‘An Abomination’: House Dem Revives Hegseth Impeachment Push After Iran School Massacre Revelation

“Children were murdered in the first days of Trump’s illegal, pointless war that has wreaked havoc across the world,” said Rep. Yassamin Ansari.


An aerial view of a graveyard as funerals are held for students and staff from a girls’ school killed in a likely US strike on March 3, 2026 in Minab, Iran.
(Photo: Handout/Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Jul 08, 2026
COMMON DREAMS

The House Democrat who introduced articles of impeachment against Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year revived her call for his removal on Wednesday following news that top US military commanders bypassed warnings about the reliability of their targeting information before authorizing the bombing of an Iranian school, killing more than 150 people—mostly young children.

“This is unconscionable,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), one of two Iranian Americans in Congress, wrote on social media in response to CNN’s reporting on the US commanders’ catastrophic decision. “Children were murdered in the first days of [President Donald] Trump’s illegal, pointless war that has wreaked havoc across the world. It is an abomination. It is a war crime. And it is why I’ve introduced articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth.”

Ansari urged her colleagues to support the Hegseth impeachment articles, which state that the Pentagon chief “has authorized, condoned, or failed to prevent the use of military force in a manner inconsistent with the law of armed conflict” and “demonstrated a willful disregard for the Constitution,” among other alleged violations.

Currently, just 16 House Democrats are listed as co-sponsors of Ansari’s impeachment articles against Hegseth, who dismantled the Pentagon’s civilian harm mitigation programs before the Trump administration attacked Iran in late February. According to ProPublica, “Hegseth made deep cuts to the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response programs and slashed CHMR staff at military commands by more than 90%.”

“That included removing civilian harm specialists from target development strike teams and reducing the team of 10 at Central Command to only one full-time staffer,” the outlet added.

CNN reported on Tuesday that senior US military commanders ignored warnings that intelligence pertaining to possible targets in Iran “was severely out of date and approved some strikes”—including the bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, an attack that human rights groups say should be investigated as a war crime.

Months later, the Pentagon has not publicly released the findings of its investigation into the strike, and Trump recently said he doesn’t believe the US was responsible for the Minab school attack, despite now-abundant evidence to the contrary. The attack is seen as one of the worst massacres of civilians in recent US military history.

Last week, The Associated Press reported that when news of the school bombing emerged on the first day of the US-Israeli assault on Iran, “the US military knew they had conducted strikes in the vicinity—though it took the military time to verify the Iranian claims that a school was struck and begin a formal investigation.”

“One former Pentagon official, similarly speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bombing came as a natural result of changes made by the Trump administration to reduce staff to mitigate civilian harm and Hegseth’s emphasis on lethality,” the outlet noted. “When Hegseth took charge, he slashed the size of an office called the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, created at the direction of Congress in late 2022. That stopped the office’s work on updating ‘no-strike lists,’ which are lists of protected sites such as hospitals, schools, churches, and mosques, that the Pentagon keeps.”

US Strike on Iranian School Came After Commanders ‘Bypassed Warnings’ About Outdated Target Info

Sources told CNN that warnings were ignored due to “expediency.”

People are seen at the site of the February 28, 2026 bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran.
(Photo by Mehr News Agency/Wikimedia Commons)

Brad Reed
Jul 07, 2026
COMMON DREAMS

US military commanders “bypassed warnings” indicating that their database of strike targets inside Iran was badly out of date shortly before launching a deadly attack on an Iranian primary school in the city of Minab, according to a Tuesday report from CNN.

Three sources told CNN that senior military officials received messages informing them that the intelligence behind the target list had been gathered years ago and “needed to be re-vetted.”

Regardless, the proposed Iranian targets were added to a strike list shortly before the US launched an attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School, killing more than 150 schoolchildren along with over a dozen teachers.

Two of CNN’s sources said senior commanders ignored the warnings out of “expediency,” as they did not want to significantly delay providing target lists during the outset of the war, which Trump illegally launched in February without any authorization from the US Congress.

For months, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly dodged questions about the strike on the school, insisting that he didn’t want to comment on an ongoing Pentagon investigation.

