The U.S. Coast Guard has resumed year-round operations in Kenosha.
The station, located on the city’s Simmons Island, had its official recommissioning ceremony Friday, September 17, 2021. It saw Chief Petty Officer Eric Wieczorek relieve Senior Chief Petty Officer Darrell Strickland. Wieczorek will command the unit as Officer in Charge.
Station Kenosha was decommissioned as a full-time operating station in September of 2017. For the past four years, a boat crew from Station Milwaukee was at the location between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The change back to a year-round operation is based on the longer response times for assistance during the non-operating months in this part of Lake Michigan.
Plans are to have this station act as the primary unit for the Coast Guard response in search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, and ice rescue in the area.