Two Coast Guard Cutters Headed to NAS Pensacola

Two Coast Guard cutters will be homeported in the Florida Panhandle in the immediate future. 

Last week, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., announced the Dauntless and the Decisive, both 210-foot medium endurance cutters launched in the late 1960s, will be heading to Naval Air Station  Pensacola before the end of August 2018. The Decisive is currently based in Pascagoula, Miss., while the Dauntless is based in  Galveston. 

Along with the Cypress, which is already based at NAS Pensacola, the two cutters will focus on search and rescue missions, stopping drugs, maritime law enforcement and immigration operations.  

Gaetz, who was elected to Congress for the first time in November, said the new ships, which both have 76 man crews, will help boost  the region’s safety. 

“This is incredible news for Pensacola and for all Northwest Floridians,” Gaetz said last week. “Not only is Northwest Florida gaining 152 new families, but the safety and security of the Emerald Coast and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico is significantly enhanced.”

With the two cutters relocating to NSA Pensacola, the Coast Guards intends to improve the facilities.