"All I remember is just going underneath the barge and I couldn't come up for air. I was really scared."
Those are the words of a nine-year-old girl who, with her parents and eight others, was enjoying a leisurely cruise in Florida until the boat began taking on water and was swept in a strong tide toward a barge moored to a bridge. Thrown overboard in the collision, the little girl slipped under the barge and faced certain death. But a strong arm found her in the swirling darkness and hauled her to safety. That strong arm belonged to a member of a Coast Guard 41-foot boat out of Station Fort Lauderdale that heard the cries for help. Along with four other crewmen, he had jumped into the water, risking his own life to rescue another, embodying the longstanding tradition of "Coasties" everywhere.
There is a general lack of appreciation for the Coast Guard's preeminent role in essentially all our nation's maritime issues. That does not bode well, because the smallest of the five armed services soon will reach the most critical point in its 208-year history—replacing old, outdated assets so it can continue to perform its five major missions: maritime safety, protection of natural resources, facilitating maritime commerce, maritime law enforcement, and national security.
Maritime Safety
The movie Titanic introduced millions of people to the tragic story of the sinking of the "unsinkable" ship after a collision with an iceberg. Alarmed by the scope of the 1912 tragedy, which claimed more than 1,500 lives, a multinational agreement established the International Ice Patrol. The Coast Guard has had responsibility for tracking icebergs and issuing warnings to mariners for the past 85 years, amassing a perfect record of no loss of life or property. Long-range C-130 aircraft with side-looking airborne radar, deploy from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to Newfoundland and patrol the Grand Banks areas during the ice season (typically, the first half of each year).
Thanks to neverending efforts under the broad mantle of search and rescue (SAR), more than 5,000 persons are saved from imminent death each year, and more than $4 billion in property is saved from damage or complete loss during the nearly 50,000 SAR responses, which assist more than 100,000 people. This is an impressive tally—but one the Coast Guard still would like to lower. It has embarked on an aggressive campaign to deal with the root cause of 80% of all accidents, injuries, or deaths in the marine environment—the human element.
Recreational boating accidents are the second leading cause of death (behind vehicular traffic) in the United States, and comprise more than 80% of all fatalities in the marine environment each year. An ever-increasing population, continuing to migrate toward coastal areas, expands recreational use of the waterways. Some 70% of Coast Guard SAR responses are associated with recreational boaters, whose annual death toll is close to 800. Aggressive outreach programs, covering all facets of recreation on the water, are an imperative in raising the level of risk awareness for the nation's nearly 80 million boaters.
The Prevention Through People (PTP) program, which began in 1995, continues to evolve. The Coast Guard has partnerships with industry—including the American Waterways Operators, American Petroleum Institute, Passenger Vessel Association, International Council of Cruise Lines, and the U.S. Chamber of Shipping. Meetings of senior executives and public meetings provide input and broaden the understanding of and support for the program. In 1997, the Coast Guard published a report, "Economic Impacts of Accidents on the Marine Industry" and established a Web site. Among the many projects for 1998 is a confidential, "near-accident" reporting system, to be developed with the Maritime Administration, aimed at finding and publicizing preventive measures before an accident occurs. As with other PTP initiatives, the focus is on voluntary improvements by industry, rather than regulatory mandates.
Commercial fishing is one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States; more than 110,000 vessels are engaged in the trade. Beginning in 1991, new regulations and guidelines were implemented for safety equipment, communications and distress signal equipment, vessel stability, and watertight integrity. An advisory committee, composed of fishers and industry representatives, makes recommendations that emphasize realistic regulation—which in turn fosters greater acceptance and voluntary, nonadversarial dockside safety examinations. When a vessel is boarded while at sea during the Coast Guard's fisheries law-enforcement program critical safety items also are checked, and serious deficiencies can result in the vessel being ordered back to port. During the seven years of this initiative, deaths and injuries related to commercial fishing have declined steadily.
Inspections for acceptable safety conditions on commercial vessels arriving at U.S. ports—whether or not they are U.S. flagged—long has been a Coast Guard task. In recognition of the human factor in marine casualties, an international agreement has been reached to set standards for the management and operation of vessels and for pollution prevention. The International Safety Management (ISM) Code was implemented in U.S. law, and regulations were published late in 1997. The Coast Guard expects all U.S. ships to be compliant by the 1 July 1998 deadline, but it anticipates that only 70-80% of foreign flag ships will comply. Because foreign ships must provide notice 24 hours before arrival, the lack of an ISM certificate could result in denial of entry for a significant number of the 8,000 foreign-flag ships from more than 100 countries, which carry 90% of the international commercial freight that enters or leaves U.S. ports each year.
