The Coast Guard needs to restructure its command afloat billets. Presently, the 378-foot Hamilton (WHEC-715)-class cutters, with a crew of 170, are commanded by captains (O6s) and the COs of the 210-foot Reliance (WMEC-615)-class cutters, with a crew of 85, are commanders (O-5s). Based on crew size and ship capabilities, both of these ships are top heavy.
Under the current billet structure, the only afloat commands in the Coast Guard for lieutenant commanders are on buoy tenders and some tugs. This is great for the black hull sailors, but creates a command afloat gap for those O-4s with WHEC and WMEC backgrounds. To fill this gap, the commanding officer billets on board Reliance cutters should be downgraded, from O-Ss to O-4s. Reliance-class cutters are exceptional platforms for law enforcement and search and rescue, and can embark the HH-65 Dolphin helicopter. They are, however, more than 30 years old and have limited speed, endurance, and command-and-control (C2) capabilities. By downgrading the commanding officer billet to 0-4, the command afloat gap at the 0-4 level would be filled without impacting missions. Then, 0-3s filling operations officer billets on WHECs and WMECs could compete for O-4 commands.
Second, the commanding officer billets on board Hamilton-class cutters should be downgraded to O-5s. The vast majority of U.S. Navy combatants are O-5 commands, including the Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7)-class frigates, Arleigh Burke (DDG-51)- and Spruance (DD-963)-class destroyers, and the early Ticonderoga (CG-47)class cruisers. How can a less-capable ship such as a Hamilton-class rate a higher-ranking commanding officer than a state of the art Arleigh Burke? When the USS Valley Forge (CG-50), USS Jarrett (FFG-33) and USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722) entered the Strait of Hormuz on an Arabian Gulf deployment in 1996, the commanding officer of the Morgenthau was thrust into the role of surface action group commander. Although she succeeded in the task in typical Coast Guard fashion, it is readily apparent the cutter was not trained for that role. By realigning the command structure of the Hamilton-class, the Coast Guard could better align with our naval counterparts and reduce the top-heavy nature of the WHECs.
Though the Coast Guard's missions are vast and span the globe, there are four regions in which significant, multi-asset operations are consistently ongoing: the Bering Sea, George's Bank, the Windward Passage, and the Greater Antilles. Typically, these operations involve multiple Reliance-, Hamilton-, Bear (WMEC-901)-, Point (WPB-82301)- and Island (WPB-1301)-class cutters, embarked helicopters, and dedicated fixed wing support. These elements are often organized into task elements with one cutter's commanding officer designated as the task unit commander (CTU).
Now the question arises "what about 0-6 commands?" Captains with command-afloat backgrounds possess a wealth of knowledge and experience, and are extremely valuable to the organization. Under my proposal, full captains with O-5 command experience and no longer assigned to their own ships would be assigned to Coast Guard Headquarters and district and area staffs. From there, they would deploy to Hamilton- and Bear-class cutters with one or two staff members and assume the CTU role for these significant operations, similar to that of a commodore of a destroyer squadron. These deployments would last 60 to 90 days, providing an overlapping C2 cadre by transferring the commodore's flag from cutter to cutter. This concept would rotate numerous O-6s from various Coast Guard district staffs through multiple regions and operations, providing command afloat opportunities to as many as 24 0-6s each year, in place of the 12 currently billeted to WHECs. For example, an 0-6 with mostly Pacific area experience and assigned to District 17 in Juneau, Alaska, could rotate through an assignment as CTU for a Greater Antilles deployment. This would broaden his or her operational expertise while providing an 0-6 in tactical command of these major operations. This theory already has been proven effective during Operation Frontier Lance. During this deployment, staffs from CGRon-42 and DesRon-6 commanded an extremely successful multinational operation while embarked on USCGC Dallas (WHEC-716) and USCGC Gallatin (WHEC-721).
In the leaner, budget-constrained years ahead, the Coast Guard must be ready to employ smaller, better-trained crews to our existing fleet. By restructuring from the top down, we will avoid placing more senior, over qualified commanding officers on smaller, less-capable platforms.
Lieutenant Passarelli is a 1992 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy. His assignments include first lieutenant on board USCGC Confidence (WMEC-619), and as weapons department head of the USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722). He is presently assigned to the Seventh Coast Guard District Command Center in Miami, Florida.