Editors Note: Journalists interested in participating are asked to RSVP with Marilyn Fajardo at mailto:marilyn.fajardo@uscg.mil or 305-415-7154 no later than 3 p.m. Tuesday. Participating journalists should avoid wearing open toed shoes, high heels, or other attire inappropriate for work aboard a Coast Guard cutter. Journalists will be required to provide credentials prior to boarding the William Flores.
MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter William Flores, the third of a planned 58 Fast Response Cutters in the Sentinel Class, will host an underway media availability scheduled for Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., departing from Coast Guard Sector Miami, 100 MacArthur Causeway Miami Beach, Fla.
WHO:
- The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter William Flores
WHAT: A two and-a-half hour underway media availability aboard the Coast Guard’s third Fast Response Cutter, the William Flores. The planned underway voyage will transit from Coast Guard Sector Miami to a sea buoy and back to Coast Guard Sector Miami, approximately three miles off Miami Beach.
WHEN: Wednesday, from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Media participating in this availability are asked to arrive at Coast Guard Sector Miami no later than 8:15 a.m. William Flores will depart promptly at 9 a.m. William Flores will not make any stops to transfer passengers during the cruise.
WHERE: Coast Guard Sector Miami, 100 MacArthur Causeway, Miami Beach, Fla., 33147
WHY: To see first-hand the features and capabilities of the William Flores – the third Fast Response Cutter, interview William Flores crewmembers and query subject matter experts about the Fast Response Cutter acquisition program and the need for the continued recapitalization of the Coast Guard fleet.
Coast Guard Cutter William Flores is scheduled for commissioning in Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 3, 2012. The location of the commissioning honors the history of the cutter’s namesake. On the night of Jan. 28, 1980, Coast Guard Seaman William “Billy” Flores, 18, died while assisting his shipmates after their cutter, Blackthorn, collided with a large merchant vessel in the Tampa Bay ship channel. His heroism and sacrifice serve as an example for all Coast Guard members and inspire the ship’s motto of “courage in adversity.”
The cutter William Flores is homeported in Miami.