In the mid-late 2000s as the Essington-class guided missile frigates were being decommissioned in favor of the forthcoming Cero Island-class the later ships became the objects of some controversy due to their relatively short time in service, the last one having entered service in 1993. An unorthodox solution presented itself, with the Coast Guard intending to operate both in its traditional role and as a reserve fleet for homeland defense. In the 2006 defense budget the final twelve were transferred fr om the Navy to the Coast Guard, wh ere they were recommissioned as the Sentinel-class. The solution proved prescient as only three years after the transfer was complete the Circum-Pacific War began. Operating alongside their Navy counterparts the Sentinel-class would build a reputation for ferocity bordering on recklessness, nine of the twelve would sustain damage and two were lost outright, in exchange for seventeen enemy surface combatants and two submarines
