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	Joseph Gerczak during her sea trials
History
United States
Name	Joseph Gerczak
Namesake	Joseph Gerczak
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Launched	November 9, 2017
Acquired	November 9, 2017
Commissioned	March 9, 2018
Homeport	Honolulu, Hawaii
Identification	MMSI number: 338926426; Callsign: NJOG; Hull number: WPC-1126;
Motto	Unrelenting courage
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Sentinel-class cutter
Displacement	353 long tons (359 t)
Length	46.8 m (154 ft)
Beam	8.11 m (26.6 ft)
Depth	2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion	2 × 4,300 kW (5,800 shp); 1 × 75 kW (101 shp) bow thruster;
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi)
Endurance	5 days
Boats & landing ; craft carried	1 × Cutter Boat - Over the Horizon Interceptor
Complement	4 officers, 20 crew
Sensors and ; processing systems	L-3 C4ISR suite
Armament	1 × Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm automatic gun; 4 × crew-served Browning M2 machine guns;

USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC-1126) is the 26th Sentinel-class cutter built for the United States Coast Guard.^[3] She is one of three Fast Response Cutters homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Design

Like her sister ships, Joseph Gerczak is designed to perform search and rescue missions, port security, and the interception of smugglers.^[4] 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, 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 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km; 3,452 mi).

Operational history

On November 9, 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard took delivery of Joseph Gerczak from Bollinger Shipyards in Key West, Florida.^[5]

On February 4, 2018, Joseph Gerczak arrived at her new homeport of Honolulu following a 42-day transit from Key West, Florida.^[6]

On March 9, 2018, Joseph Gerczak was commissioned into service at Coast Guard Base Honolulu. Vice Adm. Fred M. Midgette, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area, presided over the ceremony accepting the second of three 154-foot fast response cutters to be stationed in Hawaii.^[7]

In August 2019, Joseph Gerczak became the first Fast Response Cutter to visit the Port of Pago Pago, American Samoa.^[8]

In February 2022, Joseph Gerczak became the first Fast Response Cutter to visit the Port of Pape’ete, Tahiti.^[9]

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 sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism.^[10]^[11] In 2015 the Coast Guard announced that Joseph Gerczak, who coolly shot down two Japanese planes, during World War II, before he himself was shot, would be the namesake of the 26th cutter.^[12]

References

^ "Coast Guard Accepts 26th Fast Response Cutter" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
^ "Coast Guard commissions Hawaii's second Sentinel-class cutter". Coast Guard News. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
^ "US Coast Guard receives 26th fast response cutter 'Joseph Gerczak'". Naval Today. 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
^ "FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. 2014-05-02. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-04-03. All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
^ "Bollinger Delivers the USCGC JOSEPH GERCZAK TO THE USCG - the 26th Fast Response Cutter". 9 November 2017.
^ "USCGC Gerczak (WPC 1126) arrives to new homeport of Honolulu".
^ "Coast Guard commissions Hawaii's second Sentinel-class cutter - Coast Guard News | Coast Guard News".
^ "USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) arrives in American Samoa on patrol".
^ "Coast Guard cutters conclude Operation Aiga in Oceania - Coast Guard News | Coast Guard News".
^ Susan Schept (2010-03-22). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
^ "U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
^ "Acquisition Update: Coast Guard Reveals Names of FRCs 26-35". US Coast Guard. 2015-02-27. Archived from the original on 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2017-03-25. The Coast Guard recently announced the names of the 26th through 35th Sentinel-class fast response cutters through a series of posts on its official blog, the Coast Guard Compass.