The burgeoning U.S. cruise ship industry poses two problems, which the Coast Guard long has recognized and continues to explore. The threat of terrorism requires security plans for vessels and terminal areas. Further, a major casualty at sea poses many scenarios and could require evacuation of several thousand passengers and crew. In April 1997, a simulated emergency at sea was conducted for the first time. The 868-foot cruise ship Sun Princess volunteered for the role of vessel in distress, 20 miles off Key West, Florida. The multiagency, multijurisdictional exercise worked. Industry comments are pending on the notion of requiring all U.S. flag-inspected vessels operating in domestic service to develop and exercise emergency response plans.
Protecting Natural Resources
Pollution is a neverending concern. The Coast Guard is involved in all aspects: prevention, protection, containment, and recovery. Coast Guard officers are designated as federal on-scene coordinators for responses to major oil or hazardous material spills in the coastal regions. Three small but well-equipped and well-trained strike teams, located on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts, stand at the ready. While the ratio of oil spilled to amount shipped statistically is minute (6.66 gallons per 1 million gallons) the aggregate is not—because nearly 300 billion gallons of oil are shipped annually. Prevention efforts are reducing steadily the number of large spills—through improved methods, education, and enforcement of penalties. In 1997, for the first time, there were no spills in the "major" category (more than 100,000 gallons) caused by marine facilities, and the total amount spilled was less than one-third the average of the preceding four years.
Protecting living marine resources is a growing business as well. The Coast Guard is the only federal agency capable of projecting a law-enforcement presence in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends 200 miles from the shoreline, and in other areas of the high seas important to national security. The United States has taken decisive action, unilaterally and through international agreements, to mitigate years of overfishing and habitat degradation that have caused depletion of some fish stocks and reductions in numbers of other species well below their sustainable level. In light of the U.S. EEZ of 2.5 million square miles—the world's largest (containing some 20% of the oceans' total fish resources)—increasing numbers of foreign fishing vessels likely will encroach on U.S.-protected waters as other less-regulated or nonregulated fishing grounds are depleted. Enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations requires more than mere presence. Boarding parties must acquire expertise that covers all restrictions applicable to a specific region—including those for the protection of marine mammals, many of which are on the endangered species list.
Such restrictions set which fishing rules are in force. Some stem from voluntary decisions reached and followed by associations of fishermen, environment organizations, and government agencies—of which the Coast Guard is but one. These are the most desirable, and the easiest to monitor, because almost all fishermen abide by them. If voluntary acceptance of the need for and defining of necessary restrictions is not reached, then the U.S. government can take action—such as a total banning of the taking of endangered species—in some areas, under some conditions, for a relatively long period. Having any banned species on board also could result in the seizure of the vessel, confiscation of the entire catch on board, detention of the crew, and a fine for the owner.
For many years, Coast Guard cutters and long-range aircraft conducted fish patrols, primarily off the coasts of New England and Alaska. Because of huge increases in unconstrained harvesting around the world, hundreds of thousands of square miles of open ocean have been added to their beat—last year, a cutter seized a foreign fishing vessel 600 miles north of Midway Island. The "vacuuming" of the sea—which took place with larger fishing vessels, modern technology, and the advent of fish-processing ships combined with the effects of drift nets—catalyzed the maritime world to recognize the need for law enforcement beyond the EEZs. Drift nets are monofilament nets that essentially never decay, are set in lines as long as 40 miles, and indiscriminately catch anything that may swim into them. The nets are set and drift for an extended period before the vessel returns to haul them and claim the catch. Many endangered species of sea life are included in the catch. The use of drift nets has been banned worldwide by the United Nations, but their "efficiency" is still a draw, for some boats.
In the Gulf of Mexico, shrimpers caught turtles in their nets. They didn't have any use for the turtles, and gladly would set them back in the water. Unfortunately, however, turtles are air-breathers, and they drowned before the nets were hauled. So, "turtle excluder devices" were mandated for installation on all shrimp nets—but such installation results in some loss of the shrimp catch—so participation was less than enthusiastic. But because the devices are not visible once the nets are in the water, vessels must be boarded and nets inspected to verify compliance while under way.
