USCGC Sequoia to visit Saipan in community outreach

SANTA RITA, Guam—The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Sequoia was scheduled to visit Saipan starting today, Aug. 3, 2022, as part of the observance of the service’s 232nd birthday, which falls on Aug. 4. It was learned yesterday, though, that a mechanical issue scuttled today’s port visit but it was assured that the trip to the CNMI will still push through and updates about the outreach will be announced later.

As part of its planned trip, which was initially scheduled for on Aug. 3 -5, the Sequoia was supposed to assess vital aids to navigation as part of the Coast Guard’s continued, decades-long commitment to the CNMI’s economic prosperity.

Once the CNMI trip pushes through, the commanding officer and cadre will host local partners to build relationships ahead of further U.S. Coast Guard exercises and any emergent maritime crisis. The following day, Sequoia will host tours for the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets, Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, and Tasi to Table to share the service’s mission and discuss Coast Guard career opportunities.
Sequoia is a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender based in Apra Harbor at Naval Base Guam, a deep-water port on the western side of the U.S. territory of Guam.

The cutter crew’s primary mission is to maintain aids to navigation in Guam and the CNMI. As with all cutters, it functions as a multi-mission platform for marine environmental protection, search and rescue, law enforcement, and homeland security missions.

Sequoia’s crew regularly conducts fisheries enforcement missions through the Western Pacific in support of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission treaties and regulations, as well as supporting bilateral agreements between the Pacific Island nations of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

Lt. Cmdr. Linden Dahlkemper took command of the ship in a ceremony in mid-July. Dahlkemper comes to Sequoia from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, where she managed all maritime security cooperation programs in the Office of Defense Cooperation Vietnam.

More on Sequoia’s recent operations at https://bit.ly/WLB215CofC22
The U.S. Coast Guard’s forerunner, the Revenue Cutter Service, was founded on Aug. 4, 1790, making the U.S. Coast Guard the nation’s premier and oldest continuous seagoing service. (USCG)