USCG commissions third new Galveston-homeported cutter

On July 15, 2020, the US Coast Guard (USCG) held a commissioning ceremony for the Coast Guard Cutter Harold Miller (WPC-1138), the service’s 38th Sentinel-class fast response cutter, at Sector Field Office Galveston, Texas.

Like its sister ships, the newbuild was built at Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana and delivered to the coast guard in early April 2020.

Harold Miller is the final of three fast response cutters to be homeported in Galveston, joining the recently commissioned cutter Edgar Culbertson.

Harold Miller, the cutter’s namesake, was a Coast Guard boatswain’s mate 2nd class and a Silver Star recipient for his heroic actions that led to the victory at Tulagi Island during World War II.

On August 7, 1942, while stationed aboard the U.S.S. McKean, Miller piloted the first wave of landing craft on Tulagi Island in the Pacific Theater against a Japanese force on Guadalcanal Island. Miller then made repeated trips in spite of heavy enemy fire to affect the landing of his embarked troops, equipment ammunition, and supplies.

The fast response cutter Harold Miller’s patrol area will encompass 900 miles of coastline for the USCG’s Eighth District, from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas.

Fast response cutters are named after USCG enlisted heroes and will replace the service’s 110-foot patrol boats. These vessels feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment.