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Challenge and diversity are the key words that describe Coast Guard operations in 1993 and early 1994. An extraordinary range of complex operations—involving serious transportation accidents, increasing numbers of illegal migrants moving by sea, environmental disasters, and record-cold weather in the eastern United States—demonstrated the service’s flexibility and multimission marine response capability. In February 1993, the USCGC Rush (WHEC-723) raced to the Marshall Islands from Honolulu, to respond to a major smuggling operation involving 500 Chinese migrants on board the MV East Wood. Through
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£ The U. S. Coast Guard in Review
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By Captain Lawson W. Brigham, U. S. Coast Guard
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The floods in the Midwest during the summer and autumn ravaged ten states along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The floods left thousands of people homeless and caused nearly $15 billion in damage, virtually paralyzed the na-
tion’s primary inland transportation system, and placed Coast Guard personnel of the Second District at the forefront of the massive response and rescue effort. Nearly 500 Coast Guard Reservists were recalled to augment the district’s active- duty personnel. On 22 September, 40 people were killed in an train accident at a bridge near Mobile, Alabama. Coast Guard marine-safety, aids-to-navigation, aviation, and rescue units were used extensively in response to this major transportation disaster—the worst accident in Amtrak’s history.
In November, personnel from the 13th District provided substantial logistical and
U.S. COAST GUARD (A. WINE)
Throughout 1993 and into early 1994, the Coast Guard demonstrated its diverse capabilities as it responded to floods in the Midwest, heavy ice on eastern waterways, the Amtrak accident in Alabama, and an oil spill in Puerto Rico.
security support to the Asia/Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, a part of which was hosted by President Bill Clinton on Blake Island in Puget Sound. Of relevance to the service’s traditional lifesaving role, in December a HH-60J helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, conducted a remarkable rescue at sea—a 620-mile flight from Elizabeth City to Bermuda, in which three
people were pulled from a sinking yacht.
The new year began with a major marine oil spill off the coast of Puerto Rico. The barge Morris J. Berman grounded on a reef only 300 yards off San Juan and spilled an estimated 750,000 gallons of oil into the sea. Transportation Secretary Frederico Pena, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner, and the Coast Guard’s Commandant, Admiral J. William Kime, flew to the scene for an early evaluation. Because of the magnitude and scope of the spill more than 500 people—including Coast Guard response personnel—were involved in the containment and recovery operations.
The bitter cold early in 1994 also de-
manded that the Coast Guard perform another of its unique missions—domestic icebreaking. Icy conditions on the Hudson River, the Delaware River, and the Chesapeake Bay created a great demand for ice-escort and channel-clearing services. On the Great Lakes, the ice was thicker than normal. Therefore, Coast Guard icebreakers were needed more often
than usual to escort oil and coal barges; as of 15 February 1994, 95 vessels had been escorted, compared to 12 for the same period during the previous winter. The Coast Guard did much more, of course, but this brief snapshot of several important operations provides a sense of the breadth of the Coast Guard’s missions and responsibilities for any given year.
Changing Work Force
Two cases involving illegal migration by sea—the MV East Wood, adrift off the Marshall Islands, was found to carry 500 Chinese and the MV Golden Venture that ran aground off New York Harbor with 289 Chinese on board—highlighted this growing problem.
In late August 1993, the work force for the Coast Guard included: 38,141 active-duty military—7,724 officers (including warrant officers) and 30,417 enlisted (691 cadets are not included in the active-duty total); 6,101 civilians both permanent and temporary; 10,080 in the Selected Coast Guard Reserve; and 36,168 in the voluntary Coast Guard Auxiliary. In order to meet the fiscal year 1995 budget, there will be an overall 2.5% cut in the active-duty and civilian work force during 1994. Reductions for fiscal years 1994 and 1993 were 1.9% and .7% respectively. The enlisted strength will drop to a mandated level of 29,700 through a number of work-force management tools— enlisted high-year tenure, lower recruiting goals, discharge for performance or disciplinary reasons, and a voluntary “early out” program. Furthermore, the Selected Coast Guard Reserve’s strength is expected to be reduced to a little less than 8,000.
Proceedings / May 1994
The volunteer, civilian U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary continues to be an extraordinarily successful and cost-effective organization. Established by Congress in 1939 to promote safety in U.S. recreational boating, the Auxiliary now has three major programs: free courtesy examinations of recreational boats (284,142 in 1992); providing public education courses on all aspects of boating; and assisting the regular Coast
i Guard in search-and-rescue missions and during regattas and other marine events. In times of budgetary stress, the Auxiliary—with its minimal federal funding— , becomes an evermore essential component of the Coast Guard’s total work | force.
