.gif)
USCGC Campbell (WMEC-909)
Encyclopedia
USCGC Campbell (WMEC-909) is a United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
medium endurance cutter based at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...
in Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
. Campbell is the 6th Coast Guard Cutter
United States Coast Guard Cutter
Cutter is the term used by the United States Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. A Cutter is or greater in length, has a permanently assigned crew, and has accommodations for the crew to live aboard...
to bear the name and is assigned to the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The ship bears the distinction of having made some of the largest narcotics seizures in Coast Guard history as well as being the command ship for the TWA 800
TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...
recovery effort.
Construction and launch
The ship WMEC-909's name primarily commemorates, USCGC Campbell (WPG-32)USCGC Campbell (WPG-32)
USCGC Campbell was a Secretary-Class Coast Guard ship built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1935-1936 and commissioned in 1936. Seven similar "combat cutters" were built and named for secretaries of the United States Treasury...
, was sunk as a training target in November 1984. A final message, broadcast as she went down almost completely intact following a strike from a Harpoon missile, proclaimed the birth of the USCGC Campbell WMEC-909. It concluded with the words "The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen.", a reference to the "Queen of the Seas" title bestowed on the prior Campbell during her 46 years of service.
The keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
for WMEC-909 had been laid at the Derecktor shipyard in Mamaroneck, New York
Mamaroneck (village), New York
Mamaroneck is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 18,929 at the 2010 census. It is located partially within the town of Mamaroneck and partially within the town of Rye. The portion in Rye is unofficially called "Rye Neck"...
on 10 August 1984. She was launched on 29 April 1986 and commissioned into service on 19 August 1988. USCGC Campbell was the ninth of thirteen Famous-class cutters built by Derecktor to replace WWII and pre-WWII cutters.
Mission
The Campbell regularly patrols the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
from the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
to the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. Like the other Famous Class cutters, she was designed and built for multi-mission tasks in law enforcement
Law enforcement
Law enforcement broadly refers to any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to promote adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate the rules and norms governing that society...
, search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
, marine environmental protection
Marine Environmental Protection
Marine environmental protection is one of the eleven missions of the United States Coast Guard.Officially, there are five areas of emphasis in the marine environmental protection mission...
and military preparedness. Her mission is defined by the Coast Guard as "Search and Rescue, Enforcement of Laws and Treaties, Fisheries Law Enforcement, Drug Interdiction, Alien and Migrant Interdiction, Homeland Port Security".
In the course of fulfilling this mission, Campbell has received more than one USCG Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Major Events
The first significant accomplishment of the new USCGC Campbell was the rescue of 3 survivors of the hurricane shipwreck of the S/V Moorings 38 after 6 days at sea in September 1991.On 5 January 1992, the Campbell interdicted the freighter Harbour with 10,422 lbs of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
on board. The freighter's crew attempted to burn and scuttle the ship, but crewmen from the Campbell successfully salvaged the vessel and the evidence on board. Other cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
seizures include 480 kilos in March 1996 dropped by air, over 1000 kilos from the M/V Sea Cliff in 1996, and 2.9 tons from the former US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
tug Coshecton in January 1998.
In July 1996, the Campbell responded to the crash of TWA Flight 800
TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...
in the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, securing the area from intrusion and serving as on-scene command for the retrieval and initial investigation.
While engaged in flight operations off the coast of Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
the evening of 30 January 2001, a large wave rocked the Campbell just as an HH-65 Dolphin
HH-65 Dolphin
The Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin is a twin-engined, single main rotor, MEDEVAC-capable Search and Rescue helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard...
helicopter was touching down. The helicopter rolled to its side, impacting the deck with its rotors. 8 people were injured in the accident.
Coat of Arms
The US Army Institute of Heraldry designed a new coat of arms for USCGC Campbell. Using colors from the traditions of Clan CampbellClan Campbell
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...
, it features a 6-point ship's wheel
Ship's wheel
A ship's wheel is the modern method of adjusting the angle of a boat or ship's rudder in order to cause the vessel to change its course. Together with the rest of the steering mechanism it forms part of the helm. It is typically connected to a mechanical, electric servo, or hydraulic system...
(a symbol of seaworthiness representing the 6 Campbells), on a blue shield (for defense and protection) with gold top that features a battering ram
Battering ram
A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times and designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates...
(to symbolize the WWII ramming of U-606 by the WPG-32), topped with a crown (recalling WPG-32's title "Queen of the Seas") accented with alternating blue and gold lightning bolts (representing fast-strike capability), held between two seahorses (found likewise on the crest of WPG-32) above a gold ribbon with the words "Tradition Pride Readiness" on a white background. Surrounding the image is a blue border with gold trim and gold words "USCGC Campbell WMEC 909".