U.S. Coast Guard

Capt. Darwin R. Jensen, left, takes command of Coast Guard Sector Juneau from Capt. Stephen J. White, right, in a change of command ceremony at the station on July 7, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Sector Juneau holds change of command ceremony

The new commander is no stranger to Juneau, however.

Capt. Darwin R. Jensen, left, takes command of Coast Guard Sector Juneau from Capt. Stephen J. White, right, in a change of command ceremony at the station on July 7, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Incoming Coast Guard Sector Juneau commander Capt. Darwin A. Jensen, left, and outgoing commander Capt. Stephen R. White, right, congratulate Herman Cestero, center, for his quick action in rescuing a fisherman in distress on June 24, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Visitor rescues fisherman trapped in mud near hatchery

The Texas man was visiting his son, recently stationed in Juneau.

Incoming Coast Guard Sector Juneau commander Capt. Darwin A. Jensen, left, and outgoing commander Capt. Stephen R. White, right, congratulate Herman Cestero, center, for his quick action in rescuing a fisherman in distress on June 24, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Capt. Darwin A. Jensen, right, will take command of Sector Juneau from Capt. Stephen R. White, left, on July 7, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Coming and going: Commanders talk Sector Juneau

They’ve both come a long way since growing up in Idaho.

Capt. Darwin A. Jensen, right, will take command of Sector Juneau from Capt. Stephen R. White, left, on July 7, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Then-Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, recently appointed as vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, speaks during Coast Guard District 17 Change of Command ceremony on April 23, 2021. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

New Coast Guard vice commandant takes the reins

Fagan became the first woman to hold the rank of admiral in the Coast Guard.

Then-Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, recently appointed as vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, speaks during Coast Guard District 17 Change of Command ceremony on April 23, 2021. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Coast Guard Station Ketchikan crew members, Petty Officer 3rd Class Corben Hill (left) and Petty Officer 3rd Class Caleb Hoskins work a tow line for a yacht near Ketchikan, after another Ketchikan crew medevaced the yacht’s captain June 9, 2021. The earlier boat crew worked with paramedics from South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department to transport the 86-year-old yacht captain to EMS on shore, after he experienced stroke symptoms. (Fireman George Haver / USCG)
Coast Guard Station Ketchikan crew members, Petty Officer 3rd Class Corben Hill (left) and Petty Officer 3rd Class Caleb Hoskins work a tow line for a yacht near Ketchikan, after another Ketchikan crew medevaced the yacht’s captain June 9, 2021. The earlier boat crew worked with paramedics from South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department to transport the 86-year-old yacht captain to EMS on shore, after he experienced stroke symptoms. (Fireman George Haver / USCG)
Capt. Stephen White, right, presents a commendation to City and Borough of Juneau Docks and Harbors port director Carl Uchytil during an Assembly meeting on May 24, 2021. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)

Coast Guard commends Docks and Harbors for Lumberman response

Docks and Harbors has played a key role in preventing several major spills, the citation says.

Capt. Stephen White, right, presents a commendation to City and Borough of Juneau Docks and Harbors port director Carl Uchytil during an Assembly meeting on May 24, 2021. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)
Coast Guardsmen and partner organizations practice oil spill cleanup in the Gastineau Channel near Sandy Beach on May 11. 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

A well-oiled routine: Oil spill responders train in Gastineau Channel

Residents of the Savikko Park area might have been perplexed to see boats with oil booms swanning about near Douglas Harbor on Tuesday morning. The… Continue reading

Coast Guardsmen and partner organizations practice oil spill cleanup in the Gastineau Channel near Sandy Beach on May 11. 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
U.S. Coast Guard photo 
Rear Adm. Nathan A. Moore, commander, Coast Guard 17th District, shakes hands with a member at Air Station Sitka after presenting the crew with Air Medals on Friday. The aircrew received medals in recognition of the heroic actions and extraordinary measures taken to save the life of a lone fisherman adrift at sea Nov. 1, 2020.

New D17 commander awards aircrew for November rescue

Between near-zero visibility and a 70 mph headwind, conditions were far from ideal.

U.S. Coast Guard photo 
Rear Adm. Nathan A. Moore, commander, Coast Guard 17th District, shakes hands with a member at Air Station Sitka after presenting the crew with Air Medals on Friday. The aircrew received medals in recognition of the heroic actions and extraordinary measures taken to save the life of a lone fisherman adrift at sea Nov. 1, 2020.
The Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro is moored at the cutter’s homeport of Kodiak, Alaska, April 24, 2021. The Douglas Munro was decommissioned during a ceremony following 49-years of service. (Chief Petty Officer Matt Masaschi / U.S. Coast Guard)

Coast Guard decommissions cutter Douglas Munro

The vessel has been in service since 1971 and undertaken many high-profile rescues and operations.

The Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro is moored at the cutter’s homeport of Kodiak, Alaska, April 24, 2021. The Douglas Munro was decommissioned during a ceremony following 49-years of service. (Chief Petty Officer Matt Masaschi / U.S. Coast Guard)
Rear Adm. Nathan A. Moore, new commander for Coast Guard District 17, holds a fortune from a fortune cookie that reads "Blessed is that man who has found his work." Moore said he received the fortune on his first day in Juneau and he found it fitting as he was poised to take his new post. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Rear Adm. Nathan A. Moore, new commander for Coast Guard District 17, holds a fortune from a fortune cookie that reads "Blessed is that man who has found his work." Moore said he received the fortune on his first day in Juneau and he found it fitting as he was poised to take his new post. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire 
Rear Adm. Matthew Bell is retiring from command of Coast Guard District 17 after 36 years of service in the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard District 17 CO looks back on decades of service

Big things are coming for Alaska, the admiral says.

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire 
Rear Adm. Matthew Bell is retiring from command of Coast Guard District 17 after 36 years of service in the Coast Guard.
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire
Coast Guard Communications Command deployed one of its mobile communications vehicle to Juneau aboard a C-130 to assist Coast Guard District 17 in a continuity of operations exercise.
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire
Coast Guard Communications Command deployed one of its mobile communications vehicle to Juneau aboard a C-130 to assist Coast Guard District 17 in a continuity of operations exercise.
Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star steams under the aurora borealis during its current Arctic deployment patrolling the maritime boundary with Russia. (Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham / U.S. Coast Guard)

‘Ice’ to be home again: looking back on record-setting icebreaker deployment

Long nights, thick ice, and hamsters: the Polar Star finishes a rare northern deployment.

Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star steams under the aurora borealis during its current Arctic deployment patrolling the maritime boundary with Russia. (Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham / U.S. Coast Guard)
The 52-foot fishing vessel, Haida Lady, submerged between Cobb Island and Silver Point South of Sitka, Alaska, February 28, 2021. (Courtesy photo / U.S. Coast Guard)
The 52-foot fishing vessel, Haida Lady, submerged between Cobb Island and Silver Point South of Sitka, Alaska, February 28, 2021. (Courtesy photo / U.S. Coast Guard)
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Chairman Andy Teuber introduces U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at a press conference at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Anchorage. The U.S. Coast Guard was searching for an overdue helicopter piloted by Teuber who is the former head of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Teuber had resigned last week after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him which he denied. Teuber left Anchorage about 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in a black and white Robinson R66 helicopter en route to Kodiak Island. (Loren Holmes / Anchorage Daily News)

Search for missing helicopter, pilot near Kodiak suspended

The former president of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium has not been recovered.

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Chairman Andy Teuber introduces U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at a press conference at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Anchorage. The U.S. Coast Guard was searching for an overdue helicopter piloted by Teuber who is the former head of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Teuber had resigned last week after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him which he denied. Teuber left Anchorage about 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in a black and white Robinson R66 helicopter en route to Kodiak Island. (Loren Holmes / Anchorage Daily News)
Coast Guard Cutter Hickory crewmembers offload pallets of water destined for the residents in Angoon, Alaska, Feb. 14, 2021. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Coast Guard Cutter Hickory crewmembers offload pallets of water destined for the residents in Angoon, Alaska, Feb. 14, 2021. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived in Juneau Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, to resupply from extended operations in the Arctic over the winter. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Last of its kind: America’s sole heavy icebreaker arrives in Juneau

She doesn’t know any jokes but she’s still pretty good at breaking the ice.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived in Juneau Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, to resupply from extended operations in the Arctic over the winter. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star steams under the aurora borealis during its current Arctic deployment patrolling the maritime boundary with Russia. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo / Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham)

Coast Guard icebreaker continues Arctic training, security operations

The crew is honing the trade of operating in the harshest waters on earth.

Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star steams under the aurora borealis during its current Arctic deployment patrolling the maritime boundary with Russia. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo / Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham)
A Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium patrols Auke Bay during an exercise in 2018. A response boat similar to the one in the photo was struck by a laser near Ketchikan on Saturday, Jan. 17, prompting an investigation into the crime. (Lt. Brian Dykens / U.S. Coast Guard)

Coast Guard wants information after laser pointed at boat

“Laser strikes jeopardize the safety of our boat crews…”

A Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium patrols Auke Bay during an exercise in 2018. A response boat similar to the one in the photo was struck by a laser near Ketchikan on Saturday, Jan. 17, prompting an investigation into the crime. (Lt. Brian Dykens / U.S. Coast Guard)
Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham / USCG 
Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star navigates heavy seas in the Gulf of Alaska, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. The icebreaker is supporting an increasingly prioritized mission in the region, according the the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard icebreaker sets U.S. record for northernmost winter approach

The mission is as much to reaffirm presence as to train a new generation of coldwater sailors.

Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham / USCG 
Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star navigates heavy seas in the Gulf of Alaska, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. The icebreaker is supporting an increasingly prioritized mission in the region, according the the Coast Guard.