However, one of CNN’s sources said that US military officials “knew within days how the mistake happened,” as the school was targeted based on “obviously old info.”

CNN noted that old satellite images showed the school once belonged to the same compound as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility. However, as recently as 2016, images showed “that a fence had been erected to separate the school from the rest of the base, and that a separate entrance to the school had been built.”

Rutgers Law School Professor Adil Haque, noting that intelligence on many of the targets was more than a decade old, called the US decision to proceed with attacks “inexcusable.”

The US Department of Defense has still not released its investigation into the bombing, drawing criticism from Palestinian-American policy analyst Yousef Munayyer, who reacted to the CNN report by describing the US military as being “quick to bomb, slow to investigate.”

The slow pace of the investigation has also drawn criticism from Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.

During a May congressional hearing, Smith grilled Adm. Brad Cooper about why the US hasn’t taken responsibility for the school strike despite clear evidence that it was at fault.

“In the past, when we’ve had these type of mistakes, they’ve been quickly acknowledged,” Smith said, “even if a further investigation is necessary to figure out prevention methods.”

Smith also criticized Hegseth for showing a “callous disregard for any sort of rules of engagement or protecting of civilian life” during his tenure as defense secretary.

Last month, President Donald Trump brushed off responsibility for the strike on the school, stating that “mistakes are made” and “war is nasty.”

 

Training Ship Golden Bear Nears End of its Final Voyage After 30 Years

California's training ship Golden Bear is finishing her last voyage after 30 years of service (Cal Poly Maritime Academy)

Published Jul 3, 2026 2:56 PM by The Maritime Executive

The last of the older U.S. state maritime school training ships, the Golden Bear, is preparing for her retirement after completing her final training cruise. One of the older ships that was used to train merchant mariners, the ship will be replaced in 2027 by the last of the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) program being implemented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD). 

Golden Bear is scheduled to return to Vallejo, California, on July 6, following the completion of Summer Sea Term 2026. She is bringing home 283 Cal Poly Maritime Academy cadets after a 12,500-mile voyage across the Pacific Ocean. This year's voyage took cadets across the Pacific Ocean with port calls in San Diego, Tahiti, Fiji, and Honolulu. 

Along the way, students stood watch on the bridge and in the engine room, operated complex ship systems, participated in emergency drills, and developed the skills required of future maritime officers. 

It is a bittersweet moment for the staff and crew. For three decades, Golden Bear has served as a floating classroom where thousands of cadets transformed classroom knowledge into practical experience at sea. 

“Golden Bear has helped prepare generations of maritime professionals through hands-on training at sea,” said Rear Adm. Eric C. Jones, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.), superintendent of Cal Poly Maritime Academy. “More than a training vessel, Golden Bear represented an ethos that has guided the education of maritime leaders at this academy for nearly a century. We are grateful for the ship’s service and the role it has played in shaping thousands of careers.”

She, along with another now former training ship, was built in the 1990s for the U.S. Navy as the fastest and largest oceanographic ship in the United States fleet. Known as USNS Maury (T-AGS-39) she was delivered to the Navy on March 31, 1989. However, her career would be short, as in 1994 she was placed out of service. 

USNS Maury was transferred to California Maritime Academy on May 4, 1996, and rechristened as the TS Golden Bear. Her sister ship USNS Tanner (T-AGS-40), followed a year later, being delivered to the Maine Maritime Academy and assuming her role as a training ship, TS State of Maine, in June 1997.

The transition to the new training ship comes as the academy is also in transition. Founded in 1901, it became part of the California State University system in 1960. Cal Maritime recently merged with Cal Poly as part of a reorganization of the state school program. Now known as Cal Poly Maritime Academy, it remains the West Coast’s only degree-granting maritime academy. 

The Academy has been operating its school at sea which began with Training Ship California State (1931–1946). Since then, there has been a series of Golden Bear vessels, including the first Training Ship Golden Bear (1946–1971), the second Training Ship Golden Bear (1971–1995), and the third and current Training Ship Golden Bear, which has been in service since 1996.

