensure the safety of our crews who are engaged in these operations.”

The bodies of Lt. Cmdr. Dale Taylor, of Snow Hill, N.C., and Lt. j.g. Thomas Cameron, of Portland, Ore., were recovered by response personnel, Thursday. Chief Petty Officer Fernando Jorge was recovered Tuesday night after communications with the helicopter was lost during a training flight. Missing is Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Knight of Thomasville, Ala.

The Coast Guard reminds the public that debris associated with the helicopter wreckage should not be handled. The public is asked to contact the Sector Mobile command center or local authorities if they find any debris believed to be associated with the helicopter wreckage. The command center’s number is 251-441-6211.

A Mishap Analysis Board has been convened by the commandant of the Coast Guard. The team will conduct a safety analysis of all aspects of the accident to determine causal factors and make recommendations to prevent the recurrence of similar mishaps in the future. The members of the board have experience in a variety of specialties including flight operations, engineering, medical, aviation support systems and accident analysis.

Participate in an Oral History Project.. Robert Markuske, a Park Ranger at Governors Island National Monument, is looking for people to talk to and participate in a Oral History Project.

Robert is seeking service members and/or dependents for a particular event in the fall of 1988. President Reagan and Soviet Leader Gorbachev meet on the island on December 7th 1988. Their last meeting before Reagan left office.

Anyone there that day; either intimately involved or just having a normal day and wishing to participate in this project, contact Robert Markuske directly at Email Robert