U.S. Coast Guard in Review

Not since World War II has the U.S. Coast Guard so greatly increased its defense posture for the protection of our nation's ports, waterways, and coastal waters. Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) has been defined as "the effective understanding of anything in the marine environment that could adversely affect America's security, safety, economy, or environment" and is a major Coast Guard initiative, aimed at identification of all ships operating in U.S. waters, as well as those transiting the oceans en route to the United States, with their cargo, passengers, and crew on board being known well in advance of their arrival. In the past year, the Coast Guard has conducted more than 36,000 port security patrols, 6,900 air patrols, and 19,000 boardings.

In the immediate aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks the Coast Guard established specially trained and equipped teams to patrol and monitor activity in strategic ports. Manned by 76 active duty personnel operating six armed, fast response boats, they form the inner element of a layered defense posture. Thirteen Maritime Safety and security Teams (MSSTs) are in place in ports from Anchorage, AK, to Miami, FL. These teams are easily deployable by trucks/trailers or sea/air lift in response to terrorist threats or incidents, planned special events such as the Olympics, or to enforce security zones around ships or near-shore facilities that are considered to be higher than normal at risk of a terrorist act. Explosive detecting dogs and underwater detection and confrontation swimmers have been added to some teams.

To provide increased security for occasions when high-profile events or meetings will be conducted near or along the waterways, such as the major national political conventions in Boston and New York, "Enhanced MSSTs" is formed. The EMSST has additional personnel trained in tactical law enforcement, six members of the National Strike Force trained in detection and containment of chemical and other hazardous materials, and two armed HH-60J helicopters (with additional air support, if needed, by two armed MH-68 helos from the HITRON counter drug unit). The E-MSST can be formed for scheduled events, but is not expected to have a quick response or on-call capability unless addi-tional resources are obtained.

A program to arm the fleet of 41 HH60Js has begun. The upgrades include armor plating, M-240 machine guns, sniper rifles, and improved sensor capability. The recent addition of capability for fast delivery (rappelling) of boarding parties to ships from helos also contributes to a much more effective offensive asset in providing waterways security. The fiscal year 2006 budget request contains money to begin the arming of the smaller, HH-65 helicopters, as they receive the new engines and associated upgrades.

Search and Rescue

The Coast Guard's preeminent role in rescue operations is recognized worldwide. In 2004, in all kinds of weather and sea conditions, day or night, far offshore, along the coasts, or inland when floods or hurricanes wreak havoc, Coast Guardsmen responded to more than 32,000 calls for assistance and saved more than 5,500 lives. Many of the calls are considered "routine" and elicit little or no attention even among crewmates. More than a few are completed and are attempted at great personal risk to the crew.

The Selendang Ayu, a Malysian-flagged 738-foot freighter, was experiencing engine problems and took shelter at anchor along the northern coast of the Aleutian Chain in December 2004. The typical weather that time of the year is not good, and the ship's anchor did not hold. A call for help brought an HH-60J helicopter from Kodiak Air Station, and a hoist operation started with the lowering of the rescue swimmer to the deck of the huge ship, now hard aground and buffeted by high wind and seas ranging from 20 to 40 feet.

One by one, the crewmen were hoisted to the helo, hovering 120 feet above the water. Two short trips to land had saved 18 of the 26 crew, and the helo had hoisted seven more when a rogue wave slammed into the side of the ship and shot water upward, engulfing the helo. Water ingested into the helo's two engines caused an immediate flame-out and loss of all power. The helo crashed alongside the ship into the raging seas. The survival training and exposure suits worn by the helo crew paid dividends, as all survived and were hoisted out of the water by a HH-65 helo that had been monitoring the operation. None of the Selendang Ayu's crewmembers in the helo survived. Shortly thereafter, the huge ship broke in two; the rescue swimmer and captain of the ill-fated ship later were hoisted to safety by the HH-65.

Humanitarian Relief

Perhaps there is no better way to show the flexibility and responsiveness of the Coast Guard than to describe the "muster and move out" which followed the orders to provide help in two far-off areas devastated by natural disasters.

