In the October 2009 issue of Proceedings, then-Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen cited certain tasks that could mitigate the threats posed by small craft manned by hostile operators. Two were inexpensive and offered immediate improvement. First, we must "develop a strong partnership with the small-craft community to enhance maritime domain awareness." Second, we must "improve coordination, cooperation, and communications between the public and private sectors as well as our international partners."
The Commandant's article addressed these ideas in terms of the Coast Guard's relations with such national and international stakeholder groups as the International Maritime Organization's Maritime Safety Committee and the various state boating law administrators. Unfortunately, here at the deckplate level, we often consider such necessary cooperation as analogous to elephant mating: high-level activities amid much noise that take two years to yield results. Too often left unexamined are the needs of Coast Guard personnel who control the press-to-talk button and watch for errant small craft. For example, what does the (hypothetical) third-class boatswain's mate "Luckless" need to improve the deterrence value of his patrol activity and eliminate dangerous misunderstandings
What does GS-11 vessel traffic controller "Crash" need to establish communications with the unrepentant miscreant recreational boater running full speed through the security zone of the tanker I will speak for them, since I've occupied both positions.In the words of the prison warden in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, "What we have here is a failure to communicate," and that's what really chaps the boatswain's mate and traffic controller when the small craft violates a security zone. And little wonder. Many of the smaller commercial launches and fishing vessels and nearly all recreational boats are not subject to the Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act. Why would we expect them to be listening, if they have no legal obligation even to own a marine VHF radio
Luckless and Crash may as well be speaking into a brick.So why does the average Coastie in such a situation continue to transmit
Because experience tells them to. Observation has taught them that the temporarily errant small-craft operator usually has a marine VHF radio telephone. What is more often lacking is a radio watch. How might the Commandant's requirement to "develop a strong partnership with the small vessel community to enhance maritime domain awareness" improve the situation"Auxiliary" Means Business
We already have a close relationship with one of the most serious organizations in the small-boat community. They dress like Coasties, look like Coasties, and some are veterans of the guard. They are the Coast Guard Auxiliary. They ride to work on small vessels that they paid for out of their own pockets. They pay for their planes, radios, and uniforms and receive no salaries. Indeed, they may be the most tenacious form of Coastie. They were in the public boating safety education business before I was born, and I'm two days older than water and one day older than dirt. They know how to organize and deliver a short course on safety in and around Navy and commercial traffic. They also know how to sell it.
The Auxiliary conducts "ramp days," offering free inspections at recreational boat launches. Those who pass inspections know that not only does their vessel comply with the relevant regulations, but it also has the recommended (but not required) equipment. Passing such an inspection earns vessels stickers that can waive them through random regulatory compliance checks. Coast Guard boarding teams inspecting for minimal regulatory compliance rarely stop boats displaying the USCG AUX sticker. Insurance companies like these too, so recreational boaters don't exactly hide from the Coast Guard Auxiliary on ramp days.
Security Zone Parley
If every Auxiliary examiner were trained to deliver a pep talk on security zone behavior, things would change for Luckless and Crash. With a national Auxiliary mission to encourage marine VHF radio ownership and an active listening watch on calling and hailing and the bridge-to-bridge frequency, recreational boat habits on radio silence would be the exception rather than the rule. As it is, VHF radio ownership among recreational boaters is far higher than one would expect in a noncompliance market. Unfortunately, most such boaters view the VHF radio as a device for calling for "road service." They do not maintain active listening watches and use the radio only in case of emergency.
Crash is unhappy that he cannot communicate with the average security-zone-running recreational boat. But as he observes the unrepentant miscreant on closed-circuit TV, traffic-controller Crash isn't nearly as unhappy as Luckless, who has to catch and confront the guy and do it within the legal framework of the Coast Guard Commandant's Use of Force Policy.
Intercept-and-board operations under the Commandant's policy are far more restrictive concerning the use of force. While the Law of Armed Conflict and local rules of engagement never authorize "collateral damage," the law addresses the possibility and excuses such damage under some circumstances. For Coast Guard intercept-and-board operations in the United States, the Commandant's Use of Force Policy doesn't allow collateral damage, plain and simple.
Most of those using the waterways in America are American citizens and taxpayers. The Coast Guard Commandant will not tolerate shooting a U.S. citizen who has not shown a weapon and an intention to use it on an innocent citizen or Coast Guard crew. The U.S. Coast Guard has never in its history given lead poisoning to any American citizen who didn't clearly demonstrate an intention of killing a boatswain's mate or someone the mate was sworn to protect.
This reluctance to drop the hammer on fellow citizens has been carried to extremes in the past. Take for example the incident between CG-249 and motorboat V13997 off Florida in 1927. During Prohibition, Coast Guard crews such as the three unfortunates on CG-249 demonstrated that they would take a round in the brisket before erring on the side of, "Shoot 'em all, and tell God they died." They also showed before it was over that they would use force against anyone who displayed deadly intent. On 17 August 1929 the Coasties, at the order of the court, took things one step further and sprung the gallows trap on Horace Alderman, killer of Boatswain Sidney C. Sandalin and two of his crew from the CG-249
the first and only time the service hanged a man. So how tense do you think it gets for Luckless when he finds that ignoring his radio communications and his blue light and siren is the rule rather than the exceptionIll-Informed or Ill-Intended
The problem is that the boatswain's mate cannot assume that the act of violating the security zone is intentional. He must first assume it is the act of just another ill-informed recreational boater. Every such encounter is going to produce some close communications. Luckless knows that it is only a matter of time before he ends up eye-to-eye with a genuine bad guy posing as a clueless boater. At that moment, Luckless won't draw his piece and aim it at the ill-intended. The natural demeanor of the Coast Guard petty officer is "Officer Friendly." We don't even train the "bad cop" half of the "good cop/bad cop" duo. So out on the line of the security zones, Luckless has to make some unsavory choices.
