Jan. 13, 2020 —
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Daniel Tarr man the rails during the ship’s commissioning ceremony in Galveston, Texas, Jan. 10, 2020. The ship is the first sentinel-class fast response cutter to be stationed in Galveston. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Gabriel Wisdom.
The Coast Guard commissioned the 36th fast response cutter (FRC), Daniel Tarr, in Galveston, Texas, Jan. 10. The cutter is the first of three FRCs to be stationed in Galveston.
Daniel Tarr, the cutter’s namesake, was one of four Coast Guard coxswains who became the first enlisted men in the Coast Guard to receive the Silver Star Medal. The four served with the Marines during the amphibious invasion of Tulagi, Solomon Islands, in August 1942. On Aug. 7, 1942, Tarr, along with the other 3 coxswains, landed the first wave of the Marine Corps’ Raider Battalion on the beaches of Tulagi; in the following three days, they also delivered vitally needed equipment, ammunition and supplies. For their role in the landing of the Marines’ first wave, and capture of Tulagi, the four coxswains were awarded the Silver Star Medal.
The Sentinel-class FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; over-the-horizon cutter boat deployment to reach vessels of interest; and improved habitability and seakeeping. The cutters are designed for multiple missions, including search and rescue; national defense; ports, waterways and coastal security; drug and migrant interdiction; and fisheries patrols.
The Coast Guard has ordered 56 FRCs to date. Thirty-six are in service: 12 in Florida; seven in Puerto Rico; four in California; three in Hawaii and New Jersey; two in Alaska, Mississippi and North Carolina; and one in Texas. Future FRC homeports include Santa Rita, Guam; Astoria, Oregon; and Kodiak, Seward and Sitka, Alaska.
For more information: Fast Response Cutter Program page