* December 2004 Tsunami in South East Asia. In less than 24 hours, during the Christmas holiday period, two crews of seven men each had been selected from Air Station Clearwater, FL, and Elizabeth City, NC, ordered to join C-13OH aircraft and crews from Barbers Point, HI, and Sacramento, CA, and were en route as a team. They were joined by 11 members of the Pacific Area Strike Team, who would assess hazardous material conditions in parts of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives, Malaysia, and Thailand. With two crews per aircraft, the C-13Os flew around the clock for 22 days, never missing a scheduled mission, and hauled 350,000 pounds of food, medical supplies, water purification equipment, and medical teams.

* February 2005 Tropical Cyclone Olaf over American Samoa. At the request of Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Aircraft Program Office in Elizabeth City, NC, deployed a C-130J to carry Coast Guard and FEMA first responders and equipment to Pago Pago. Joined later by a C-13OH from Barber's Point, HI, and an HH-65 helo from the Polar Star (WAGB-10), they transported relief supplies, including much needed electrical generators from Hawaii. From 16-25 February, the C-13OJ crew flew 101 hours, transporting more than 45,000 pounds of support equipment more than 30,600 miles.

International Activity

Coast Guard officers have been assigned to three regions (Asia-Pacific, Europe/Africa/Middle East, and Central/South America) to liaison with local port authorities to exchange information and share best practices in port security programs in conformance with the new International Maritime Organization's International Ship and Port Facility security (ISPS) Code. The Coast Guard's International Port security Program also uses a port security specialist team that will visit approximately 45 countries each year to review and discuss security measures implemented in ports that export directly or are included in the last five ports of departure for vessels destined for the United States. Officials from other nations are invited for reciprocal visits to U. S. ports to assess the Code's implementation here.

The Coast Guard Training Center in Yorktown, VA, administers an international maritime officer's course three times each year. The ten-week course covers a broad range of maritime subjects such as team training, engineering, ship handling, and command philosophy. Recent attendees came from Albania, Mauritius, Azerbaijan, Antigua, Ecuador, Bahamas, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Madagascar, and Pakistan. Two officers-from Yemen and the Bahamas-received training alongside the 74 Americans who completed the 17-week Officer Candidate School in New London, CT.

Icebreaking

The Coast Guard has long been our nation's sole provider of ice-breaking for the ports and waterways along the East Coast and the Great Lakes. In 1965, it was given all Navy icebreakers, along with total responsibility for operations in the Arctic and Antarctic. In the 1970s, the Coast Guard commissioned the 399-foot Polar Star (WAGB-IO) and Polar Sea (WAGB11) as the old icebreakers reached obsolescence. These twin ships, the most powerful non-nuclear icebreakers in the world, normally alternated duties in the annual Operation Deep Freeze, freeing a channel to the ice pier at McMurdo Station in Antarctica for the replenishment ships carrying fuel and supplies necessary for the next year. During the past several years, ice conditions have been unusually severe, and both ships were needed. The combination of more arduous conditions and the lack of extended maintenance availabilities finally took its toll; the Polar Sea was not mission capable for Deep Freeze 2005. The National Science Foundation, which operates McMurdo, feared the forecast ice conditions again would require the combined services of two ice breakers. The only avenue available was to contract for the services of the Russian ship Krasin, which sailed from Vladivostok on 21 December, arriving in time to assist in the opening of the 90-mile channel, with ice up to ten feet in thickness, and the resupply was accomplished on schedule.

Major repairs to the Polar Sea's engines and machinery are estimated to cost as much as $10 million and expected to keep the ship out of service until late in 2006. The Polar Star will soon need much the same repairs as her sister ship, and there is some feeling that it might be time to begin planning for replacements. (Ice-breakers are not included in the Deepwater program.) But the future of the Coast Guard's role in non-domestic icebreaking is uncertain. The Department of Homeland security has described such Coast Guard duties as not related to homeland security, and the Coast Guard's 2006 budget submittal to Congress transferred $48 million to the National Science Foundation to pay for the maintenance and operation costs, which is far short of the Coast Guard's estimate of the actual expenses. The Coast Guard's third icebreaker, the Healy (WAGB-20), built in 1998, has performed admirably, but was designed primarily for research in the less stringent operating conditions of the Arctic, and is not capable of replacing a Polar-class ship.