 

The fourth training ship, Lone Star State, recently conducted her sea trials (TOTE photo courtesy of Texas A&M Maritime) 

Cal Poly Maritime Academy is preparing for the arrival of new Golden State, a National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) that will become the academy’s next training ship. Expected to arrive in Vallejo in 2027, Golden State will provide expanded training capabilities, modern instructional spaces and new opportunities for hands-on learning at sea. She is the fifth vessel of the class, with New York, Massachusetts, and Maine having already deployed their ships on training missions.

Texas A&M Maritime Academy reported in June that its new vessel, Lone Star State, had returned from sea trials after spending several days off the coast of Delaware and Virginia testing propulsion and safety systems. The team reported that all went well, and only minor deficiencies needed to be corrected before delivery. The ship is nearing completion, and additional system startup and commissioning is ongoing. 

 

US Coast Guard Charters an Offshore Vessel to Support its Cutters

Connor Bordelon (USCG)

Published Jun 26, 2026 3:37 PM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S. Coast Guard is taking a page from the U.S. Navy's operating manual and beginning to hire in civilian-crewed tonnage for sealift support, freeing up transit days for its cutters to remain at sea and stay on mission hunting drug-runners. 

The service's new Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean program is a newly-launched plan to bring in commercially operated vessels that can carry out the basic logistics on behalf of the cutter fleet, and specifically the Fast Response Cutters - small, capable vessels that can do the job of medium-sized cutters but are constrained in range and endurance by stores capacity. Having a "mother ship" that can deliver supplies and conduct crew change at sea - much like the function that a reefer ship performs for a high seas fishing fleet - will keep Coast Guard-manned law enforcement assets deployed in the mission area for longer. 

"As demands on the Coast Guard continue to grow, we must find innovative ways to sustain our fleet and keep our crews focused on the mission," said Vice Adm. Nate Moore, Deputy Commandant for Operations. "Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean will help us deliver critical supplies and personnel more efficiently while increasing the endurance and effectiveness of our operational forces."

The contract with Bordelon provides for the use of one offshore vessel, crewed by civilians and overseen by coastguardsmen. Bordelon's team will handle all the vessel operations, and the Coast Guard personnel will take care of the mission and the logistics - a pattern the service has previously experienced with the rapid delivery of the commercial icebreaker Aiviq, which came with a civilian crew in order to speed up the handover of a modern, technically complex vessel. 

France

Macron’s G-Zero

Wednesday 10 June 2026, by Jean Batou

The G7 summit will be held in Évian from June 15 to 17. The heads of government and central banks from North America, the major European powers, and Japan will meet there to try to resolve their differences and consider common responses to the problems they face. South Korea has been invited, as well as India, Brazil, and Kenya.

Why in Evian rather than Paris?

– For security reasons: between the Alps and the lake, the area around this small town is relatively easy to control. Furthermore, the street demonstrations that such a summit is bound to provoke will have to be managed primarily by the Swiss police.

– For symbolic reasons: Évian is the perfect setting for a “diplomatic bubble,” isolated from the social tensions of the real world. The Hôtel Royal was, in fact, built in 1909 as a luxury hotel for the elite. Its name refers to King Edward VII. For over a century, it has welcomed sovereigns, heads of state, diplomats, industrialists, and the very wealthy.

– Due to Geneva’s proximity, its international organizations, and its globalized economic and financial position. Giant companies such as ADM, Alcon, Bunge, Cargill, Caterpillar, DuPont, Gunvor, L’Oréal, Logitech, Mercuria Energy Group, Merk Serono, MSC, Richemont, Trafigura and Vitol have their European or global headquarters in Geneva.

Growing rivalries

This G7 has little to do with the summits of the era of "happy globalization." We have entered fully into an era of rising inter-imperialist conflicts.

Signs of disagreement are multiplying between the United States, the European Union, and Japan. To name just a few: industrial, trade, and customs policy; the regulation of major digital platforms; the strategic and technological autonomy of European defence; the future of NATO; relations with China, Russia, and Iran; the status of Greenland; and the role of major international institutions (UN, ILO, WHO, WTO, etc.). On all these points, the divergences between the United States and the major European powers, and to a lesser extent with Japan, have only grown.

