The 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks created many new challenges for the Coast Guard in the port of New York. As a result, New York has become the role model for other metropolitan ports in the Coast Guard's development and execution of its homeland security missions. This summer, New York Coast Guard homeland security teams will acquire new boats outfitted with advanced technology, undergo antiterrorism training, and assist in testing armed aircraft to find new ways of defending U.S. coasts and waterways.
In early September, Marine Safety and security Team (MSST) 91106 was established in New York. Operating as a Coast Guard Atlantic Area command, the team will operate primarily in and around the ports of New York and New Jersey, but can be deployed to other areas as part of its antiterrorist force protection mission. Modeled after Coast Guard port security units, MSSTs protect military embarkations and debarkations, enforce security zones, defend critical facilities in strategic ports, interdict illegal activities, and provide force protection. Currently, Coast Guard MSSTs operate in Washington state, Virginia, California, and Texas. In preparation for standing up the New York MSST, 71 highly skilled Coast Guard men and women reported to the Atlantic Area command in June. In addition, 40 reservists will be selected for duty with the team.
Defenders
To carry out its tasks, MSST 91106 has accepted two Defender-class response boats and is scheduled to receive four more. The 800 Defenders—built by SAFE Boats International—compose the largest class of boats to be acquired in the Coast Guard's history. In the next seven years, they will be delivered nationwide to Coast Guard stations, marine safety offices, MSSTs, and training commands such as Training Center, Yorktown, Virginia. The Defenders will replace the Coast Guard's aging fleet of nonstandard boats and provide additional boats to meet the service's expanding missions. These 25-foot boats mount light machine guns, use twin outboard engines to reach speeds of more than 40 knots, and have full cabins to protect their crews from the elements. They can be transported by C-130 aircraft or trailer. Equipped with advanced navigation gear, shock mitigating seats, and communications suites that enable the crews to communicate with their homeland security partners, the Defenders are in a league of their own.
One capability added to the most recent Defender-class boat design is the scalable integrated navigation system (SINS) developed by Coast Guard electronics teams. The SINS package will be the standard navigation system and equipment for the Defender class and eventually will become standard for most Coast Guard boats.
Special Training and Organizations
In early August, MSST 91106 began specialized training at the Coast Guard Training Detachment, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. This intensive training will enhance its already specialized boat-handling skills and give the team further expertise in port security tactics. The team will learn to operate in a tactical port security environment using special weapons to conduct waterborne antiterrorism force protection.
Sea marshals operate farther off shore and seldom are observed by the millions of commuters in and around New York harbors. Because the economic impact alone would be devastating to the city if a ship rammed a bridge or released hazardous materials, their missions include combating terrorist threats before they reach shore—primarily to ensure that large vessels coming into the port cannot be used as weapons of mass destruction. There are 66 New York sea marshals and more than half of them are reservists serving on active duty. The team works closely with the New York Police Department (NYPD), Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other federal and state agencies. It trains "hybrid" sea marshals—people able to jump back and forth from one mission to another. They are versed in law enforcement and marine safety. The sea marshals' safety qualifications include expertise in container inspection and examination of foreign freighters and tankers. They are required to spend a week riding merchant vessels as part of an immersion program designed to strengthen their knowledge of vessel operations.
On an average day, the Coast Guard Activities New York Vessel Traffic Service Branch tracks more than 900 vessel movements in and around New York harbor. It is the busiest port in the nation for petroleum product movement and the third busiest for movement of containerized cargo. Vessels include oil and chemical tankers, barges, large cruise ships, and ferries of all sizes. Sea marshals will board and inspect any craft designated as a high-interest vessel. They inspect vessels and check crew lists and documentation. Stowaways are sometimes found and promptly turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In worst-case scenarios, the sea marshals are prepared to take control of a vessel without the crew's cooperation. In an emergency, they can the stop a vessel several ways and prevent it from being used as a weapon.
This past summer, sea marshals and officers of the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau conducted cross training in various tasks to gain familiarity with each other's tactics and operating environments. The NYPD High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force provided a course that included classes on sources of funds for terrorism, fraudulent documents, crime-scene preservation, cults and extremist behavior, and risk assessment. The sea marshal team also received orientation from the Coast Guard K-9 dog handlers who board containerships to detect drugs, stowaways, and dangerous cargo. The First Coast Guard District is researching the possibility of providing the New York sea marshals with their own boarding vessels. Because the 41-foot utility boats used currently are not designed to come alongside a merchant vessel, they are subject to damage in heavy seas.
The New York sea marshals have started a new program of "community policing" on state ferries. This involves meeting one-on-one with the commuters of the region to increase their awareness of the Coast Guard and its many missions. A reserve Coast Guardsman commented that he is thanked routinely while on this duty—as a Massachusetts policeman, he was never thanked by anyone.
Offshore Airborne Security
Following the 11 September terrorist attacks, the Coast Guard searched for additional ways to measure its capabilities and apply them to homeland security roles off the nation's coasts. One concept that emerged from the examination was an airborne security role for Coast Guard HH-60J Jayhawk helicopters. This summer, aircrews from the Coast Guard's First District Air Station in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, will conduct proof-of-concept tests to determine how the knowledge learned by the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) based in Jacksonville, Florida, can be applied to large ports.
The HITRON uses armed helicopters to interdict and apprehend drug runners in "go-fast" boats. Since the squadron began operations in 1999 following proof-of-concept testing, the drug-running situation off the Florida coast has changed perceptively—seizures of cocaine and marijuana are valued at more than $1.7 billion. Unlike other Coast Guard aviation units, the HITRON is trained for a single mission: maritime airborne law enforcement. Squadron personnel credit much of their successful training and mission accomplishment to assistance provided by Marine Light-Attack Helicopter Squadron 269 at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. Although Coast Guard planners recognize major hurdles in converting armed helicopters to domestic roles, they are confident the lessons learned from testing will enable them to establish the future use of airborne force in maritime homeland security.
Conclusions
The port of New York will continue to be a primary Coast Guard focal point for maritime homeland security. Representative Jim Turner (D-Texas), ranking member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, visited New York in May. After a helicopter overflight of the extensive operational area of responsibility, he noted: "Obviously it is a major job to protect the critical infrastructure here, and it seems that the adjustments that have been made since September 11th have put us in a better position than before. The scope of the challenges in New York exceeds anything I've seen before, and the Coast Guard is a critical part of our effort to protect the ports and waterways."
Commander LaGuardia is the public and government affairs officer for Coast Guard District 1 Detachment South in New York.