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The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the USCGC Jeffrey Palazzo on Saturday, placing its newest fast response cutter into service during a ceremony at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.
The cutter is bound for Guam, where it is slated to become the fifth vessel of its class assigned to the westernmost U.S. territory.
The commissioning ceremony took place Sept. 12, 2026. The crew posed aboard the vessel as the Coast Guard formally welcomed the cutter into service.
The Jeffrey Palazzo is the Coast Guard’s 63rd Sentinel class fast response cutter. The Coast Guard and Bollinger Shipyards announced the commissioning in a news release Sunday.
The cutter is the second Guam bound vessel of its class to be commissioned this year. It follows the USCGC Vincent Danz, which arrived in Guam in late July.
Three other Sentinel class cutters are already homeported in Guam. They are the Myrtle Hazard, Oliver Henry and Frederick Hatch.
Each cutter measures 154 feet in length and can perform several Coast Guard missions.
Those duties include search and rescue, port and border security, and operations countering illegal activities at sea.
Image Credit: USCG
Official Coast Guard photograph of Machinery Technician Jeffrey Palazzo early in his Coast Guard career.
The fast response cutters are replacing the Coast Guard’s aging patrol boats, which measure 110 feet in length.
The Jeffrey Palazzo will join that broader fleet modernization effort while serving from Guam.
The cutter carries the name of Jeffrey Palazzo, a Coast Guard reservist and New York City firefighter who died while responding to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Its commissioning came one day after the United States marked the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Palazzo Family
New York firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo dressed out in his helmet and firefighting gear.
Palazzo spent eight years serving on active duty in the Coast Guard. He joined the New York City Fire Department in 1996 while continuing his military service as a Coast Guard reservist.
When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, Palazzo responded with Staten Island’s Rescue Company 5. He died alongside 10 other members of that company.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday honored Palazzo’s service during the commissioning ceremony.
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Palazzo Family
Newly appointed New York firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo stands with parents Irene and Anthony at his official induction ceremony.
He also connected Palazzo’s legacy directly to the missions that the cutter and its crew will undertake.
“He answered the call for his city, his country, and his fellow Americans,” Lunday said. “As this cutter enters service, its crew will carry his legacy forward by standing the watch, saving lives, countering threats, and protecting American interests across the region.”
The USCGC Vincent Danz also honors a victim of the 9/11 attacks. Danz was a Marine Corps veteran, New York police officer and Coast Guard reservist who died while responding to the attacks.
With the Jeffrey Palazzo slated for Guam, the territory is positioned to receive its fifth Sentinel class fast response cutter.
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Palazzo Family
Machinery Technician 1st Class Jeffery Palazzo on patrol while serving at Coast Guard Station Rockaway.
The Vincent Danz, Myrtle Hazard, Oliver Henry and Frederick Hatch make up the other four vessels named in the Coast Guard’s Guam force.
The Coast Guard plans to build a fleet of 77 fast response cutters. The service was also considering assigning a sixth cutter to Guam, then Sector Guam spokesman Lt. Sara Muir told Stars and Stripes in May.
Chief Petty Officer Lisa Ferdinando, the sector’s current spokeswoman, referred questions about those plans to Coast Guard headquarters. Headquarters did not immediately respond to an email sent Monday after business hours.
The Jeffrey Palazzo now enters service carrying the name of a reservist and firefighter who answered the call on 9/11.
Its crew will take that legacy to Guam while conducting search and rescue, security and maritime enforcement missions across the region.
Image Credit: USCG
Vice Adm. Steven D. Poulin visits the 9/11 Memorial in New York City on Sept. 11, 2020, to honor Coast Guard Reservists Jeffrey Palazzo and Vincent Danz.
