This image is copyrighted by the artist and all reproduction rights are held by the U. S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association. Reproduction or other use without the permission of both parties is strictly prohibited.
Theme Drug Interdiction
Period 1991—1996
Artist Tony Falcone, Prospect, Connecticut
Size (framed) 7’-3” wide x 9’-0” high
Champion Mike Murtagh, Class of 1962
Sponsor Class of 1956
Story The Coast Guard was thrust into the drug interdiction business almost by accident in the mid-1970's. The 210-foot cutter Dauntless, on a routine patrol, came across a drug-laden vessel in the Bahamas. This then became a major mission for Coast Guard cutters. By the early 1980's, it was estimated that 20 percent of the drug-runners in waters patrolled by vessels of the Coast Guard's Seventh District were being intercepted. Dauntless, operating out of Miami Beach, Florida, had seized over a million pounds of marijuana, hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, and thousands of amphetamines. She was visited by President Reagan to commend her value to the drug interdiction program. Dauntless had built a reputation as the "Scourge of the Caribbean." This mural portrays the 210-foot cutter Dauntless boarding a "shrimper." These boats, because of their fuel endurance, sea keeping ability, and cargo capacity, were typical of the "Mother Ships" that bring drugs from Columbia to the United States.