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Coast Guard Cutter John Midgett transitions to an In-Commission Special status, beginning the cutter's decommissioning process after 48 years of faithful service

U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area

Aug. 7, 2020 | 3:01

Vice Admiral Linda Fagan, Coast Guard Pacific Area commander, reflects on the Coast Guard Cutter John Midgett's (WHEC 726) 48 years of service following its transition into In-Commission Special status March 31, 2020, beginning the cutter's decommissioning process.

The cutter is named in honor of Chief Warrant Officer John Allen Midgett, Jr., who served for nearly forty years with the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the Coast Guard. He was one of five Midgett family members awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for heroic action during the rescue of 36 crewmen from the torpedoed British tanker MIRLO in 1918.

Throughout the cutter's distinguished career, Coast Guard Cutter Midgett served in domestic and international theaters, from the Bering Sea to the South China Sea, and from the Eastern Pacific Ocean to the Arabian Gulf. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett will be remembered as an ambassador for global maritime cooperation, a combatant of drug smugglers and transnational criminal organizations, a protector of living marine resources, and a welcome sight for mariners in distress.

The professionalism, dedication, and self-sacrifice displayed by Chief Warrant Officer Midgett will continue to live on in the service of the recently commissioned Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757). Midgett, a national security cutter named to honor all the Midgett family members who served in the Coast Guard and its predecessor services. The Midgett was commissioned during a dual-commissioning ceremony in its homeport of Honolulu in 2019 with her sister ship the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball.

Both newly commissioned National Security Cutters are already making an impact in the fleet. CGC MIDGETT's crew interdicted two low-profile vessels in the Eastern Pacific while en route from the Mississippi shipyard to their Honolulu homeport in 2019, resulting in a combined seizure of over 6,700 pounds of cocaine, estimated to be worth over $89 million!

"To current and past Coast Guard Cutter Midgett crews, Plankowners, Shellbacks (Golden, Emerald, Horned, or otherwise), subjects of the Golden Dragon, Blue Noses, and even Pollywogs: Well Done! Through 48 years of service, Coast Guard Cutter Midgett crews admirably served the Coast Guard and the Nation. Congratulations and Bravo Zulu!" -Admiral Karl Schultz, Coast Guard commandant.

U.S. Coast Guard video edited by Chief Petty Officer Matthew S. Masaschi