Persian Gulf

Coast Guard forces serving in the Persian Gulf include the Island-class 110-foot patrol boats. Eight deployed in the build up to the Iraqi War. Later this number was reduced to four. Then, in 2004, the number moved to six. These boats continue to provide waterside security to ports and offshore oil terminals, as well as escorting coalition ships and boarding vessels of interest. The commander of U. S. Naval Forces Central Command has said the following of these forces: "Coast Guard patrol boats are highly maneuverable, fast, multimission vessels able to operate in shallow water and are therefore especially well suited for operations in the Northern Arabian gulf. They are manned by the most capable officers and crews I have ever seentheir professionalism and enthusiasm are truly remarkable."

Teams of Coast Guardsmen specially trained in boarding techniques, searches, and seizures form law enforcement detachments (LEDets) deployed on board Navy ships. Two additional LEDets deployed to the area, joining the two LEDets which remained in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In April 2004, two Coast Guard members of LEDet 403, based in Miami, FL, were among the seven-man crew of a Navy boat dispatched to intercept a dhow that was headed for the offshore oil terminal Khawr Al Amaya. As the boat approached, the dhow exploded, throwing the entire boat crew into the water. One Coast Guardsman and two Navy sailors were killed. These were the first combat deaths in the 14 years of maritime intercept operations in the Persian Gulf.

Drugs

Drug trafficking-and the profits-is increasingly linked to support of international terrorism. The National Drug Control Strategy calls for a two-pronged attack: stem both demand and supply. The Coast Guard has the lead responsibility for surface maritime interdiction and shares the lead with Customs and Border Protection for air interdiction. Long accustomed to a "body count" report to demonstrate attainment of desired measures of effectiveness or goals, the tally of drugs seized was limited to actual quantities recovered or seized and weighed. Beginning in fiscal year 2004, the Coast Guard began measuring the amounts of drugs that were seized, jettisoned, or sometimes non-recovered but for which video, intelligence, or other vetted information was credible. This resulted in a more accurate portrayal of their effectiveness of the counter-drug activity, and nearly doubled the amount of cocaine reported as "seized" during the previous year, from nearly 137,000 pounds to 242,000 pounds in fiscal year 2004. The Coast Guard is quick to point out that cooperation with other government agencies, developing and sharing intelligence (such as the Department of Justice's eminently successful Operation Panama Express), allows the efficient positioning of interdiction assets.

Huge quantities of cocaine continue to be processed and shipped around the world. The efficiency of multi-agency cooperation and participation was exemplified during two successful interdictions in the transit zone between South America and the United States. On 17 September 2004, a U.S. Navy ship intercepted the Cambodia-flagged 83-foot Una Maria, 300 miles Southeast of the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. The Coast Guard LEDet carried on board the Navy ship found more than 30,000 pounds of cocaine, the largest "bust" in Coast Guard history. Six days later, another U.S. Navy ship with a Coast Guard LEDet on board intercepted the Belize-flagged 75-foot San Jose, 650 miles south of the Galapagos Islands, and found more than 26,000 pounds of cocaine (third largest seizure). Both vessels had Columbian crews, and data show that for the past several years more than 75% of the interdictions on the water are occurring in the Southeast Pacific Ocean.

The combination of MH-68A helicopters from the helicopter interdiction Squadron (hitron) embarked on the larger Coast Guard cutters, along with fast pursuit boats, continue to be the most effective interdiction force. In every instance where a go-fast drug boat has been engaged by the helo/boat team, the bad guys lose. If the trail of machine gun fire across the bow of a speeding drug boat does not have the desired effect of convincing the boat driver to stop, then bullets from a .50-caliber rifle disable one or more of the engines to allow the pursuit boat to quickly overtake and apprehend the drug runner. The airborne use of force originally was approved for use on the high seas only, but the Coast Guard now has authority for such use in any of its homeland security missions.

