USCGC Adak (WPB-1333)
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USCGC ''Adak'' (WPB-1333) was a United States Coast Guard cutter that received her name from
Adak Island Adak Island ( ale, Adaax, russian: Адак) or Father Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island. The island has a lan ...
in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Built at Bollinger Shipyard in
Lockport, Louisiana Lockport is a town on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,490 in 2020. It is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. History Lockport, founded in 1835, ...
, ''Adak'' was placed in commission on 18 August 1989 in New Jersey and decommissioned on 30 June 2021 in
Manama, Bahrain Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very d ...
after almost 32 years of service.


Service history

''Adak'' was originally stationed in
Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern ...
, New Jersey. Before ''Adak''s commissioning ceremony in August 1989, in New Jersey, however, ''Adak'' had already completed six maritime rescues. After stopping F/V ''Hunter'' off the coast of New York in 1991, ''Adak''s boarding team found of
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
worth over $861 million at the time. This was the third largest cocaine bust up to that date. On the evening of 18 September 1992, ''Adak'' rescued a missing diver off the coast of Shinnecock, Long Island. During her search for the missing diver from dive boat ''Captain Midnight'', the crew saw a dim light, which upon investigation turned out to be the flashlight of the missing diver. The diver had been lost for five hours at that point. In August 1994, ''Adak'' took part in Operation Able Vigil, an effort made up of over 50 U.S. Coast Guard cutters and
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
ships, and many other varied assets, making up the largest Coast Guard led naval operation since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. From 19 August to 23 September 1994, Operation Able Vigil forces rescued over 29,000 Cuban migrants from unsafe rafts and makeshift craft. For her part in the operation ''Adak'' earned the
Coast Guard Unit Commendation The Coast Guard Unit Commendation is the highest peacetime unit award that may be awarded to military commands of the United States Coast Guard. The decoration was first created in 1963 and is presented to members of any Coast Guard unit that di ...
. In April 1996, while on patrol off
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, ''Adak'' rescued 118
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
migrants from two dangerously overloaded and unseaworthy boats.USCGC ''Adak'', Welcome Aboard pamphlet ''Adak'' was witness to the crash of
TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...
off the coast of Long Island, New York, on 17 July 1996. The cutter was only away when the crash occurred and immediately headed to the scene. ''Adak'' served as the On-Scene Commander for almost 100 rescue craft for the first eight hours of the search and recovery effort. For her actions responding to the TWA Flight 800 crash ''Adak'' received the Coast Guard Unit Commendation. During ''Adak''s stateside service she conducted many successful fisheries patrols, enforcing maritime laws and treaties, and ensuring the safety of fishermen. In August 1999, she received the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation for her work from June 1997 to June 1999, doing living marine resources patrols. During this time ''Adak'' issued eleven Magnuson Fishery Conservation Act violations, five of those resulting in catch seizures that, together, totalled over $160,000. After the attacks on the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard tug , homeported in Bayonne, New Jersey, was the first on scene in New York harbor and acted as On-Scene Commander. ''Adak'' arrived on scene an hour later and took over On-Scene Commander responsibilities. For hours ''Adak'' coordinated the evacuation of civilians, transport of firefighters and rescue personnel, and the establishment of security zones to protect other high valued assets from further attack. For her part in the response to the attacks of September 11, ''Adak'' received the Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award.


