USCGC Lawrence Lawson

USCGC Lawrence Lawson is the 20th Sentinel-class cutter to be delivered to the United States Coast Guard.^{[3][4][5][1][6]} She was built at Bollinger Shipyards, in Lockport, Louisiana, and delivered to the Coast Guard, for her sea trials, on October 20, 2016. She was commissioned on March 18, 2017.^[2] She is the second cutter of her class to be the homeported at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey, and also the second to be stationed outside of the Caribbean.^{[citation needed]}

The crew of Lawrence Lawson mans the rail during sea trials off the coast of Miami
History
United States
Name	Lawrence Lawson
Namesake	Lawrence O. Lawson
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Launched	October 20, 2016
Acquired	October 20, 2016[1]
Commissioned	March 18, 2017[2]
Homeport	Cape May, New Jersey
Identification	MMSI number: 338926420 Callsign: NDOH Hull number: WPC-1120
Motto	Born on tragedy, bred in heroism
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class & type	Sentinel-class cutter
Displacement	353 long tons (359 t)
Length	46.8 m (154 ft)
Beam	8.11 m (26.6 ft)
Depth	2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion	2 × 4,300 kW (5,800 shp) 1 × 75 kW (101 shp) bow thruster
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Endurance	5 days, 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) Designed to be on patrol 2,500 hours per year
Boats & landing craft carried	1 × Short Range Prosecutor RHIB
Complement	2 officers, 20 crew
Sensors & processing systems	L-3 C4ISR suite
Armament	1 × Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm automatic gun 4 × crew-served Browning M2 machine guns

Like her sister ships, Lawrence Lawson is primarily devoted to search and rescue, and interception of drug and people smugglers. The vessels are capable of a full speed of at least 28 knots (32 mph), and have a range of 2,950 nautical miles (5,460 km). The vessels are designed to support a crew of approximately two dozen, for missions of up to five days.^[3] The 58 Sentinel-class cutters will replace the slightly smaller Island-class cutters.^{[citation needed]}

Homeported in Cape May

Lawrence Lawson and Rollin Fritch at Cape May homeport

The homeport of Lawrence Lawson and her sister ship, Rollin Fritch is the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May.^[7][8] According to the Cape May County Herald local citizens welcome the Coast Guard presence, and its contribution to the local economy.

Operational history

Days after President Donald Trump announced he was making a large cut to the Coast Guard's budget the Coast Guard diverted Lawrence Lawson to Washington DC, where senior members of the military and Congress toured the vessel.^[8]

Congressmen listen to Lieutenant Commander Joe Rizzo, when his vessel, the USCGC Lawrence Lawson visited Washington DC

Her first commanding officer was LCDR Joe Rizzo, a 2005 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy^[9]

Namesake

In 2010, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, the U.S. Coast Guard's senior enlisted person at the time, lobbied for the new Sentinel-class cutters to be named after enlisted Coast Guardsmen, or personnel from its precursor services, who had distinguished themselves by their heroism.^[10] The vessel is named in honor of Lawrence O. Lawson, who served as the United States Lifesaving Service's stationkeeper, in Evanston, Illinois, and who led the crew of his oar-powered surfboat into icy, stormy waters in the widely celebrated rescue of the entire crew of the steamship Calumet.^[11][12][13]