The United States Coast Guard Cutter "Courier" was acquired as part of a joint operation between the United States Department of State and the United States Coast Guard to become a mobile transmitting facility for the U.S. Information Agency's "Voice of America" program. In response to an initiative, code-named Operation Vagabond, that was approved by President Harry S. Truman and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and announced by the Department of State in April, 1951, the operation was designed to provide a ship-borne radio relay station to transmit Voice of America programs behind the Iron Curtain. Such a vessel could move to any areas of trouble quickly, could serve as a temporary relay station as needed, and permit the use of a station where it was impractical to build a shore station. To ease political sensitivities, it was decided that the Coast Guard should operate the vessels, which in the planning stages were to have been a total of six vessels. Excessive costs kept the operation to a single vessel.