[Scan-DC] Coast Guard cutter Bertholf makes Baltimore port call

[Alan Henney]

Document Number: 2360

Fifth District
U.S. Coast Guard

Press Release
Date: June 26, 2008

Coast Guard cutter Bertholf makes Baltimore port call

Media availability
BALTIMORE -  The Coast Guard's first National Security Cutter,
Bertholf, is scheduled to make a port call at Broadway Pier, Fell's
Point, Md. Friday.
Media are invited to attend a press briefing at 3 p.m. on the Broadway
Pier.

Speakers: Hon. Michael Chertoff, Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland
Security

Adm.Thad Allen, Commandant U.S. Coast Guard

Capt. Patrick Stadt, Bertholf commanding officer

Speakers as well as members of the crew will be available for
interviews following the press briefing. Tours of the Bertholf will
also be offered.

Public tours are being offered Saturday, June 28, from 1 - 4 p.m. and
Sunday, June 29, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Bertholf is the lead ship in the new Legend class of cutters designed
to be the flagship of the modern Coast Guard fleet. Bertholf will
improve operational readiness and enable the Coast Guard to fulfill
its multi-mission roles more effectively through better sea keeping,
higher sustained transit speeds, greater endurance and range, and a
greater ability to launch and recover improved small boats,
helicopters, and eventually unmanned aerial vehicles - all key
attributes in enabling the Coast Guard to implement increased security
responsibilities.
"It's exciting to bring Bertholf into the Chesapeake Bay and in
particular, to the Annapolis and Baltimore areas, where I've spent
many sailing seasons racing catamarans with great friends.  Not only
is it a wonderful stop for the crew, but it provides us with the rare
opportunity to display this superb national asset to senior leadership
in the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security and to the
staff and members of Congress," said Stadt.

Bertholf is scheduled to visit Baltimore's Inner Harbor to give Coast
Guard leadership, Congress and other stakeholders in the Washington,
D.C., area an opportunity to see the new cutter.

During the transit to Baltimore, Bertholf crewmembers will continue to
explore the capabilities of the Coast Guard's newest cutter. In
addition to small boat and helicopter operations, the crew of Bertholf
will be conducting live fire exercises on all of their weapons
systems.

Bertholf is the first of eight national security cutters to be built
for the Coast Guard.  The cutter's fitting motto, "Legends Begin
Here" was established on June, 26, 2006.  Bertholf was christened
on November 11, 2006, Veterans' Day, and is named after Commodore
Ellsworth P. Bertholf, the first Commandant of the Coast Guard.  A
formal commissioning ceremony is scheduled to take place at Bertholf's
homeport of Alameda, Calif., on Aug. 4, 2008.

To download additional information, click the links below:

Capt. Patrick H. Stadt's biography

Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf's biography

CGC Bertholf information pamphlet

Editor's Note: Press planning on attending the media availability are
asked to contact Petty Officer John Edwards at john.d.edwards at uscg.mil
no later than noon Friday. Please bring press credentials or a letter
of intent on official letterhead stating your name and purpose along
with photo ID to the event.

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U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area
5th District Public Information Site
http://www.piersystem.com/go/site/651/