The effort to protect marine resources is massive. The Coast Guard conducts more than 13,000 vessel boardings per year; detains more than 100 foreign vessels; and requires 100,000 cutter hours and 20,000 aircraft hours for its operations. In fiscal year 1998, 15.4% ($422 million) of the Coast Guard's operating budget is targeted for this mission—more than the 12.92% for drug interdiction or 12.97% for search and rescue. And there is no end in sight: the Commandant, in his annual State of the Coast Guard message in May 1997, noted that "Depletion and restoration of the world's fisheries will continue to need increasing management and enforcement."
Facilitate Maritime Commerce
The licensing of U.S. mariners, and resulting safety of vessels and terminal areas, is one effort to facilitate the economic use of the waterways. A long record of accurate placement and rigorous maintenance of 50,000 visual aids to navigation in U.S. waters instills confidence among commercial and recreational users. Icebreaking on the Great Lakes lengthens the shipping season. In anticipation of shutting down the long-range electronic positioning system (LORAN), tentatively scheduled for early in the next century, the Coast Guard has developed and installed 48 unmanned differential global positioning system (dGPS) stations that use Department of Defense satellite GPS and provide navigational accuracy of 5 meters within 200 miles of U.S. coasts. Recent reports of intentional electronic jamming of GPS signals, resulting in complete loss of navigational position information on board several civilian aircraft, may demand a reevaluation of the notion of disestablishing LORAN entirely.
Learning from the ill-fated VTS 2000 project, the Coast Guard conducted a national dialogue to identify stakeholder needs in any vessel traffic management system. A strong interest in carrying a transponder with dGPS capability emerged; this is expected to eliminate much of the need for voice communications and reliance on traffic advisories from manned operations centers, using inputs from shore-based radars. Work on a Ports and Waterways Safety System is progressing, including the selection of an integrator to develop and install the first such system to serve the port of New Orleans.
The world's economy depends on the efficient movement of goods between and within countries. The maritime modal segment of the U.S. transportation system is perhaps the most critical element, yet it lacks a coherent, cohesive management plan. Recognizing the need for a systematic approach to improve the nation's marine infrastructure facilities to meet ever-increasing traffic demands, the Coast Guard has initiated a move to develop a waterways management plan under the leadership of the Secretary of Transportation.
Maritime Law Enforcement
Smuggling has evolved, and now centers on illegal drugs and migrants from less prosperous nations as far away as China. Largely as a result of Operation Frontier Shield, aimed at denying smugglers maritime access to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Coast Guard seized more than 103,000 pounds of cocaine and almost the same amount of marijuana in fiscal year 1997. Ironically, the street value of the contraband seized was more than a billion dollars greater than the Coast Guard's total annual budget. What did make it through—estimated at only half of the previous year's quantity of cocaine—cannot be determined for certain, but the success was unmistakable. Drug-related crime decreased by more than one-third, and the street price in Puerto Rico (and feeder cities New York and Boston) rose dramatically while drug purity decreased.
Farther west, Operation Gulf Shield began in March 1997. Aimed at stopping the transport of cocaine and marijuana by small, fast boats called "lanchas" that depart from Mexican ports, the Coast Guard reached back into its history and—for the first time since World War II—established beach patrols to monitor remote areas along the South Texas shoreline.
Because of the increased presence of cutters and aircraft, there was a significant reduction in the number of illegal migrants attempting to reach the United States. As a result of close cooperation among the Coast Guard and U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs Service, Puerto Rico Air National Guard, local law-enforcement agencies, and the Dominican Navy, the number of migrants attempting the voyage across the Mona Passage between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico dropped from nearly 14,000 to fewer than 4,000. Interdiction of Haitians was the lowest on record—only 288 in 11 separate events. The increased vigilance has had one unexpected result—larger, motorized vessels are replacing small sailboats. But there is one constant—migrants trying to navigate the sometimes savage seas in ill-equipped, overcrowded boats. One recent case involved a 75-foot "freighter" carrying 421 people—an example of the fine line between a successful interdiction and a potential disaster involving the loss of many lives.
The success of Frontier Shield, still in progress, has driven traffickers to use routes farther west. To counter that movement, a new operation—Frontier Lance—began on 1 March 1998. By exercising cooperative agreements with countries in the region and working with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Defense, the operation aims to deny routes to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. Building on proven tactics, the results have been immediate and impressive. Just four days into Frontier Lance, alerted by a Coast Guard HH-65A Dolphin helicopter, two 110-foot patrol boats stopped a go-fast boat, arrested the crew, and recovered 920 pounds of cocaine that had been jettisoned during the chase.
