Service in the U.S. Coast Guard . After commissioning,
Drummond served in the
U.S. Coast Guard's busiest district and was decorated for her involvement in a variety of operations. In 1992 and 1994,
Drummond was awarded the
Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation while working with other U.S. Coast Guard and
U.S. Navy units that combined for the safe interdiction of over 20,502 Haitian migrants at sea. Originally homeported in
Port Canaveral, Florida,
Drummonds home port was changed to
Key West in the summer of 2002. Typical patrols in Key West's area of operations involved
search and rescue,
migrant interdiction operations,
fisheries law enforcement, counter
narcotics operations, and homeland security.
Drummond shifted homeports to
Miami Beach in support of the Coast Guard's effort to maximize the operational hours of the patrol boats in the Seventh District by utilizing a dual-crew manning concept. In April 2004,
Drummond again returned to
Haiti in support of Operation Able Sentry and Operation Secure Tomorrow as that country's poor political and economic situation generated an exodus of migrants. In 2005,
Drummond was again awarded the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation for her efforts in stemming the illegal flow of Cuban migrants in the
Florida Straits.
Drummond also was credited for saving more than $500,000 in property during this period in search-and-rescue cases, including a daring rescue of a dismasted
sailboat during
Tropical Storm Arlene. After 2004,
Drummond was credited with interdicting over 550 illegal Cuban migrants in the Florida Straits, on eight go-fast vessels and 26 homebuilt boats and rafts.
Drummond also recovered nearly 120 illegal migrants from various Bahamian islands, working closely with the
Royal Bahamas Defence Force.
Drummond cared for 1,600 illegal migrants on her decks while conducting 32 politically sensitive repatriations to Cabanas, Cuba.
Transfer to the Ukrainian Naval Forces On 27 September 2018,
Drummond and were formally transferred to
Ukraine, after their retirement from the US Coast Guard. ==References==