Coast Guard Cutter Alert, crew returns to homeport after 58-day patrol

Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexander Gray | The Coast Guard Cutter Alert (WMEC-630) crew offloads approximately 4,000 pounds of marijuana, January 18, 2023, in San Diego. The marijuana was seized and suspected smugglers were detained. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alex Gray)  

ASTORIA, OR, UNITED STATES

01.24.2023

Story by Senior Chief Petty Officer Charly Tautfest 

U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area

ASTORIA, Ore. – The Coast Guard Cutter Alert (WMEC 630) and crew returned to homeport Jan. 24 after a 58-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The Alert crew conducted counternarcotics operations off the Central America coast. They transited more than 11,000 miles, boarded two vessels, which resulted in detaining three suspects and over 4,000 pounds of marijuana worth more than $2.5 million dollars, and conducted 33 hours of flight operations, and celebrated Christmas and New Year’s on the high seas.

Working in support of U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South, the Alert crew played a critical role in executing the nation’s counternarcotics mission. Alert deployed with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and aviation detachment capable of conducting airborne use of force from the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical (HITRON) Squadron based in Jacksonville, Florida.

“The Coast Guard continues to enhance international partnerships in the region to help combat the flow of illicit narcotics into the United States,” said Capt. Tyson Scofield, the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Alert. “This collaboration and unity of effort is vital to increase stability and economic prosperity in Mexico and Central America.”

The Alert crew also participated in a community relations event with the Mexican Navy in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Alert crew played beach volleyball with members of the Mexican Navy who shared taquitos, local fruit, and watermelon water. After losing the first set, Alert’s crew was able to rally and win the second but lost the game after a closely fought final set.

“We had a fantastic time playing volleyball,” said Seaman Cameron Kohr, a Halstead, Kansas native. “I love how we can grow in camaraderie with our partners through sports despite language barriers and am grateful to them for hosting us and providing great refreshments.”

The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring, and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions for these interdictions by United States Attorney’s Offices from the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida and the Southern District of California. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard Eleventh District, headquartered in Alameda. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by U.S. Coast Guard members.

The Alert, commissioned in 1969, is the newest of three 210-foot Reliance-class Medium Endurance cutters stationed on the West Coast, and performs a variety of missions to protect Americans and American interests in the Northern and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

-USCG-

• Date Taken: 01.24.2023
• Date Posted: 01.31.2023 12:32
• Story ID: 437536
• Location: ASTORIA, OR, US