Operation Iraqi Freedom

The maritime conditions of Iraq and the Northern
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
can greatly limit the operations of large naval vessels and warships. Due to this and the Navy's lack of in-shore patrol craft, a large part of the US Navy's request for Coast Guard assistance in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) centered on the service's shallow-draft patrol boats. Cutters of the 110-foot Island class, also known as WPBs, would serve as the mainstay of shallow-water operations. The deployment of the 110-foot patrol boat ''Adak'' serves as a snapshot of WPB operations in OIF. Deployment of the WPBs overseas would represent the first combat deployment of Coast Guard patrol boats since the Vietnam War, even though other Coast Guard assets had served in operations Desert Shield and
Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
in the 1990s. In early February 2003, the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area Command deployed to the Persian Gulf the WPBs ''Adak'', , , and . The 110s arrived in Bahrain, at the beginning of March, having ridden on board for thirty-five days. On March 5, a heavy-lift crane off-loaded the WPBs taking only six hours to set all four in the water. ''Adak'' ran through sea trials for two days and on 9 March, ''Adak'' and sister ship ''Aquidneck'' deployed to the Persian Gulf followed by ''Baranof'' and ''Wrangell'' on 12 March. In the days leading up to combat operations, ''Adak'' focused on maritime interdiction operations. Coalition vessels had restricted passage of local watercraft out of the Khawr Abd Allah (KAA) Waterway, thinking that these vessels might carry mines or escaping Iraqi officials. By mid-March, local watercraft had attempted several breakouts with fleets of
dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...
s and small boats and, on 17 March, a large breakout consisting of sixty Iraqi watercraft attempted to evade Coalition units. With the vessels scattering in all directions, ''Adak'', ''Wrangell'', and their small boats, aided by other Coalition units, managed to corral all of the Iraqi watercraft and board them. None of the vessels carried escaping Iraqi leaders and all had discharged any illegal cargoes typical of small smuggling vessels. After boarding teams had thoroughly searched the dhows, ''Adak'' and the other patrol vessels allowed the watercraft to proceed along a specific route into the northern area of the Persian Gulf. In the early morning hours of 20 March, Coalition forces initiated combat operations with air attacks against key military targets in Baghdad. The ''Adak'' and ''Aquidneck'' enforced a security zone while the USS ''Higgins'' launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles into Iraq. In addition, Coalition forces had to secure Iraq's Khor al-Amaya Oil Terminal and Mina al Bakr Oil Terminal to prevent environmental attack by the Iraqi regime. On the evening of 20 March,
SEAL Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
teams supported by Polish Special Forces personnel, stormed the oil facilities. During the operation, ''Adak'', along with ''Baranof'', maintained security around the terminals to prevent reinforcement or escape by Iraqi military forces. After the SEALs cleared the terminals of Iraqi personnel, weapons and explosives, Coast Guard personnel from Port Security Units 311 and 313 arrived to secure the facilities. Next ''Adak'' received orders to patrol the KAA Waterway, so by the early morning hours of 21 March, ''Adak'' had steamed up the KAA to serve as a guard ship. In fact, of the 146 Coalition naval units in the Persian Gulf, ''Adak'' stationed itself deepest in enemy territory and served as the "tip of the spear" for Coalition naval forces. During its early morning patrol, ''Adak'' and navy patrol surprised and stopped two down-bound Iraqi tugboats, including one towing a barge, and ordered them to anchor. At first, the vessels raised no suspicions for they ordinarily serviced tankers and smaller watercraft that plied local waters. But the two patrol vessels continued guarding the tugs and a special boarding team composed of Australian and American explosives experts searched the tugs and barge and found concealed within them a total of seventy contact and acoustic mines. Had they been released, the mines could have sunk or heavily damaged Coalition naval vessels operating in the Persian Gulf. The team secured the tugs and ''Chinook'' transported the tug crews back to a Coalition naval vessel for processing. The captain of one of the mine-laying tugs admitted that the sight of the "white patrol boat" had prevented him from deploying his deadly cargo. Throughout 21 March, the captain and crew of ''Adak'' experienced a great deal of excitement. At 06:00, Australian and British frigates began naval fire support operations in what became known as "Five-Inch Friday". The warships poured nearly 200 rounds of and shells into the Iraqi defenses while ''Adak'' screened the vessels to ensure that no unauthorized watercraft approached. During this time, Mackenzie and his men felt buffeting from the explosions of hundreds of bombs and shells lobbed on shore. British Royal Marines, supported by US Navy and
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
hovercraft, commenced the amphibious assault on the Al-Faw Peninsula; the largest amphibious operation carried out since the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. During the landings, an Iraqi PB-90 patrol boat had been cruising upstream on the KAA Waterway and positioned itself where it could threaten low-flying Coalition helicopters and provide early warning reports to land-based Iraqi forces on the Al Faw Peninsula. To engage the PB-90, the Coalition command center vectored in an
AC-130 gunship The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, n ...
, which destroyed the Iraqi vessel. Afterward, a Coalition helicopter spotted three surviving crewmembers floating down the KAA and notified ''Adak'' of their location. ''Adak'' conducted Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) operations, recovered three hypothermic Iraqis at 8:30, and transferred the prisoners to an Australian naval vessel for processing. Coalition experts later identified the men as warrant officers from Iraq's Republican Guard. After Coalition forces wrapped up the initial phase of combat operations, Coalition planners focused on opening the KAA Waterway to vessel traffic. Wrecks from the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...
and the First Gulf War still littered the KAA and its shores, but mines proved a greater concern. Some mines still remained in the waterway from Operation Desert Storm. Minesweeping operations began on 22 March, with navy Sea Dragon helicopters towing minesweeping sleds along the waterway. Mackenzie received orders for ''Adak'' to join sister ship ''Wrangell'', and navy patrol craft ''Chinook'' and ''Firebolt'' to escort US Navy and Royal Navy minesweepers up the KAA. The process proved slow as the minesweepers proceeded at a rate of up the channel to the Iraqi port of
Umm Qasr Umm Qasr ( ar, أم قصر, also transliterated as ''Um-qasir'', ''Um-qasser, Um Qasr'') is a port city in southern Iraq. It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the Persian Gulf. It is se ...
. The patrol boats had to stand off from the minesweeping vessels and they often had to station themselves upriver from the minesweepers. On several occasions, the minesweepers located mines in waters previously navigated by the WPBs and, on one occasion, ''Adak''s crew listened as the patrol boat contacted a mine that came to the surface and failed to detonate. It took about a week to complete mine-clearing operations on the KAA and with Umm Qasr in Coalition hands, cargo vessels could begin steaming into the Iraqi port. Naval combat operations concluded near the end of March, but ''Adak'' joined the other WPBs to continue their force protection role and served as escorts while the navy salvage vessel and the tugboat removed obstructions in the waterway. On 28 March, Coalition forces sent the first shipload of humanitarian aid into Umm Qasr on board the shallow draft
Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...
''Sir Galahad'' under the escort of ''Adak'', ''Wrangell'', a minesweeper and patrol craft . ''Adak'' and its crew continued escort duties along the KAA into early April. On 11 April, ''Adak'' escorted Iraq's first commercial shipment on board , which carried 700 tons of Red Crescent Society aid of food, water, medical supplies and transport vehicles. Meanwhile, ''Adak'' received orders to return to base and, on 12 April, ''Adak'' redeployed to Bahrain after completing a thirty-five-day non-stop deployment to the NAG. On 9 April, organized resistance had ceased in Baghdad, followed in mid-April by a cessation of resistance in most other Iraqi cities. On 1 May, President George Bush announced the end of combat operations in Iraq and the Coalition’s offensive operations came to a close. During OIF, ''Adak'', its sister ships and their crews brought many vital capabilities to the theater of operations. The patrol boats operated for many hours without maintenance in waters too shallow for most naval vessels and served as the fleet's workhorses in boarding, escort duty, force protection and maritime interdiction operations. The characteristic white hulls of the WPBs also provided a less antagonizing presence in a highly volatile region. As in past Coast Guard combat missions, such as Vietnam, Coast Guard patrol boats and personnel exceeded all expectations in shallow-water and in-shore maritime operations. Given the frequency that hostilities erupt in the world's littoral regions, shallow-draft Coast Guard units and their specialized personnel will continue to play an important part in future naval operations.


