USCGC SEQUOIA (WLB-215) is an active duty United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 buoy tender

USCG Seagoing Buoy Tender

The Seagoing Buoy Tender is a type of U.S. Coast Guard cutter originally designed to service aids to navigation, throughout the waters of the United States, and wherever U.S. shipping interests require. The Coast Guard has maintained a fleet of seagoing buoy tenders dating back to its origins in...

, homeported in Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

. The primary missions of the ship are to maintain aids to navigation, protect the marine environment, participate in search and rescue

Search and rescue in the United States

Search and rescue in the United States involves a wide range of organizations that have search and rescue responsibilities.In January 2008, the United States Department of Homeland Security released the National Response Framework which, serves as the guiding document for a federal response...

, and maintain homeland security. She is a JUNIPER-class seagoing buoy tender.

SEQUOIA is one of fifteen 225 feet (68.6 m) Coast Guard seagoing buoy-tending cutters. She was launched on August 23, 2003 by Marinette Marine Corporation on the Menominee River

Menominee River

The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately 118 mi , draining a rural forested area of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan...

. She replaced the USCGC BASSWOOD (WLB-388) as the only buoy tender in the Marianas

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

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