Cmdr. Brooke Millard, the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Bear (WMEC-901), discusses a milestone the ship made on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. The Bear's #1 Main Diesel Engine clocked 100,000 service hours while on a recent patrol.

USCGC Bear is a 270-foot, medium endurance cutter homeported in one of America’s Coast Guard cities, Portsmouth, Virginia.

The Bear has served the American public diligently since its commissioning in 1983. Bear and its crew have shown tireless devotion to duty and service to the nation, with over 65 operational deployments, numerous major drug seizures, and countless search and rescue operations, including combing over 1,900 square nautical miles of ocean in response to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

USCGC Bear takes its name from Revenue Cutter Bear, commissioned in 1874. The original Bear served in both World Wars, and became the first American law enforcement presence in newly purchased Alaska, making history by leading the famous “Overland Expedition” to rescue whalers trapped at Barrow Point.

(U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Hillard)