This is why there is little chance that the G7 will be able to agree on a common response to the crisis factors that are disrupting international relations: the rise of US protectionism, the loss of competitiveness of EU countries, the continued rise of the Chinese trade surplus ($1 trillion); the issue of energy security; the shortage of certain critical resources, particularly rare earths; the challenges of AI; the reshaping of development aid (more funding COMING from countries of the South, more private funding); the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“Macron’s term is drawing to a close. His popularity at home is low. France is a ‘middle-ranking power’ with little chance of securing concrete commitments from the United States and China, let alone Germany. Moreover, China isn’t even a member of the G7. In 2026, we can expect a plethora of academic papers, scenarios, and speeches on global imbalances, which will only underline what we already know. But the United States and China, along with many European countries, are unlikely to change the policies that have created these excessive global imbalances, any more than they have in the past two decades.” (Mark Sobel, senior US Treasury official for 40 years, OMFIF, March 3, 2026)

Towards a G-Zero

In reality, the various organs of "global governance" are increasingly malfunctioning: the UN is considerably weakened, the WTO has been marginalized by the unilateral tariff policy of the United States, the G20 struggles to agree, even on a final declaration, the BRICS represent contradictory interests… It is in this sense that the very influential American political scientist, Ian Bremmer, author of US vs Them: The Failure of Geobalism ( 2018) , predicts a G-Zero .

"Geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer stated that the American operation that led to the capture of the Venezuelan leader reflected a deeper shift toward what he calls a ’G-Zero world,’ where no country is willing or able to assume global leadership. He argued that the United States was turning away from the international order it once established, based on collective security, the rule of law, and democratic norms, and replacing it with unilateral action guided by brute force." (India Today , January 7, 2026)

To plug the leaky hull of the "global governance" ship, various options are being debated. Some advocate expanding the G7 to include Australia, South Korea, and Spain, suggest inviting more middle-ranking powers, and strengthen its collaboration with international institutions to counterbalance the unilateral policies of the United States—the US would not necessarily participate in all discussions. Others advocate cooperation among the willing, with the EU, Canada, and the UK potentially taking the lead, aimed at creating leverage for negotiations with China.

The only points of agreement: intensifying the class war

On at least six objectives, the G7 members will agree without difficulty:
1. Continue to favour the enrichment of the richest; 2. Continue to dismantle our public services and social insurance; 3. Further reduce our freedoms and democratic rights; 4. Intensify the hunt for migrants ; 5. Turn a blind eye to climate change; 6. Accelerate the arms race.

But precisely, they hardly need to debate that in Évian. The matter is settled!

1. Continuing to enrich the wealthiest: the number of dollar billionaires grew from 1,810 in 2016 to 3,028 in 2025. Together, they hold $15 trillion, equivalent to the combined assets of the 5.5 to 6 billion poorest people (70% of the world’s population). But this staggering imbalance doesn’t interest the world’s elite, and for good reason.

2. Continue the dismantling of our public services and social safety nets. Whether they wield a chainsaw or a plane, businesses and governments are committed to a systematic reduction of social spending. Emmanuel Macron explicitly acknowledged this before the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23rd, feigning regret, of course:

“Everywhere, we are reducing and undermining our shared ambitions to finance major global challenges. Collective funding for healthcare is collapsing, as is funding for food security and education.”

3. Further curtailing the freedoms and democratic rights we have acquired through more than 150 years of struggle in order to establish more authoritarian regimes. Indeed, the governments of the G7 countries are now looking enviously towards Russia and China, where authorities and businesses do not have to take into account trade unions, political parties, or associations independent of the regime in power. Imperialism on its last legs has never been compatible with democratic rights…

4. Intensify the hunt for migrants : Over the past ten years, 30,000 people have died trying to enter Fortress Europe illegally — Frontex relies on several thousand agents (10,000 planned for 2027) — not counting the much larger forces of national police forces — a budget of one billion euros, dozens of physical barriers, sophisticated weaponry, and several hundred detention camps. In the United States, 7,000 people have died attempting to cross the border; ICE has more than 20,000 agents and a budget of 11.3 billion dollars.