Operations Enduring Freedom and Inherent Resolve

In a historical twist, the ''Adak'', ''Aquidneck'', and ''Higgins'' found themselves working together again. During the 2018 missile strike against Syria, the ''Higgins'' launched 23 TLAMs into Syria while ''Adak'' and ''Aquidneck'' enforced a security zone for her.


Gallery

File:George&George.jpg, Former Presidents visiting ''Adak''. File:Liberty22.jpg, ''Adak'' standing watch over New York Harbor. File:Transport22.jpg, ''Adak'' being lifted on a transport ship, en route to the Persian Gulf. File:Thadcrew.jpg, Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen with crew of ''Adak'', 2009.


Decommissioning

''Adak'' and the other five Island-class patrol boats originally assigned to
Patrol Forces Southwest Asia Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) is a United States Coast Guard command based in Manama, Bahrain. PATFORSWA was created in November 2002 as a contingency operation to support the U.S. Navy with patrol boats. The command's mission is to trai ...
(PATFORSWA) were scheduled to be replaced by new Sentinel-class fast response cutters by 2022. After the arrival of their replacements in May 2021, ''Adak'' and her sister ship ''Aquidneck'' were decommissioned in Bahrain on 15 June 2021. The
U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
currently plans to transfer ''Adak'' to the
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n government.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adak 1989 ships Ships of the United States Coast Guard Island-class patrol boats Ships built in Lockport, Louisiana