USCGC ''Oliver Berry'' (WPC-1124) is the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

's 24th cutter. She was the first member of the three members of her class to be homeported in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

Design

Like her sister ships, ''Oliver Berry'' is designed to perform search and rescue missions,

port security Port security is part of a broader definition concerning maritime security. It refers to the defense, law and treaty enforcement, and counterterrorism activities that fall within the port and maritime domain. It includes the protection of the se ...

, and the interception of smugglers. She is armed with a remotely controlled, gyrostabilized 25 mm autocannon, four crew-served M2 Browning machine guns, and light arms. She is equipped with a

stern launching ramp Some modern patrol vessels are equipped with a stern launching ramp, for deploying smaller rescue or pursuit boats without requiring the parent ship to first come to a halt. Typically the smaller craft are powered by water-jets, and can dri ...

, that allows her to launch or retrieve a water-jet propelled high-speed auxiliary boat, without first coming to a stop. Her high-speed boat has over-the-horizon capability, and is useful for inspecting other vessels, and deploying boarding parties. She is designed to support her crew of 24 for missions of up to five days, over distances of almost .

Operational history

Marshall Islands Police patrol vessel Lomor and USCGC Oliver Berry - 180703-G-CA140-115

In July 2018 ''Oliver Berry'' set off for the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

, a voyage of . Since this exceeded her maximum endurance she was refueled by other Coast Guard cutters. She was the first Sentinel-class cutter to travel that far from the United States's territorial waters, and the first Sentinel-class cutter to travel on a voyage of that length. It took eight days to travel from Hawaii to

Majuro Atoll Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

, in the Marshall Islands. When she arrived her crew engaged in joint exercises with , a Marshall Islands' patrol vessel of similar size to ''Oliver Berry''. Her crew also engaged in various forms of cultural exchange with Marshall Islands citizens. In July 2022, ''Oliver Berry'' provided assistance to Kiritimati Island, Kiribati, following their extreme drough

Namesake

In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the United States Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after

enlisted Enlisted may refer to: * Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or ...

sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism. In 2015 the Coast Guard announced that Oliver F. Berry, an aviation pioneer, who played a key role in shipping and using helicopters for a maritime search and rescue, would be the namesake of the 24th cutter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver F. Berry (WPC-1124) Sentinel-class cutters Ships of the United States Coast Guard 2017 ships Ships built in Lockport, Louisiana