Cutter Dallas officially turned over to Philippines

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- The US Coast Guard Cutter Dallas has officially been turned over to the Philippines.

In a ceremony Tuesday, more than 100 military personnel and visitors came to the pier at the old Charleston Navy Base. 

As the U.S. Flag lowered, the Coast Guard crew exited Cutter Dallas for the last time.

"It's a bitter-sweet day. It's with sadness that we decommission a ship that has served us so faithfully," Rear Admiral John Korn, assistant commandant for acquisition said. 

The ceremony included a passing of a spy glass by commanding officers, which is a tradition. 

It was followed by a handshake and the formal signing of the certificate of delivery. 

"I have mixed emotions while we do this," Korn said. "We are getting new assets to replace this classic cutter, so we're very excited about that. I served aboard this cutter first year out of the Coast Guard Academy in 1979, so I got some feelings for this ship."

Filipino Navy Captain Ernesto Baldovino says the high-endurance cutter will support Philippines' security and development purposes. 

"I'm very proud. I was the commanding officer selected by the workers, and it's good to serve my country," he said.

Under its new ownership, the vessel has changed names. The cutter is now called Ramon Alcaraz, after a former naval officer in World War II.

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Lia Sestric | ABC News 4 Charleston | May 23, 2012 | Article Link

2nd US warship sold to Philippines also stripped of guns

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Washington has turned down Manila's request to retain the entire weapons system in the second US Coast Guard cutter the Philippines is acquiring from the United States.

Top Filipino military officials flew to the US last weekend for the ceremonial turnover on May 23 of the 378-ft USCG Dallas in North Charleston, South Carolina.

According to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, the second cutter will also have most of its weapons removed as happened with the first cutter acquired from the US by the Philippine Navy last year.

In the case of what is now the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, all its weapons were removed except for a 76-mm Oto Melara automatic cannon.

In a meeting in Washington on April 30, Gazmin personally asked his counterpart, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, to keep the USCG Dallas in its original state and to restore the weapons that were removed from its sister ship, the Gregorio del Pilar.

The Gregorio del Pilar is currently the biggest and most modern warship in the Philippine Navy fleet which still relies on World War II-vintage vessels.

Symbolic turnover

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa and Philippine Navy Fleet commander Rear Admiral Jose Luis Alano will take possession of the Dallas during a symbolic turnover on Wednesday.

The vessel will be renamed the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, after the World War II hero and former fleet commander, and will be under the command of Navy Captain Ernesto Baldovino.

In April 1942, Alcaraz was commander one of the Philippines' three torpedo boats that shot down three of nine attacking Japanese fighter planes.

After the turnover, the Philippine Navy crew will undergo training before they sail the ship home to the Philippines.

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Dona Z. Pazzibugan | Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network | May 22, 2012 | Article Link

Decommissioned Coast Guard Cutter Dallas being transfered to Philippine navy

 

After 45 years of service the Coast Guard decommissioned the Charleston-based Cutter Dallas on Friday, March 30, and now in another Charleston ceremony the ship will be transferred to the Philippine navy.

The 378-foot "High Endurance Cutter" will be transferred at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Pier Papa in North Charleston.

The ceremony will be presided over by Rear Adm. John Korn, assistant commandant for Acquisition.

"Since 1967, Coast Guard Cutter Dallas has served the American people well, from Vietnam and the Pacific to its final Coast Guard patrol in the Mediterranean, where the crew interdicted 4,000 pounds of cocaine and 940 pounds of marijuana," said Korn. "As Dallas returns to the Southeast Asian waters that it plied at the beginning of its Coast Guard career, I know it will serve the Philippines as faithfully and capably as it served America."

The 378-foot cutter's main role was drug interception.

During the final patrol, the crew of the Dallas interdicted approximately 4,000 pounds of cocaine and 940 pounds of marijuana during two separate cases while patrolling the Caribbean Sea.

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The Digitel Charleston | May 18, 2012 | Article Link