Like her sister ships, Lawrence Lawson is primarily devoted to search and rescue, and interception of drug and people smugglers. The vessels are capable of a full speed of at least 28knots, and have a range of 2950nmi. The vessels are designed to support a crew of approximately two dozen, for missions of up to five days. The 58 Sentinel-class cutters will replace the slightly smaller s.
The homeport of Lawrence Lawson and her sister ship, is the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May. According to the Cape May County Herald local citizens welcome the Coast Guard presence, and its contribution to the local economy.
Days after President Donald Trump announced he was making a large cut to the Coast Guard's budget the Coast Guard diverted Lawrence Lawson to Washington DC, where senior members of the military and Congress toured the vessel.
Her first commanding officer was LCDR Joe Rizzo, a 2005 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy[1]
In 2010, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, the U.S. Coast Guard's senior enlisted person at the time, lobbied for the new Sentinel-class cutters to be named after enlisted Coast Guardsmen, or personnel from its precursor services, who had distinguished themselves by their heroism. The vessel is named in honor of Lawrence O. Lawson, who served as the United States Lifesaving Service's stationkeeper, in Evanston, Illinois, and who led the crew of his oar-powered surfboat into icy, stormy waters in the widely celebrated rescue of the entire crew of the steamship Calumet.