The crew of the 283'x59' Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley returned to homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, following an extended seven month drydock maintenance period in Seattle.
While in drydock, the crew (90 enlisted, 10 officers, 4 aircrew) and contractors successfully completed more than $6 million worth of repairs.
The engineering department oversaw major overhauls on the cutter’s controllable pitch propeller system, speed reducers, rudders, and boilers, along with inspections of fuel, sewage, and water tanks. The operations department supervised a renewal of the Alex Haley’s flight deck, navigation systems, and electronics while maintaining critical law enforcement currencies. The deck department completed vast amounts of painting and topside preservation, while ensuring small boat operational readiness.
When crewmembers were not directly involved in repairs, they took advantage of temporary duty training opportunities to gain technical proficiencies.
Crewmembers were sent to southern California to aid in migrant operations, supported scientific missions in the Arctic, and played a key role in the Rim of the Pacific 2022 Naval Exercise, strengthening U.S. relationships with 33 partner nations.
The entire crew also attended advanced damage control schools hosted by Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Wash. Crewmembers were taught plugging, patching, and dewatering techniques in the classroom and then went hands-on, applying their knowledge to simulated flooding in a wet trainer.
Firefighting tactics were also honed while combating real fires during two scenarios that mimicked plausible casualties on a cutter like the Alex Haley, which has a range of 10,000 miles and a running speed of 18 knots.
