On 1 January 2002, then-Coast Guard Commandant Admiral James M. Loy issued Coast Guard Publication 1, U.S. Coast Guard: America's Maritime Guardian. He said this essential little book was to serve the Coast Guard as "a handbook to tell its membership and anyone else who is interested just what the organization is all about: its history, its ethos, its values, and its reasons for existence." He added, "The Coast Guard is a military, multimission, maritime service. Though we are America's smallest armed service, we perform an astonishingly broad range of services to our country—so broad that it is possible to devote a fulfilling career to one or even several major mission areas without understanding how the whole service works together for our nation's benefit. Publication 1 attempts to supply that understanding. It is designed to let the right hand know what the left is doing."
The wisdom and forethought of these words become even more striking when one reflects on how important and applicable they remain in spite of the many changes and challenges the Coast Guard faces as it transitions into the new Department of Homeland Security. Publication 1 was written to both guide and transcend radical change. As the Coast Guard struggles to understand and adapt to the new normalcy of the post-11 September 2001 world and its role as the only military organization in the Department of Homeland Security, it desperately needs the foundational doctrine and organizational anchors provided by Publication 1.
A few years ago, I completed the Naval War College Command and Staff Program by correspondence. I found the courses fascinating, learned much, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, despite the many long hours with my nose in a book or hands on the keyboard. One of my favorite chapters in this adventure was the opportunity to read and study the foundational doctrines of the Marine Corps, Navy, Army, and Air Force. I was impressed how each service's equivalent of Publication 1 left the reader with not only an understanding of the organization's doctrine, but also a clear picture of its collective identity and service personality. I was extremely disappointed that the Coast Guard was not included. Imagine my joy when Coast Guard Publication 1 arrived in my in box five years later.
Today, however, I keep wondering: where are all the Coast Guard Publication 1s? I had great hopes that this wonderful little book would be in every stateroom, on every desk, and even carried about in briefcases and chart bags as a ready reference. I had visions of it as the companion text to the Coast Guardsman's Manual for all instruction at boot camp. I pictured all officer candidates departing OCS to become ensigns with well-worn copies protruding from their suitcases. I saw Publication 1 as the guiding document for the Chief Petty Officer's Academy, the Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Course, and other midcareer leadership programs. But alas, I fear that none of my visions have come to pass.
Publication 1 is a poignant reminder that our many maritime missions and military character are not deterrents to the performance of our expanded homeland security duties, but our greatest strengths. We must ensure that the leadership of the Homeland Security Department, and our partners in the other military services, at least read and understand the two-page introduction. Much more than this must be demanded of every Coast Guardsman. The proud lifesavers, guardians, and warriors who are the backbone of the Coast Guard's success must study and embrace Publication 1 as they would the teachings of a religion.
Including endnotes and references, Coast Guard Publication 1 is a brief 106 pages. Despite this, it does a wonderful job of capturing the character of the oldest U.S. maritime service in continuous existence. As the Coast Guard progresses through one of the most important and dynamic chapters in its long and distinguished history, it desperately needs the guidance and teachings of this essential little blue book. If the Coast Guard is to emerge from its transition to the Department of Homeland Security as the wonderful military, multimission, maritime organization described in Publication 1, the leadership must both raise the visibility of this foundational document and tangibly apply its guidance and teachings to day-to-day Coast Guard operations.
Commander Desh is the commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard International Ice Patrol.