As this past holiday season approached, intelligence reports surfaced citing credible threats to specific targets aimed at crippling U.S. infrastructure. The Coast Guard, as lead maritime agency in the Department of Homeland Security, responded by rapidly deploying resources to counter these threats. As usual, the service found a way to perform the additional missions. Behind the scenes, however, the system is broken. Three immediate improvements include: increasing preparation for countering specific threats; pulling back to the homeland overextended personnel and assets; and modernizing use-of-force doctrine to account for antiterrorist actions.