National Security
As the fifth armed service, the Coast Guard often is sought by the Joint Chiefs and the regional Commanders-in-Chief (CinCs) to fill specialized roles that are nonexistent or low priority for the Navy. Port security units, coastal patrol boats, boarding teams, and cutters with deployed helicopters are included in major theater war and contingency plans. With the shrinking of the Navy's surface combat fleet, some warfighting CinCs are hard pressed to meet their responsibilities for engagement and enlargement to further regional stability with the number of Navy "grey hulls" available. Cutters deploy to the Arabian Gulf as part of the U.S. maritime forces to ensure compliance with U.N. sanctions against Iraq, and routinely operate in exercises and training with West African, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Asian, and Latin American navies and coast guards.
In 1997, mobile training teams conducted 75 missions to foreign countries for on-site training of 1,875 people, and accomplished training for another 267 in the continental United States, in support of Pacific, Southern, European, and Central Commands. Acting under newly granted authority, the Coast Guard also is beginning to transfer excess buoy tenders and patrol boats. The first of the old—but still capable—vessels went to Estonia and Ecuador.
Visiting Coast Guard cutters, with their red slash on white hulls, invariably are met by a variety of welcomers representing military, police, border guards, customs, and environmental organizations, from both national and local levels. The Coast Guard has published a Model Maritime Service Code, available in several languages, which describes the "fundamental legal authority a Maritime Force needs to function effectively as a military service, a law-enforcement organization, and regulatory agency." The number of international students attending resident courses held at Reserve Training Center, Yorktown, Virginia, has doubled during the past two years. The number of foreign students at the Coast Guard Academy rose to 11 with the arrival this past year of candidates from the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Poland, Bulgaria, and Ukraine. Some 54 Coast Guard officers are on duty in 20 nations around the world.
Present and Future
Today's Coast Guard, in terms of people, is the smallest since 1963. In its zeal to accomplish downsizing, it exceeded the number of reductions (active duty, civilian, and reserve) originally desired. Reenlistments were curtailed, recruiting slowed, and stagnation in promotions all contributed to a less-than-authorized end strength. The total number of active-duty members (not counting cadets and officer candidates in training) on board at the end of January 1998 was 34,013—approximately 1,000 short. The 7,300 reserves were 700 fewer than allowed, and civilians were 100 short at 5,467. Recruiting efforts have been accelerated, but near-full employment nationwide makes for a daunting challenge.
A comprehensive survey two years ago disclosed strengths and weaknesses perceived by men and women of the Coast Guard. A variety of initiatives have been taken—and more are under way—to build on the positive aspects and reduce or mitigate the problems. Active-duty reenlistments are 42% for first term and 81% for subsequent terms. Despite an often oppressively high workload, morale in the field is high, much to the credit of the senior enlisted members, following the leadership and example of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Ric Trent.
Reservists have been integrated totally, with more than 92% of selected reservists reporting directly to active-duty commanders; the remaining 8% train in deployable port security units that directly support the CinCs. Working side-by-side with their active-duty counterparts, reservists provided more than 114,000 duty days, including nearly 8,000 days for Operations Frontier Shield and Gulf Shield. The dramatic reduction of the Selected Reserve from 12,000 to 8,000 in the early 1990s has been acknowledged as a mistake; a recent review of roles and missions showed that a strength of 12,300 is required.
With no reductions in missions or taskings, the only way to meet all needs has been to implement the "Team Coast Guard" concept. In addition to the civilian employees, who are among the most loyal and dedicated in federal service, there is a unique organization comprised entirely of civilians who volunteer a huge amount of support—the Coast Guard Auxiliary. These 34,000 men and women long have been known to recreational boaters. Last year, auxiliarists instructed nearly 250,000 students in boating safety courses and conducted courtesy safety examinations on more than 151,000 recreational boats and 1,230 commercial fishing vessels. Reacting to recent legislative changes, the Auxiliary has added support for the Coast Guard in communications; safety and security patrols; remote area inspections; uninspected passenger vessel safety inspections; oil spill reconnaissance and sampling; and public affairs. Nearly 6,000 privately owned boats and more than 100 aircraft are used by auxiliarists in the various missions, including emergency flood operations in 1997 along the Ohio River and the Red River in North Dakota.
Their individual efforts in SAR resulted in saving 481 lives and assisting more than 11,000 people in distress. Auxiliarists also augment Coast Guard boats as crewmembers. The little girl who introduced this article and three passengers in that boat were saved by Auxiliarist Frank Mauro. For his deed, Mauro was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal.