5. Turning a blind eye to climate change. A leader in this area, the United States actively promotes fossil fuels, reduces federal regulations on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and lowers its international commitments. The other G7 countries also play a key role in reducing the COP climate targets.

6. Accelerating the arms race. The United States currently spends $1 trillion annually on armaments, and Donald Trump has announced plans to increase this colossal budget to $1.5 trillion. The EU and the UK allocate approximately $500 billion to their military spending, and these amounts are expected to approach $800 billion by 2030.

It is against these six objectives shared by the Swiss government and the Geneva financial centre that we must mobilize in Geneva and in France, from June 13 to 17.

Servility towards the United States

Despite growing disagreements, the subservience of G7 members to the United States and the bluster of its president is impressive…

During the preparation period for the Summit, the six other G7 countries made numerous conciliatory gestures so as not to irritate Donald Trump.

First, South Africa, a regular guest at G7 summits, was not invited this year under pressure from the United States. To ensure Africa wasn’t completely excluded from the festivities, France had to call upon Kenya…

Why didn’t Trump want South Africa?

– Because of its complaint against Israel before the International Court of Justice for violation of the Genocide Convention in Gaza.

– Because of its land reform allowing the expropriation of certain lands without compensation to correct the inequalities inherited from apartheid.

– Because of the alleged persecution of white farmers, presented by Washington as a premeditated “white genocide”.

Then, regarding Iran, on January 14, the G7 foreign ministers, unflinchingly echoing Donald Trump’s rhetoric, published a joint statement outlining the following undertaking:

No opposition to the war in Iran…

"The G7 members remain ready to impose further restrictive measures if Iran continues to repress protests and dissent in violation of international human rights."

Yet, on February 28, the US and Israeli aggression against Iran made no further mention of "international human rights." It was now solely about uranium and missiles. Furthermore, it strengthened the powers of the petro-theocracy of the Revolutionary Guards and massively intensified domestic repression, while exposing the civilian population to the direct and indirect effects of massive bombings, also causing significant shortages.

Silence in the face of increased repression by the Revolutionary Guards

Repression has intensified in Iran since the beginning of the American-Israeli aggression.

From November 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026: 121 death sentences were carried out

From March 1 to May 31, 2026: 321.

(Source: Iran Human Rights )

This did not prevent the G7 foreign ministers from using doublespeak on March 1st, jointly declaring that they "would continue to closely coordinate their actions in the face of the various challenges facing the international community."

However, despite repeated calls from Donald Trump, this time his allies did not lift a finger to help him get out of the impasse he has plunged headlong into in Iran.

The German chancellor went even further, recalling American failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, referring to a quagmire, and even adding that Iran had
"humiliated" the United States. This was more than the champion of " Make America Great Again " could bear, and he announced the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany.

Trump’s latest whim

As if all that weren’t enough, "President Trump, in order to organize a boxing match under a tent erected in the White House gardens on his own birthday, imposed the postponement of the G7 summit in Évian. Trump’s circus thus forces the postponement of the ceremony honouring Marc Bloch, the historian, author of *Strange Defeat*, resistance fighter, and hero who died for France" (Pierre Ouzoulias, Communist senator). Indeed, the interment of Marc Bloch in the Panthéon, initially scheduled for June 16, exactly 82 years to the day after his assassination by the Nazis, had to be postponed to June 23.

4 June 2026

Translated by International Viewpoint from marx21.ch.

P.S.

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Attached documents

• macron-s-g-zero_a9596.pdf (PDF - 2.4 MiB)
  Extraction PDF [->article9596]

• Jean Batou

  Jean Batou is a member of the leadership of SolidaritéS - an anticapitalist, feminist and ecologist movement for 21st century socialism - in Switzerland, and editor of their bimonthly solidaritéS. He is a professor of Contemporary International History at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He is the author of numerous publications on the history of the globalization and social movements.

Davie Defense Kicks Off $1 Billion Shipyard Revamp at Gulf Copper

Russ Vought (second from left) and Ted Cruz (third from left) break ground at Gulf Copper (Gov. Greg Abbott)

Published Jun 1, 2026 5:30 PM by The Maritime Executive


On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott joined executives from Davie Defense to inaugurate the shipbuilder's modernization drive at Gulf Copper's twin yards in Port Arthur and Galveston. Davie acquired the company and its assets last year in order to compete for government shipbuilding projects, and it is planning to use the new spaces for its contract to construct new Arctic Security Cutters for the U.S. Coast Guard. Other dignitaries present included White House budget chief Russ Vought, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday.

