Ingalls Shipbuilding delivers its 10th National Security Cutter to the Coast Guard
Ingalls Shipbuilding transferred ownership of its latest National Security Cutter to the U.S. Coast Guard during a delivery ceremony held aboard the ship, berthed at the Pascagoula, Miss., on Friday.
With delivery of NSC Calhoun (WMSL 759) complete, Ingalls has now delivered 10 National Security Cutters to the Coast Guard.
Capt. Peter Morisseau (left), commanding officer, Project Resident Office Gulf Coast; Cmdr. Timothy Sommella (center), executive officer, NSC Calhoun; and Amanda Whitaker, Ingalls Shipbuilding NSC program manager, sign the delivery documents transferring ownership of the Calhoun from the shipyard to the U.S. Coast Guard.
“Our shipbuilders are honored to deliver our 10th national security cutter to the Coast Guard,” said Amanda Whitaker, Ingalls’ NSC Program Manager. “The entire NSC shipbuilding team has worked hard to prepare this ship for the broad range of missions that will be accomplished by the crew from this day forward.
“Our shipbuilders will follow the Coast Guard Cutter Calhoun with great pride as it joins the Coast Guard cutter fleet.”
The ship is named in honor of Charles L. Calhoun, the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard. Calhoun served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II as a torpedoman 2nd class, serving aboard the USS Lunga Point in the Pacific theatre. He participated in historic battles at Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa before being honorably discharged in 1946.
Calhoun enlisted in the Coast Guard shortly after being discharged from the Navy, assigned the rank of Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class due to his Navy training and experience. He would later serve aboard the USCGC Point Orient during the Vietnam War. The cutter fired shots at the enemy during its very first patrol, making the Point Orient the first Coast Guard cutter to fire shots in the war.
Calhoun would ultimately rise to Master Chief Petty officer of the Coast Guard, being named the first to hold the newly-created position on Aug. 27, 1969. He would serve in the position nearly four years before retiring in August 1973. He died in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Feb. 24, 2022 at the age of 76.
Ingalls has been designing and building Legend-class security cutters for the Coast Guard for more than two decades and is at present the nation’s sole builder of national security cutters. The ships are considered the ideal platform for a variety of missions, including drug interdiction, global illegal fishing, disaster relief and defense support operations, according to the shipyard.
The Calhoun was launched in April 2022 and christened in June 2022.