The boatswain mate’s eyes tire while standing bridge watch after an all-night law enforcement case. Inevitable petty bickering arises once the ice cream supply dwindles after day four of a three-week patrol. The tension builds as 24 crewmembers on a fast response cutter live and work constrained to just 154 feet. Yet that tension fades as the messdeck erupts in laughter during the daily lunchtime viewing of The Price is Right. It fades under the triumphs of teamwork as the crew interdicts a ‘go-fast’ boat and prevents a load of illegal narcotics from reaching U.S. shores. The tension is then replaced entirely with joy as the electronics technician finally sees the green flash from the setting sun at sea for the first time. These are just a glimpse of the emotions of everyday life at sea on board a Coast Guard fast response cutter (FRC).
In the new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic, crews also add angst to the mass of emotions, spurred from the dramatic spread of the coronavirus in the United States over just a few weeks. Angst coordinating childcare amid changing work schedules. Angst from understanding that engine maintenance and preserving hulls are not tasks completed remotely via telework. Angst in completing those once-simple tasks, such as finding a barber, purchasing cleaning supplies, ordering personal protective equipment (PPE), and inviting “strangers”—contractors—on board to repair the engine. Angst for those solitary family members left at home in a time of social distancing. Angst for crew members as well: those quarantined and left on shore when a ship sails, and especially for that one crew member who keeps sneezing, even though he or she probably just has a case of seasonal allergies. Today, this angst permeates the daily life underway on an FRC, knowing that we must simultaneously find ways to prevent the spread of the virus, protect the workforce, and preserve the ability to operate.
The Coast Guard, from the headquarters down to the local level, has leaned in. Our leaders recognize the threat to our crews and continue to adapt in kind. They have created new travel and safety policies that mirror guidance to the civilian population. They have delayed boards and panels, as well as the May service-wide exam for the enlisted force. They have empowered unit commanders to think innovatively, and units are finding new ways to conduct business. This includes splitting inport crews into two or three teams who stand watch and work on opposing days to limit potential outbreaks to smaller portions of the crew. Cutters have enacted new safety procedures, including screening all personnel on board with daily temperature checks, scrubbing the ships from stem to stern daily, and closing their brows to all non-essential personnel.
At sea, the mission continues. Our coasts still need guarding. In the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, where most of the Service’s new FRCs are stationed, these law enforcement cutters patrol daily to secure our borders against illicit drugs and migrants, protect our oceans and fisheries stocks, and care for mariners in distress. Our ships continue to sail as human traffickers and narcotics smugglers continue to infiltrate U.S. maritime borders. Just a few weeks ago, an FRC interdicted a smuggling boat trying to reach shore just south of Miami, with undocumented migrants from five different countries on board. So far, we have limited Coast Guardsmen exposure to the coronavirus while at sea by shifting focus largely to smuggling operations and adjusting the questions we ask over the radio before we step on board. Of course, our ships and stations continue to respond to search-and-rescue (SAR) cases every day. These law enforcement and SAR operations require close-quarters interactions with others, which potentially increases our service members’ risk of catching the virus.
Fortunately, the command structure on shore, at all levels, supports the cutter fleet. In Miami, we have witnessed a massive effort to provide sufficient personal-protective equipment (PPE) to each ship, including masks, gloves, goggles, suits, cleaning supplies, and hand sanitizer. Doctrine exists that guides our crews, and we have scrubbed various manuals and guides to learn how to combat this biological threat. These manuals guide how our cutter’s law enforcement team should proceed if they engage a symptomatic boater during a boarding. They also detail instructions for the decontamination processes, and offer guidance to host and care for infected people onboard, whether they are migrants awaiting repatriation or those requiring medical transport to shore. Teams have also prepared guidance on best practices if a crewmember becomes exposed while underway while days away from port and even how to isolate an entire crew if a critical mass becomes symptomatic.
Along Miami’s waterfront, one stressor for our Coast Guard family involves those with dependents who have preexisting medical conditions that make them more susceptible to the coronavirus. These crew members worry about leaving their high-risk children or spouses behind when they deploy. Now, more than ever, we are using the ombudsman networks on each ship and at Sector Miami to provide a support network for these high-risk family members.
In addition, we are considering ways we can share crew members between ships, so that where appropriate and feasible, those with at-risk family members can remain closer to their loved ones. We, like most Americans, have added stress from the closure of schools; caring for and educating children while also focusing on full-time jobs remains complicated. To address these needs, each cutter crew in Miami developed a plan to modify inport work hours to limit the number of crew on board each day and enable a schedule where parents rotate time at home and on board to support their children. Finally, just like the crew of the USCGC Kimball (WMSL-756), our Miami crews are concerned about the upcoming summer transfer season when roughly 30-40 percent of our crews rotate to new duty assignments around the nation. While there are still many unknowns about how this year’s transfers will take place, we do know that the headquarters team is working to develop policy and clarity for members expecting to move this summer, and each cutter is building plans to ensure that enough qualified personnel remain on board at all times.
Our cutter’s responses to COVID-19 are not perfect and are still evolving to confront this challenge. Crewmembers remain worried about their own safety and their family’s welfare, yet we know Coast Guard leaders care and are taking action. The Commandant of the Coast Guard expressed that the wellbeing of our crews and their families is “first and foremost” on his mind. Unit commanders continue to lean-in to keep Coast Guard families safe, balancing their needs with those of the service. We continue to provide crews transparent communication and know that no matter how dire this situation gets, our values—honor, respect, and devotion to duty—will not change.
We do not yet know how or when this virus will disappear, but we do know how the Coast Guard will respond as this is what we do. We know that we, as a service, will adapt, overcome, and continue to perform the critical missions to guard American interests, promote U.S. economic recovery, and ensure the safety of the public. While regular life seems like a distant memory, we know we will one day return to a sense of normalcy, with many lessons learned along the way. We know we will continue to care for those we love and those communities in which we live, and protect each other in the best possible way we can. We know this challenging period will only make us stronger. We do not know the future, but we remain ready and resilient. And for those of us stationed on cutters, we will continue to stand the watch at sea, and to hunt for the elusive green flash.