Byline: Jennifer Haberkorn, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Coast Guard yesterday accepted its first national security cutter, the USCGC Bertholf, the ship the agency is hoping will set its troubled $24 billion, 25-year Deepwater program on the right track.

The 418-foot Bertholf, designed to be the flagship of the Coast Guard's fleet, is the latest and largest ship to be delivered by government contractors to the agency.

"My crew and I are excited to move aboard and begin readying this impressive cutter for sea," said Capt. Patrick Stadt, the Bertholf's newly-appointed commanding officer. "Bertholf will bring tremendous capabilities to the Coast Guard and we look forward ...