The U.S. Coast Guard stands up U.S. Coast Guard Base Guam with a ceremony there on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. Pictured left to right are Cmdr. Dana Hiatt, who heads up the new base, Rear Adm. Carola List, commander of Operational Logistics Command, and Capt. Nicholas Simmons, leader of Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam. (David Lau/U.S. Coast Guard)
The Coast Guard has established a new base on Guam, the first of four installations scheduled to open in the coming months.
U.S. Coast Guard Base Guam, situated within Naval Base Guam, represents a “significant milestone in strengthening the U.S. Coast Guard’s presence and capabilities” in the Indo-Pacific region, the service announced in a Wednesday news release.
Led by Cmdr. Dana Hiatt, the base will be “pivotal” to improving logistics and support for the service’s missions in the region, according to the release.
The new base brings 17 new Coast Guard personnel to Guam and shifts 21 positions from U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam to the new command structure, according to Sector Guam spokeswoman Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sara Muir.
It will also absorb another 38 personnel from Coast Guard Base Honolulu, she told Stars and Stripes in a text message Wednesday. The Hawaii personnel are already on Guam and have been supporting Coast Guard operations there for some time, she said.
The relocated positions include civilian and active-duty personnel, and their jobs will not be replaced or duplicated within Sector Guam, Muir wrote.
The shift means some facilities and responsibilities will relocate from Sector Guam, according to the news release. These include engineering, base operations, health and safety, personnel support and information technology.
The base falls under Operational Logistics Command, formerly the Director of Operational Logistics, led by Rear Adm. Carola List.
“Bases like U.S. Coast Guard Base Guam are vital pillars of support, providing a logistics and maintenance backbone for our operational units,” Muir told Stars and Stripes. “They enable our operators to focus on their mission, ensuring that our commitment to maritime safety, security and stewardship remains steadfast and effective.”
The base will be responsible for coordinating logistics and supplies for contingency scenarios, such as natural disasters, as well as providing material support for Coast Guard cutters and personnel deployed to the region, according to the release.
It will also monitor and oversee logistics for the Coast Guard’s 22 existing bases, the service said.
Two additional bases — Coast Guard Base St. Louis in Missouri and Coast Guard Base Borinquen in Puerto Rico — are scheduled to open this winter, the service announced Nov. 2. A fourth installation, Coast Guard Base North Bend, Ore., is set to open next summer.