"America has a dire need for more ships. Texas is proud to partner with Davie Defense on this project. These ships will be built in Texas, crewed by Americans, and deployed to defend American sovereignty in the fastest-growing strategic theater on earth: the Arctic," said Gov. Abbott in a statement.

Davie Defense plans to spend $1 billion to increase the capabilities of the two shipyards, among the largest recent investments in American shipbuilding capacity in recent memory. According to Abbott, Texas' pro-business regulatory environment and its relative abundance of skilled workers played a role in Davie's decision to locate its operations in the state.

Davie says that the revamp at Gulf Copper will create 2,400 new jobs and support 7,000 in total throughout the state.



Davie's proposed "icebreaker factory" at Gulf Copper (Davie Defense illustration)

The company holds one of three separate contracts for medium icebreakers for the Coast Guard. Under its portion of the Arctic Security Cutter program, Davie Defense will build two hulls at Helsinki Shipyard, an icebreaker specialist with a fast production rate that is owned by Davie's parent company; it will then build three more at Gulf Copper in Texas. The first Finnish hull will deliver in 2028, and the last Texan hull will commission in 2035.

The other two initial contracts went to Rauma Marine Constructions (for two hulls to be built in Finland) and Bollinger (for four hulls to be built to Rauma's design in Louisiana), and final contracts for these awards will likely be announced soon. The overall procurement plan calls for a total of 11 vessels.

 

U.S. Coast Guard Commissions 62nd Fast Response Cutter Honoring 9/11 Hero

Published May 23, 2026 12:58 PM by The Maritime Executive

[By U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia]

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned its newest Fast Response Cutter, USCGC Vincent Danz (WPC 1162), for official entry into its service fleet during a ceremony held in New York City on Friday.

The Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, Vice Adm. Thomas Allan, presided over the ceremony. Members of the Danz family were also in attendance, including the cutter's sponsor, Ms. Angela Donohue, widow of the late Vincent Danz.

“Vincent Danz’s legacy will live on not only through his family and his brothers and sisters in the NYPD, but through the Coast Guard crew who will breathe life into this cutter today,” said Adm. Tom Allan. “The Coast Guard Cutter Vincent Danz will perform the Coast Guard's vital work across Oceania—projecting U.S. presence, countering illicit maritime activity, and strengthening our international partnerships.”

The Vincent Danz is the 62nd Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter in the service and the fourth of five FRCs to be homeported in Guam with U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam. The crew of the Vincent Danz will primarily serve U.S. and mutual interests in Oceania with an emphasis on the Micronesia and Melanesian sub-regions, conducting maritime security operations, combating illegal activity, supporting search and rescue missions, and strengthening partnerships with Pacific Island nations and Allies. The cutter is a multi-mission platform.

The cutter’s namesake, Vincent Danz, was serving in the New York City Police Department, Emergency Services Unit, ESU Truck 3, when he responded to the World Trade Center as part of a massive emergency response and was killed when the World Trade Center collapsed. He was posthumously awarded the New York City Police Department’s Medal of Honor for his heroic deeds. He was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and joined the New York City Police Department in 1987, while continuing to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve as a Port Security Specialist 2nd Class.

As a U.S. Coast Guard reservist, Danz understood the meaning of service to country and community. His courage in the face of unimaginable danger and his dedication to saving others made him a hero not only to New York City but to the nation. This cutter honors his memory and the legacy of all first responders who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Vincent Danz will join the Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139), Oliver Henry (WPC 1140), and Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143), all of which were commissioned in Guam. Since their 2021 commissioning, Guam's FRC crews have distinguished themselves across the region, most recently responding to the impacts of Super Typhoon Sinlaku on communities in the Marianas. USCGC Myrtle Hazard’s crew became the first to operationalize the bilateral maritime law enforcement agreement with Papua New Guinea, conducting joint patrols and boardings in 2023. USCGC Oliver Henry’s crew saved around a dozen mariners in the Federated States of Micronesia, delivered humanitarian assistance during the Yap drought, and towed the 500-ton yacht Black Pearl to the Republic of Palau, rescuing 11 people in 2024. USCGC Frederick Hatch became the first FRC to visit several Pacific ports, including Tacloban, Philippines, for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the crew operationalized the enhanced bilateral agreement with Palau in 2024.

