A decommissioning ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin is scheduled for 10 a.m., Monday, March 31 at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Pier Papa in North Charleston, S.C.
The ceremony will honor 45 years of service by the Gallatin, a 378-foot high endurance cutter homeported at the FLETC. Vice Adm. Robert C. Parker, commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, will preside over the event.
Gallatin’s decommissioning marks a unique milestone as the last high-endurance cutter on the East Coast to be deactivated from U.S. service. It is the fifth HEC to be decommissioned, with seven remaining in service on the West Coast.
Scheduled for commissioning in early December 2014, the first East Coast-based National Security Cutter Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton will replace the Gallatin.
Hamilton is the fourth NSC built for the Coast Guard with post-911 multi-mission capabilities. NSC’s are capable of performing critical homeland security, law enforcement and national defense missions in the most demanding open ocean environments.
The Hamilton will join the fleet of the most technologically sophisticated class cutters in the U.S. Coast Guard.
[mappress] Press Release, March 26, 2014, Image: Wikimedia