Coast Guard Cutter - West Coast Security Asset - Docks In East Bay Homeport

BAY AREA, CA – A newly commissioned U.S. Coast Guard cutter was welcomed home Thursday to Alameda's Coast Guard Island, Coast Guard officials said.

The cutter Munro is the sixth National Security Cutter to be commissioned. National Security Cutters became operational in fiscal year 2009 and three others are based in Alameda.

Coast Guard Lt. Donnie Brzuska said some family and friends welcomed their loved ones. "This is just the official arrival," Brzuska said.

“As a proud ‘Coast Guard City,’ the City of Alameda welcomes the crew of the Munro to its new homeport at Coast Guard Island,” said Trish Herrera Spencer, the mayor of the City of Alameda.

“Alameda has been a home away from home for generations of Coast Guard men and women and having a fourth state-of-the-art National Security Cutter based in Alameda demonstrates the Coast Guard’s continued commitment to our local community. Our nation faces significant threats posed by violent Transnational Organized Crime networks and Coast Guard crews like those aboard the Munro are on the front lines of this fight.”

The cutter's crew was busy even before it returned home and even before it was commissioned in Seattle. The crew rescued three people and seized nearly $5 million in cocaine, according to Coast Guard officials.

The primary mission of cutters such as Munro is search and rescue. The second is intercepting illegal drugs bound for the United States.

"The cutter is a significant national security asset," Brzuska said. The crew has been preparing her for operation since 2015, two years after she was constructed in Mississippi.

The ship is named for the late Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, who is the Coast Guard's only Medal of Honor recipient. The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest and most prestigious personal military honor for service personnel who distinguish themselves with valor.

Munro was a resident of Washington state. He was killed in action in the Guadalcanal campaign in World War II when he provided cover for 500 Marines who were being attacked as they were evacuating.

The National Security Cutters Waesche, Bertholf and Stratton also call Alameda home. National Security Cutters are the flagships of the Coast Guard's fleet.

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--Bay City News/Photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam Stanton and Petty Officer 2nd Class Cory Mendenhall