The U.S. Coast Guard ordered a series of new FRCs to replace the 1980s-era Island-class 110-foot patrol boats. Using the $25 billion provided by the historic Fiscal Year 2025 budget reconciliation, which includes $1 billion for additional FRCs, the Coast Guard has already ordered over $13 billion in new fleet assets and capabilities. This rapid investment demonstrates the Coast Guard’s commitment to modernizing acquisition, delivering next-generation technology, and revitalizing American shipbuilding.

The FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, as well as over-the-horizon cutter boat deployment capability, enhancing the Service’s ability to control, secure, and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches. These new assets and capabilities continue the U.S. Coast Guard's modernization, through which the Service is transforming into a more agile, capable, and responsive fighting force.

The commissioning ceremony is a traditional milestone in a cutter's life, marking its entry into active service and signifying its readiness to conduct operations.
 

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

U.S. Navy Commissions its Very Last Littoral Combat Ship

The Independence-class finished delivering last year, and with the commissioning of Freedom-class USS Cleveland, the procurement program is complete

The commissioning ceremony for USS Cleveland, the 16th and last Freedom-class LCS (USN)

Published May 19, 2026 5:39 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

After 18 years, the U.S. Navy has commissioned the last Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship, a lightweight, high-speed surface combatant designed by a prominent aerospace contractor during the Global War on Terror.

In discussing the twin LCS classes, Navy officials have focused not on their capabilities or problems, but on celebrating the tireless efforts of crewmembers to make their ships as effective as possible. That emphasis was present at Cleveland's commissioning ceremony as well. "Today we celebrate the sailors who breathe life into this ship," said acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, who spoke at the commissioning ceremony in Cleveland. "To the officers and crew of USS Cleveland, today is your day."

"You are not simply serving aboard this ship. You are writing the first chapter of her history. You are forging a legacy that will endure long after all of us have left these decks," emphasized CO Cmdr. Bruce Hallett.

Cleveland is the 16th and last hull in the series. Along the way, the Freedom-class has encountered many issues - an absent sonar capability, high contractor maintenance costs, high crew workload, and a class-wide propulsion vulnerability. These issues culminated in a request from then-CNO Adm. Mike Gilday to decommission the first nine hulls in 2022; at the time, the youngest on the list was just three years old. Five early examples were ultimately taken out of commission, but the Navy continued to take deliveries of additional new hulls for the next four years. With Cleveland's commissioning on Saturday, her builder is ready to move on to future projects. 

The Freedom-class was designed for high speeds and shallow draft, allowing for swift counterinsurgency and SOF operations near shore. An unusually high speed requirement meant engineering tradeoffs for armor and armament, and the ships were not designed to Navy standards for resistance to shock. As early as 2016, official concerns were raised about whether they could survive in high-end combat.

In service, the Freedom-class developed a reputation for mechanical issues, particularly a faulty gearbox design in the propulsion system (later resolved with a retrofit solution). Even when all systems were functioning, the Freedom-class vessels were "noisy as an aircraft carrier," and that created challenges for their core anti-submarine warfare mission, according to then-CNO Adm. Mike Gilday. The sonar system (part of the ASW "mission package" ) failed to mature, and the Navy canceled it in 2021, leaving the Freedom-class without a designated mission set. They have seen success in recent years as host platforms for U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachments, operating in coordination with the Coast Guard's cutters in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. 

The other LCS "variant," the aluminum trimaran Independence-class, completed its final delivery last year; it has begun to deploy with a mine countermeasures mission package. Some of the first operationally-ready hulls with that capability are now in the Central Command area of operations, part of the fleet tasked with resolving the Strait of Hormuz dilemma.