SERVICE: U.S. Coast Guard
DESCRIPTION: A cutter is any Coast Guard vessel 65 feet in length or more, which has living accommodations for its crew. The high and medium endurance cutters are used for conducting law enforcement and defense operations, marine science and search and rescue missions and coastal surveillance. These vessels are equipped with advanced Navy equipment such as the Command Display and Control system, which collects, and displays data on ten display screens to monitor subjects being tracked, maneuver, avoid collisions, create search and rescue patterns and locate individuals in the water. This system is also used for navigation, piloting and internal communications. Some cutters have helicopter flight decks. The Coast Guard uses eight classes of cutters: High Endurance Cutters, 378 foot class, Medium Endurance Cutters, 270 foot class, 230 foot class, 213 foot class, 210 foot class, 205 foot, 180 foot and the training cutter
