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USCGC ''Forward'' (WMEC-911) is a
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
medium endurance cutter The Medium Endurance Cutter or WMEC is a type of United States Coast Guard Cutter mainly consisting of the Famous- and ''Reliance''-class cutters. These larger cutters are under control of Area Commands (Atlantic Area or Pacific Area). These cut ...
. She is the fourth cutter of that name; two were
United States Revenue Cutter Service The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by an Act of Congress () on 4 August 1790 as the Revenue-Marine at the recommendation of the nation's first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. The federal government bod ...
vessels and two, including the contemporary cutter, Coast Guard vessels. All were named for
Walter Forward Walter Forward (January 24, 1786 – November 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the brother of Chauncey Forward and Oliver Forward. Biography Born in East Granby, Connecticut, he attended the common schools. After mov ...
, fifteenth
United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
. The present ''Forward'' was constructed by Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated,
Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown." History Issue ...
, was delivered in May 1989, and commissioned 4 August 1990. USCGC ''Forward'' (WMEC-911) and USCGC ''Legare'' (WMEC-912) were commissioned in a joint ceremony in Portsmouth, Virginia.


History


2010s

On 12 January 2010, USCGC ''Forward'' was at
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by the U.S. military) is a United States military base located on of land and water on the shore of Guant ...
when the
2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...
occurred. She was ordered to assist in the humanitarian relief efforts, and was the first American vessel to arrive in
Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
the following morning. USCGC ''Forward'' was set to wrap a deployment in the Caribbean and was ported in Guantanamo Bay in order to onload fuel, supplies, and debrief the USCGC ''Tahoma'' prior to returning to home port. The ''Tahoma'' was set to take over operations in the area and the ''Forward'' was set to return home. In lieu of returning home, the ''Forward'' and her crew set sail to Haiti to initialize the U.S. response to the massive efforts that would eventually take place in the following weeks.


Awards

''Forward'' has been awarded the following unit and campaign awards: * Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation (Hurricane device) *
Joint Meritorious Unit Award The Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA) is a US military award that was established on June 4, 1981, by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982. The Joint Meritor ...
(Second) *
Department of Homeland Security Outstanding Unit Award The DHS Outstanding Unit Award is a US military award and was established on January 11, 2021 by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. History The Coast Guard received the DHS Outstanding Unit Award for service from August 25, 201 ...
*
Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award The Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award, formerly known as the DOT Outstanding Unit Award, is a U.S. government unit decoration which was established in 1994. The Presidential Unit Citation and Joint Meritorious Unit Award are ...
*
Coast Guard Unit Commendation The Coast Guard Unit Commendation is the highest peacetime unit award that may be awarded to military commands of the United States Coast Guard. The decoration was first created in 1963 and is presented to members of any Coast Guard unit that di ...
*
Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Army, U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstand ...
(Second)(
Operational Distinguishing Device The Operational Distinguishing Device ("O" device) is a miniature silver inch letter "O" that is authorized by the United States Coast Guard as a ribbon device which may be authorized for wear on certain awards and decorations of the United Stat ...
) *
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...
*
Meritorious Team Commendation The Meritorious Team Commendation (MTC) is a unit award of the United States Coast Guard. Created on 22 December 1993, the Meritorious Team Commendation is awarded for performance of exceptional actions that would normally warrant a Commandant's ...
* Coast Guard "E" Ribbon(Fourth) * Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation *
National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...
(Second) *
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...
*
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOT-SM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created through Executive Order 13289 on 12 March 2003, by President George W. Bush. The medal recognizes those military service ...
*
Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (incl ...
(Fourth) *
Transportation 9-11 Ribbon The Transportation 9-11 Ribbon is a civil and military decoration of the U.S. Department of Transportation that was issued to both civilians and military personnel who, through service with the United States Department of Transportation, contribute ...
* Special Operations Service Ribbon View of ribbon display posted on the ship's bridge and discussion with crew 22 July 2023.


References


External links


USCGC ''Forward'' (WMEC 911) home page
Ships of the United States Coast Guard Famous-class cutters Ships built in Middletown, Rhode Island 2010 Haiti earthquake relief 1990 ships {{US-mil-ship-stub