Migrant Interdiction

Enforcing U. S. immigration laws is a federal responsibility, and the Coast Guard has a unique combination of legal authority and humanitarian experience with which to carry out interdiction on the high seas or near our coasts. The possibility of individuals linked to terrorist organizations mingling with migrants is a national security concern. Illegal immigration affects regional economies, challenges our national sovereignty, and often leads to loss of lives when grossly overloaded boats encounter higher than normal seas or rickety craft are flooded and sink. (In late December, the USCGC Vigorous (WMEC-627) safely removed 208 Haitian migrants from a 30-foot sail boat.) When economic or political unrest precipitates a sudden, large increase in migrants setting out in boats, the Coast Guard flexes its forces to enforce the U.S. policy of intercepting the boats as far from our shores as possible and returns the occupants to the country of origin without delay. That show of force and determination quickly dissuaded the incipient mass migration by Haitians when Aristide was being forced from power. While illegal migrants from many countries typically are found each year, the greatest numbers are from Cuba, Haiti, and Dominican Republic, the last named attempting the dangerous passage to Puerto Rico in small boats called yolas. Although the exact number of lives lost each year is not known, 11,000 illegal migrants were taken on board Coast Guard cutters and returned safely in fiscal year 2004.

Fisheries

The Coast Guard enforces U.S. laws and regulations in the 3.4 million square miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone' (EEZ) as well as international laws on the high seas. In fiscal year 2004, the Coast Guard conducted more than 4,500 at-sea boardings. Included in marine resources are protected species of fish, marine mammals such as right whales and manatees, sea turtles, sea lions, and coral reefs. The United States, Russia, and Canada have established excellent cooperation in the Bering Sea, leading to a 90% reduction in poaching of U.S. waters in the past five years. In the Gulf of Mexico, on the other hand, illegal fishing in the EEZ greatly has increased. The proximity of Mexican territorial waters is used to the advantage of the lanchas (small boats often referred to as "shark boats") that now nearly have depleted sharks in Mexican waters. The boats also carry illegal drugs and migrants, mostly under cover of darkness along the sparsely populated south Texas shoreline. In 2004, only 17 of the identified 212 incursions were interdicted by Coast Guard forces, earning the label of "our most challenging area."

Personnel

The Coast Guard Team consists of the men and women who are serving on active duty as well as in the Ready Reserve, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and as civilian employees. Members of the Auxiliary, some 35,000 strong, are civilian volunteers who operate their own boats and aircraft. They work alongside active-duty personnel in nearly every aspect of operations that do not include direct law enforcement or military action. They perform private boat safety inspections, conduct public boating safety courses, and have responded to the new Maritime Domain Awareness initiative by conducting patrols of our nations ports and waterways.

The active-duty members totaled 40,226 at the end of fiscal year 2004. These numbers include U.S. Public Health Service members on duty with the Coast Guard, as well as just over 1,000 cadets and officer candidates in training. The numbers will increase by 700 during fiscal year 2005, to 40,926. Selected Reserve strength will continue to be approximately 8,100. Civilian employees totaled 6,609 last year and are expected to reach 7,070 by the end of fiscal year 2005.

Recruiting for active-duty service continues to go well. The target of 4,110 accessions for this year is on track. Recruiters are pleased at the 36% minority and 17% women among those who have joined the Coast Guard at this point. The attrition rate of 11.7% (which included 360 transitions to the officer corps) last year was the lowest in 45 years. Applicants for officer training far outnumber the spaces available, approaching last year's record of highest in a decade, and officer attrition-at 7%-was below historical norms. Recruiting for the Reserve component is more challenging. This is not unusual in itself, but is more so currently as a result of the frequent recalls of individual Selected Reservists for extended active-duty service during the last three years.

Deepwater

With the award of a contract in June 2002, the Coast Guard embarked on its long-tenn program, titled Deepwater, to replace essentially all its major operational assets over 20 years. Absent strenuous analysis, Deepwater had been estimated to require $500M (in 1998 dollars) each year for 20 years. During this period the level of operational capabilities and capacities of existing cutters and aircraft were not to degrade while new acquisitions came on line to replace them. It has become increasingly obvious that the original requirements and implementation schedules for Deepwater are woefully inadequate.

Deepwater's requirements, detailed in a mission need statement approved by the Department of Transportation (then the Coast Guard's parent department) in 1998, could not have envisioned the significant changes made to the Coast Guard's roles and missions as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks. No traditional roles were eliminated; the emphasis on port and waterways security greatly increased; and several major legislative actions, such as the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the International Ship & Port Facility Security Code, placed significant new responsibilities on the Coast Guard's shoulders.

