Milford Haven in Mathews has been operating since April 30 with reduced crews who are working scheduled shifts rather than being on duty 24 hours a day.
Lt. Luke W. Pinneo, USCG District 5 public affairs officer, said the station has transitioned to a Scheduled Mission Station, which means that crews are no longer on hand 24 hours a day to conduct search and rescue missions but are instead scheduling boat operations and missions, along with training, maintenance, and unit administration, at the station.
Hours at Milford Haven remain flexible, said Pinneo, “allowing the crew to maximize support to the region with limited resources.” Typical daily staffing there is around 11 crew members, he said, and they operate two 29-foot response boats for “high-speed, easily deployable capability.”
Workforce shortages cited
The station’s status was changed under the Coast Guard’s 2024 Force Alignment Initiative because of service-wide workforce shortages, said Pinneo. He said the status is temporar...