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On 6 July 1989, as Lieutenant Hank Haynes read the orders relinquishing command of the Sea Hawk (WSES-2) to Lieutenant Thomas Riggs, the Sea Hawk’s sister cutter, the Shearwater (WSES-3), quietly slipped into the dock at Coast Guard Group Key West, escorting a 160-foot coastal freighter, the Barlovento. The Shearwater and the Sitkinak (WPB-1329) had intercepted the Panamanian- registered vessel 180 miles southwest of Key West.
Little more than a week before, Lieutenant Ken Savoie, captain of the Shearwater, had assumed command of the surface effect ship. On his first patrol, Savoie watched from the Shearwater's bridge as members of the boarding team conducted a sweep of the Barlovento. They did not turn anything up. However, Lieutenant Savoie, nearing the end of the patrol, requested permission through channels for
“Sniffer” dogs combed through tons of cement bags in the hold of the freighter Barlovento, in one of the largest drug busts ever reported; Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul A. Yost, Jr., (facing page) gave a double thumbs up after adding a decal to the Shearwater (WSES-3), the SES making the bust.
team combed through tons of cement bags stowed in the Bof lovento’s hold. “Sniffer" <J°£S kept sending positive signals to their Customs agent handlers that there was an illegal substance on board. By midday, agents and dogs were covered with powdered cement as they labored beside Coast Guard per sonnel in the hot hold.
At one point in the :
a “statement of no objection” to escort the vessel to Key West for a more detailed investigation. The U. S. State Department granted the request after contacting the Panamanian gov- emment-in-exile, which is opposed to General Manuel Noriega’s regime.
Once the two vessels arrived at Key West, a combined Coast Guard and U. S. Customs search
families,” said Haynes, who is single.
The four high-performance engines on the Sea Hawk— two for the lift fans and two for propulsion—mirror aircraft technology in that they require greater revolutions- per-minute output and more preventive maintenance. For the SES, operations maintain priority over all but casualty maintenance.
“On some of the larger ships, like the 378 cutter, they have their own maintenance team that comes on board to perform preventive maintenance services,” said Chief Machinist’s Mate Bob West. “Without a supplement to our crew, the best we can do is get the Sea Hawk ready for the next trip.”
Even in port, the engineering staff has to assist the
WSES Division, which repairs and maintains the th SES vessels. Double duty such as this puts added stress the already overburdened crew.
Added to the stress is what the crew dreads mos ^ Haitian operations—when all hands are required to be deck. The Sea Hawk is on constant alert for illegal Ha* immigrants. With nothing more than a handful of 1 ^ belongings, hundreds of Haitian men, women, and c dren take to the sea in an attempt to reach the Un> States. The SES’s ample deck space makes the vessel P ticularly suited to carrying up to 250 of these woul illegal immigrants topside. On one such occasion, the Hawk intercepted 48 Haitians, who balked at being turned to Haiti.
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Proceedings / October
Yost, Jr., Coast Guard Commandant, said the street value of the bust could approach one billion dollars.
Later, at a news conference, Yost saluted the vessels and crews after placing another cocaine-bust-decal on the Shearwater.
“I think the surface effect ships are terrific, but I think the crews on them are even better than the ships,” he said. “I’d like to have more ships of every kind, and these have done yeomen’s duty in the Coast Guard. I love them.”
the
estj;
search team discovered an Ca-lrTlated 3,359 pounds of co- i e hidden in a compartment tjeen the fuel and water has- Packed in Army duffel 'ten coca*ne seized repre- gd one of the largest busts reported. Admiral Paul A.
To date, according to Commander Alvin Sarra, commander of the WSES Division, the three surface effect ships have made 98 seizures, accounting for the confiscation of 480,026 pounds of marijuana, more than five tons of cocaine, 312,000 dollars in currency, and the arrest of 328 drug smugglers. By anyone’s account, this is a phenomenal record for a division comprised of three independent ships and a 25-person support element.
—Lieutenant Colonel Melvin R.
Jones, USA (Ret.)
0°ast Guard, Customs, and [j 8 Enforcement Administra- ferr Personnel contemplated 7(i ^'n8 the Barlovento to the Goast Guard District in he!arni where they could use th(feclu'Pment to sift through wghtly packed bags of ce- at- However, at about 1900,
e could tell there was something different about this ■ - - said Subsistence Specialist First Class Ed ‘Th a’ w^° *s currently serving as the Sea Hawk's cook. I j, Uey were unruly and unhappy with the food—although ,°ught it was some of the best I had ever fixed for the e . Ians. They outnumbered us, and it became fright- tru § it worried me. I was very happy to have them Inferred to a larger vessel.” ownsend added:
I don’t think people really understand what we go hrough—during Haitian Ops. We have to get the peo- Pje on board, keep them calm, make sure they are not Slck, treat their wounds—a lot of them have scars or °Pen wounds—they have been sitting in a boat for days—getting them water, finding out which ones are pregnant, figure out who the leaders are so we can deal with them and try and establish a spokesman. It is not easy at all. During one Haitian Ops on here, there was a little girl that we made a diaper for out of a cravat. The Haitians thought that it was the best thing. They never had diapers.”
Most of the crew members believe the Coast Guard could alleviate many of their problems if the service had more SES vessels and crews to throw into the battle.
Coincidentally, Admiral Paul A. Yost, Commandant of the Coast Guard, came to the same conclusion during testimony at a congressional hearing. In response to a question on the effectiveness of the SES, he replied:
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