Not only was the original estimate of funding to maintain legacy assets much too low, the increased operating tempo since 2001 has caused much more wear and tear than was anticipated in the formulation of Deepwater's schedule and estimated cost. In fiscal year 2004, 742 days of operational cutter days were lost to unscheduled maintenance. This equates to reducing the fleet by four major cutters. The fleet of 110-foot patrol boats has suffered 23 hull cracks, requiring emergency dry docking for structural repairs. The HH-65 helicopter in-flight power losses totaled 172 in fiscal year 2004, after 55 such failures during the previous three years, putting flight crews (and, perhaps, people who are being rescued) routinely at high risk. Severe operational restrictions on that fleet of 84 helos are limiting the effectiveness of the Coast Guard's primary aviation asset for cutter-based operations, including search and rescue, drug interdiction, migrant interdiction, ports and waterways security, and defense readiness. Recent findings of an investigation into the cause of a civilian C-130 airplane wing failure in flight led to immediate restrictions on the maximum amount of fuel carried on five of the Coast Guard fleet of 27 C-13OH aircraft, reducing their mission time by 30%. The six C-ISOJs acquired more than two years ago have yet to be "missionized" with search windows and sensor equipment, and are limited to logistic use.

The continual decline in readiness among the medium endurance cutters had to be addressed. In fiscal year 2005, under the Mission Effectiveness Program, two of the ships were taken out of service and began extended maintenance periods at the Coast Guard shipyard in Baltimore. Repairs and some modernization will take longer than normal shipyard availabilities, but are vital if these ships are to perform adequately until they are replaced. Some of the crews temporarily will be assigned to other vessels, in the hope that a portion of the lost operational days can be recovered by increasing the days at sea for the cutters remaining in service. Six more medium endurance cutters are scheduled for the work in fiscal year 2006.

The HH-65 engine system replacement was slow in getting under way, with the first prototype completed in October 2004. The rate of conversion to the HH-65C model is expected to reach three per month in early summer and increase to five per month by the end of the year. The full fleet of 84 helicopters will not be converted until early 2007.

Congress ordered the Coast Guard "report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. . . its plan for maintenance of all its legacy assets and the entity responsible. . . and estimated costs. . ." to accompany the submittal of the fiscal year budget. The Deepwater program includes maintaining existing ships and aircraft, as well as purchasing the replacement assets; money spent on maintaining the older cutters and aircraft means less available for recapitalization. The 2006 budget request of $966M for Deepwater is a $242M increase over the previous year's, but includes $240M for urgently needed legacy asset modernization and maintenance. A revised mission need statement, reflecting post-September 11 requirements recently was approved by the Department of Homeland Security, and will form the basis of revised needs, in both capability and capacity, for the Coast Guard's future. What lies ahead is the daunting task of marshalling support for the revised Deepwater program from the administration and the Congress.

First Coast Guard "Wish List"

Until last year's Homeland Security Appropriations Act, the Commandant of sthe Coast Guard-unlike the other service chiefs-was only allowed to endorse the administration's budget as submitted to Congress. Acting on this new authority, Admiral Thomas H. Collins submitted his list of unfunded priorities, totaling $919M. Not surprisingly, $637M is earmarked for Deepwater and another $63M for cutter and aircraft legacy sustainment. His list includes more than $59M for sorely needed improvements, renovations, and new construction at shore facilities. Although the 2006 budget includes $40M for shore facility recapitalization, there was no money requested in the last two budgets for such purposes, and an already huge backlog has grown even larger.

Change of the Watch

On 18 March 2005, the Coast Guard held a ceremony to mark the departure of Secretary Tom Ridge and to welcome Secretary Michael Chertoff as the secretary of Homeland Security, which includes being the "Secretary of the Coast Guard." Secretary Tom Ridge mentioned the 34 battle streamers affixed to the Coast Guard ensign, and remarked, "we know full well that when it comes to bearing a burden, in terms of conflict, these men and women have done it, will do it, and they are front and center." Secretary Chertoff remarked on the challenge of building on the work already done by the new department, then said, "And, we can do that in no small part because of the very fine cornerstone laid by this United States Coast Guard. As the government's newest department, we are very fortunate to have the experience and tradition of the Coast Guard to be part of our team."

Welcome aboard, Secretary Chertoff. You can rely on the proven Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty of the men and women of the Coast Guard. In turn, the Coast Guard of today and the future will need your unwavering support if it will continue to be Semper Paratus.