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From left: Rear Admiral Steve Branham (Commander, Coast Guard District 7), Congressman Mica, Mrs. Mica, Mr. Marc Stanley (Executive Vice President, Bollinger Shipyards), Lieutenant Junior Grade Andrew Vicks (Commanding Officer, USCGC ALLIGATOR), and Captain Timothy Close (Commander, Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg). |
St. Petersburg, FL – U.S. Rep. John L. Mica (R-FL), the Committee Transportation and Infrastructure’s Republican Leader, spoke today at the commissioning of the latest Coast Guard Cutter, ALLIGATOR. His wife, Mrs. Pat Mica, is the sponsor of the vessel which will be stationed in St. Petersburg and will patrol the western coast of Florida.
On Monday, March 9, 2009, the Coast Guard Cutter ALLIGATOR was commissioned at a ceremony at 10:00 A.M. in St. Petersburg, FL. Mrs. Pat Mica, wife of Rep. Mica, served as the cutter’s sponsor. Representative Mica and Mrs. Mica were joined at the ceremony by Rear Admiral Steve Branham, Commander, 7th Coast Guard District.
“Whether attempting to rescue those at sea as we witnessed last week in Florida’s Gulf Coast waters, responding to passengers in the Hudson River, or in a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina, the United States Coast Guard is there when we need them,” said Rep. Mica.
“The commissioning of Coast Guard Cutter ALLIGATOR represents a success story for the Coast Guard. The cutter will help the Coast Guard meet its operational commitments while it builds a new class of patrol boats,” remarked Rep. Mica. The ALLIGATOR is an 87-foot Marine Protector Class cutter built to increase maritime safety and security on the high seas. It will assist the Coast Guard in a multitude of necessary missions, including search and rescue, law enforcement, and illegal drug and alien migrant interdiction.
The ALLIGATOR will join a fleet of 4 patrol boats already stationed in St. Petersburg, FL. “She will be a welcome asset for Sector St. Petersburg, one of the Coast Guard's busiest and most active commands,” said Rep. Mica. “The often tough and difficult demands of modern Coast Guard missions require highly capable multi-mission platforms, and the Cutter ALLIGATOR is exactly that.”
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