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| Press Release |
Date: May 19. 2007
Contact: LTj.g. Mike Bell |
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From the North Atlantic Waters to the Caribbean Rhode Island Cutter Demonstrates Coast Guard's Multi-Mission Capabilities
Click on the photo's for larger resolution images. Coast Guard Cutter Willow is a 225-foot buoy tender stationed in Newport, R.I. The Willow, whose primary job is servicing navigational aids off the New England coast, has been assisting in migrant operations in Caribbean waters since April 28. All photos by PA1 Krystyna Hannum.
Minutes before sunrise Saturday, Malcom Smith, a Seaman aboard Willow, prepares baggies of toothbrushes and toothpaste. Each migrant that came aboard the Willow was assigned a number and correlating numbered bag of basic necessities. 
Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeff Borup, the health service technician assigned aboard Willow, applies an anti-itch cream to a two-year-old suffering from multiple bug bites. When needed, migrants aboard Coast Guard vessels are given basic medical treatments.
Migrants aboard Coast Guard vessels at sea are given two meals of rice and beans a day. Aboard the Willow, four food service specialists must cook for the migrants and 42 crewmembers. KEY WEST, Fla. - A Coast Guard buoy tender from Rhode Island has been patrolling the waters off Key West and supporting migrant interdiction operations for the past three weeks. The 225-foot cutter Willow, from Newport, R.I., is primarily employed in the Coast Guard's aids to navigation mission with the responsibility of servicing and maintaining 209 buoys in the North Atlantic. "Seeing the Willow in action reaffirms how multi-mission oriented the Coast Guard and the 225-foot cutters are," said Rear Admiral Tim S. Sullivan, commander of the First Coast Guard District located in the northeastern part of the country. Sullivan recently visited the Willow during migrant operations. "The vessel and crew have shown that when you put good crews on ships, give them the right training, give them the right tools, they will be able to perform any mission." With assigned medical personnel, large amounts of storage, and a flat buoy deck area of nearly 3,000 square feet, the Willow has been able to accommodate migrants interdicted at sea. "The Coast Guard has been looking at how we best make use of all the resources we have, and having the Willow for this mission is the right thing to do for the right reasons right now," said Sullivan. The Willow has a crew of 42 personnel. In addition to servicing navigational aids, Willow crewmembers conduct fishery boardings in the North Atlantic to ensure that all fishing vessels are in compliance with U.S. laws, as well to safeguard a healthy fish stock and the safety of fishermen at sea. ###
The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
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