The opening ceremony for the new Leadership Development Center in New London, Connecticut, is set for 12 May 1998. All Coast Guard training programs are being placed under one roof, taking advantage of the existing leadership and development programs available to cadets at the Academy and building on the strengths of the Officer Candidate School, Chief Warrant Officer Indoctrination, Chief Petty Officer Academy, and the Officer-in-Charge/Executive Petty Officer Course.
The Coast Guard prides itself on using wisely the funds provided by Congress. In recent years, performance in procurement, accounting processes, and overall financial management have earned it recognition as the best in the military services, and the Coast Guard Finance Center is the lowest-cost provider of financial services for bill paying in the federal government. The Coast Guard was also among the first of government agencies to develop an information technology management strategic plan.
People are the most important part of the service, but they cannot do their jobs without modern equipment. To some extent, the Coast Guard has been successful in meeting its smaller-ticket hardware recapitalization needs. The replacement program for ocean-going and coastal buoy tenders is well under way. The small boats used for the bulk of the work at SAR stations are being replaced by the 47-foot motor surf boat; 70 are under contract to Textron Marine and a total of 123 are authorized.
The cutter Barracuda, the first of the 87-foot Marine Protector coastal patrol boat class, is the newest addition to the fleet, and is eliciting rave reviews. Designed and built by Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., the vessel incorporates a stern launch ramp, which allows launching and retrieval of an aluminum-hull, inboard-diesel-powered waterjet small boat while under way in seven-foot seas, without use of deck gear or personnel assistance, and an integrated bridge system that includes an electronic chart display information system. She is described by a senior acquisition official as "very dry" and "crew friendly" with "the best creature comforts of any cutter in the Coast Guard." With accommodations for a mixed-gender crew of ten, the Alameda, California-based Barracuda is one of nine boats under contract with Bollinger. A total buy of as many as 51 is planned.
Block obsolescence of all the major cutters and long-range aircraft now in service looms ahead. With an average age today of more than 25 years, replacement of the 44 cutters must begin shortly. The decline in the number of U.S. Navy surface combatants, coupled with the likelihood of increased need for ships with less warfighting capability in low-threat environments, makes it imperative that the next fleet of cutters have the endurance, interoperability, and weapon systems necessary for a potentially increased role in littoral areas and our own coastal defense. At the same time, the C-130 long-range aircraft and the deployable H-65 helicopters are approaching the point where replacement programs must be considered. The Coast Guard has begun the process that will result in an integrated design system (IDS) for the roles and missions performed more than 50 miles from shore, or where a sustained presence is required. The Deepwater Capability Replacement Project will rely on industry to develop a system of aircraft, ships, and sensors—with ships being the first priority.
Forced by bureaucratic ledger-keepers to come up with a figure for a system which has not yet been defined, a much-publicized cost estimate of $8 billion has caused problems in moving along the acquisition process. In truth, the ongoing "buy-down" of the smaller ships and boats will clear away a significant portion of the $400 million annual recapitalization budget. By the time the IDS is defined and production has begun on the new ships, the planned rate of replacement would require perhaps an additional $250 million, annually, over a ten-year or more span—a fair price to pay for a multimission service that returns more than four dollars in services for every dollar of $3.3 billion in its total annual budget.
Admiral Robert Kramek will complete his four years as Commandant on 29 May 1998. He has done a superb job and has inculcated his personal attributes of honor, respect, and devotion to duty into the fabric of the Coast Guard. He accepted the mandate to reduce costs, and clearly articulated why reductions had to be achieved. To his great credit, when he became convinced that cuts could go no deeper, he announced to the administration and Congress that any further cuts in funding or personnel would result in some reduction in services the public had come to expect and rely on. Well done, Admiral.
With deep-water capability front and center, the next Commandant will face great challenges. The selection of Vice Admiral James Loy—who has served two years as chief of staff to Admiral Kramek—to take the helm as the 21st Commandant ensures that the mantle of leadership will be passed easily. Admiral Loy affirmed the direction the Coast Guard is taking, and is eminently qualified and experienced for the job. With ever-increasing tasks, unending pressure to do more with less, and the rocks and shoals of the political environment to be navigated, his best efforts will be needed—for water is not the only thing that's deep in Washington.
Before retiring in 1991, Admiral Thorsen was Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, and Commander, U.S. Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic. He is a consultant, serves on the boards of several business and nonprofit organizations, and is a part-time employee of the Center for Naval Analyses.