TAMPA, Fla. – Congressional representatives from Florida and New York submitted a letter to the U.S. State Department Friday in an effort to stop the sale of a historic Coast Guard cutter that was instrumental in overseeing the evacuation of more than half a million people from lower Manhattan following the terror attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Congressman Gus Bilirakis, a Republican from Florida, Congressman Charlie Crist, a Democrat from Florida, and Congressman Lee Zeldin, a Republican from New York, submitted the joint letter questioning the sale of the Coast Guard Cutter Adak and proposing the Coast Guard use a different 110-foot cutter in place of the Adak for the sale to Indonesia.
The letter is one way that Congress can try to slow or potentially stop the sale of the Adak to the foreign nation. The Coast Guard and the State Department announced their intentions of the sale on April 2 and started a 30-day timeframe for review before the Adak can formally be offered to the Republic of Indonesia. By asking questions and raising issues regarding the sale, the congressional representatives hope to motivate the State Department to stop the sale from taking place entirely.
“We’re extremely grateful to Congressman Bilirakis, Congressman Crist and Congressman Zeldin for their support and leading efforts to help save this historic ship,” said James Judge, founder and executive director of the USCGC Adak Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) organization, which is trying to bring the Adak back to the Unites States to turn the cutter into a museum and 9/11 memorial in the Tampa Bay area. “While this does not yet stop the sale of the Adak, it is certainly a huge step in the right direction. I would respectfully request and encourage all members of congress to join their colleagues, get behind this bipartisan effort and submit additional letters calling for the sale to be abandoned.”
According to the letter, the Coast Guard has five additional 110-foot patrol boats currently in the same region, which are all slated to be decommissioned in the coming months. The letter suggests using one of those cutters instead of the Adak or one of many 110-foot cutters currently stationed in the U.S., which are also slated to be decommissioned.
“There are plenty of other 110-foot patrol boats in the Coast Guard’s fleet, which could easily take the place of the Adak in the sale to Indonesia,” said Judge. “However, those cutters cannot take the place of the Adak in the U.S., when it comes to preserving an important piece of our nation’s history. As a result, it’s imperative that we save the Adak.”
Since the USCGC Adak Historical Society launched a Change.org petition one week ago, more than 7,000 people have signed the petition demanding the sale of the Coast Guard Cutter Adak to Indonesia be stopped and supporting the non-profit’s initiative to bring the Adak back.
“Over the past few days, we’ve received thousands of messages of support and more than 7,000 signatures on our change.org petition,” said Judge. “While all of this is impressive, it is important to note, the fight is certainly not over. We need everyone reading this to continue putting pressure on the government to do the right thing until the Adak’s future is safe.”
To learn more about the Coast Guard Cutter Adak or how you can help, visit savetheadak.com or donate by visiting givesendgo.com/savetheadak.
The USCGC Adak Historical Society, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving U.S. Coast Guard and armed forces history.
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