He becomes either "bad cop" or loses his edge and becomes "ineffective cop." What are we to do when disregarding radio communications is the rule rather than the exception
Well, I run in some widely separated deck-plate circles, and I haven't met bad cop yet. Ever since Alexander Hamilton reminded us that Americans are free and impatient with high-handed treatment, Coast Guard boarding teams do not handle people roughly unless absolutely forced to do so.Since Coasties are culturally ingrained not to behave over-aggressively with the American people, we minimize our hard-line profile when approaching recreational boaters who violate a security zone. We have our "long guns mounted" per standing orders. The appropriate people are wearing side-arms, and our shoulder weapons are visible but held at high port. No crewman is pointing a weapon at a human being. Once the coxswain's hail is acknowledged, there will be gunwale-to-gunwale contact and exchanges of information in as conversational a tone as the background noise level will allow.
Despite the steep fines for violating security zones, the operators of recreational vessels who commit these violations are rarely prosecuted. The local sector commands are as reluctant to make an example of an ill-informed but otherwise innocent recreational boater as Luckless is to use scare tactics. It's "Officer Friendly" all the way, and usually this approach is justified. But such restraint will not impress the American public the first time a Coast Guard patrol boat is blown away and an actual terrorist destroys a critical piece of U.S. marine transportation infrastructure. Recreational boaters and other small craft must answer the VHF radio on the calling and hailing or bridge-to-bridge frequency on a regular basis. Not communicating with our patrol and surveillance elements must become an anomaly.
At the deckplate level we don't want to play bad cops or become ineffective cops. We want to live up to our traditional image and culture, glad to give our life to save others but selling it dearly to enemies of the United States. We are supposed to be the guardians. We intend for the "backscatter of the innocents present" to be reduced. The greatest tool that we have to clean up the backscatter is the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
The Auxiliary could take the following specific steps to improve the performance of the regular armed patrols and discourage our enemies from using small craft as a means to attack.
- It could increase ramp days and concentrate on marinas in waterways transited by recreational small craft and commercial and naval traffic. Some waterways have predominantly civilian traffic, but many areas are transited by civilian, commercial, and military vessels, creating the potential for trouble. The Auxiliary should increase its public profile in these areas.
- Distribute brochures explaining the importance of maintaining an active marine VHF listening watch, especially when boating in mixed recreational and commercial areas; disseminate this information at launch ramps and marinas; include minimal technical details on operating an effective marine VHF voice radio watch; outline proper behavior near security zones; and teach security zone communications and behaviors in all other public education courses.
- Deploy the Auxiliary "press corps" on a major public-service campaign focused on boating magazines, sportsman television shows, and talk radio to spread the word about maintaining a radio watch and using inexpensive handheld VHF marine radios for even the smallest boat, whether it is propelled by paddle, oar, or sail. We publish notice of security zones in the U.S. Coast Guard Local Notice to Mariners, but many recreational boaters don't read it. Let's reach them where they actually watch and listen.
- Whenever possible, where a temporary security zone must be established in mixed-use waters, send Auxiliary advance teams with printed notices to marinas and launch ramps. When the zone is patrolled by armed Coast Guard vessels, send the Auxiliary out on the recreational boat approaches above and below the protected operation, vessel, or structure with warning placards and radios to instruct approaching recreational boats on the required vessel behaviors well before they reach the security zone. These measures will render encounters between recreational vessels on radio silence with security zones virtually anomalous. The Maritime Safety and Security Team or the Sector/Captain of the Port picket boat still won't open fire or level weapons at the intruder without additional evidence of hostile intent, but neither will the Coast Guard crew be suffering from false-alarm fatigue.
- In addition to these measures, the Auxiliary Courtesy Motorboat Examiners and Dealer Visitors should be equipped with wanted posters of terrorists suspected of being in the United States. The posters may be displayed on ramp days and during dealer visitations. Terrorists considering a small-craft attack would find the general small craft purchase and launch environments far less enticing.
By all means we should solicit the help of the International Maritime Organization and others at the elephant-mating level to improve the partnership with the small vessel community and to increase maritime domain awareness. But we should begin by asking the Platinum Coast Guard
the Auxiliary for more assistance in improving radio communications, distributing information, and reducing backscatter in the recreational boating and the commercial fishing communities. At the deckplate level we need the Commandant to send the Auxiliary a national mission of public education for VHF radio use, security zone awareness, and providing a uniformed public presence at the entry points where recreational traffic heads into mixed-use areas, especially when manned security zones are in effect.The Auxiliary has never failed, and they will not fail now. Properly tasked, they will help keep our active-duty armed crews from becoming either the "bad cop" or "ineffective cop." They will render the high-level changes more effective. We can chase the small craft-mounted terrorist out of America's domestic waters but we will always need the help of the most committed Coastie
the unpaid, highly flexible, totally motivated volunteer American with zero tolerance for floating bad guys.