The U.S. Coast Guard’s newest 154-foot fast response cutter, Douglas Denman, was officially commissioned Sept. 28 in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Vice Adm. Andrew J. Tiongson, commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area, and Rear Adm. Nathan A. Moore, commander of Coast Guard 17th District, were on hand to formally accept the cutter, named in honor of a man who helped crew members evacuate a sinking USS Colhoun after it was attacked by an aircraft in 1942.
Denman was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals and served in the Coast Guard for 20 years before retiring in 1961 as a senior chief petty officer.
The Douglas Denman is the 49th fast response cutter and the third of its class in Southeast Alaska, according to the agency.
“The Sentinel-class cutters deliver vital capabilities to the Coast Guard, helping to meet the service’s (needs) in the coastal zone and adjacent waters,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “Cutters like the Douglas Denman facilitated hundreds of domestic fisheries boardings, apprehended 105 suspected drug smugglers, interdicted 18,877 kilograms of cocaine, depriving transnational criminal organizations of $787 million in profits and rescued or interdicted 1,805 irregular maritime migrants during fiscal year 2021.”