The Budget
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Table 1: An “Average Day”
During the U.S. Coast Guard’s 203r'd Year, 1993
For this annual review, the budget of the Coast Guard was S3.67 billion with $2.56 billion (almost 70%) appropriated for expenses related to operations—which fits the character and culture of the Coast Guard. In 1993, an average day of Coast Guard operations cost the U.S. taxpayers $7 million, a remarkably low expense considering the wide range of activities listed in Table 1: “An ‘Average Day’ During ' the U.S. Coast Guard’s 203rd Year, 1993.” However, within the 1993 budget only $340 million was appropriated for “acquisitions, construction, and improvements.” This is the service’s capital-investment I category and, since 1991, its funding has been steadily reduced by budgetary cutting outside the Coast Guard.
Early in 1994, a new strategy for improving the Coast Guard’s budget posture—particularly with regard to near-term capital investment—has been evolving. President Clinton’s fiscal year 1995 budget contains $3.81 billion for the service with $2.63 billion requested for Coast Guard operating expenses—a nearly normal apportionment with a very small increase in total budget. Since the 1 President’s budget also includes $439.2 million for acquisitions, construction and improvements, the operating portion of the overall budget must be adjusted. Therefore, more than 1,000 active-duty billets and 133 civilian positions will be cut. A number of aircraft, cutters, boats and shore facilities also are slated for decommissioning. With this strategy, the service may be able to improve its capital plant in 1995 and beyond with a new class of seagoing buoy tenders, a new 47- foot motor lifeboat, additional vessel traffic systems (VTSs) for selected ports, and improvements to many aging shore facilities. There also is little doubt that this budget strategy will force a reexamination of the management and operations of several missions.
Interdicting Illegal Migrants
Since 15 January 1993, the Coast Guard has coordinated one of the largest
maritime operations in its history: Operation Able Manner off Haiti. The joint task force—operating under the commander of the 7th Coast Guard District— has absorbed nearly all of the Atlantic Area’s ships at some point during 1993. The Navy also has provided significant numbers of ships and aircraft to support the operation. Early in 1993, as many as 29 patrol boats and medium- and high- endurance cutters were on scene. The force continues to sail just beyond the 12- mile limit in order to provide maximum visibility and deter the Haitian migrants from departing.
The entire operation has been a success; only 1,391 migrants have been res
cued after the force’s arrival. During the 15 months prior to Operation Able Manner, more than 40,000 Haitians were interdicted.
Many other illegal aliens also attempted to reach the United States by sea in 1993. During May and June alone, in 27 separate incidents. Coast Guard units interdicted 700 Chinese, 118 Dominicans, 96 Haitians, and 129 Cubans. A highly visible case was that of the freighter Golden Venture, which grounded off New York Harbor with 289 Chinese migrants on board. Many attempted to reach the shore by wading through the surf; eight were lost. The freighter Chin Luang Hsaing was tracked off the California coast and when she sailed into U.S. waters, she was boarded by an enforcement team from USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719); 199 undocumented Asians were found on board. In July, Coast Guard law-enforcement officers found 659 undocumented Chinese on three fishing vessels off the coast of Mexico. During the entire year, the specter of a very
large influx of Cubans into Florida was a significant concern for many Coast Guard units. If the trends of 1993 continue, the interdiction of illegal migrants will remain a key task for the Coast Guard well into the next century.
Major Initiatives
Streamlining Coast Guard Field Organization Study: Announced in February 1994, this study, chaired by a flag officer, is charged to identify and develop alternatives to streamline and improve the efficiency and service to all customers of the Coast Guard field organization. One goal is to produce savings of a significant magnitude while establishing the most efficient organization. Guidance to the study states that it is to “preserve core characteristics, capabilities, and attributes” of the Coast Guard. The study also is to be consistent with the National Performance Review (chaired by Vice President A1 Gore) and ongoing governmental streamlining initiatives. A two-year effort is envisioned.
Training Infrastructure Study: Also announced in February 1994, this study, chaired by a flag officer, will examine and recommend improvements and alternatives to the infrastructure, staffing, and funding associated with the Coast Guard’s current and future training and education systems. The study’s goals are to produce savings and to identify and support the most efficient organization and resource mix required to accomplish the Coast Guard’s critical training and education requirements into the next century.
Fisheries Enforcement Strategy Development: $ince 1991, Coast Guard Headquarters has been developing a new and comprehensive strategy for fisheries law enforcement. $tudy groups have had representatives from the Coast Guard, the National Marine Fisheries Service, state agencies, and the fishing industry itself. The goals have been to improve the service’s expertise in this mission, develop a closer relationship with the fishing industry, and provide greatly improved information to the regional fishery management councils. Among the recommendations of the new strategy study are to:
Adapted from U.S. Coast Guard 1994 Overview; data as of August 1993.
• Saved 15 lives and assisted 330 people
• Saved $1.5 million in property
• Conducted 144 search-and-rescue missions
• Responded to 34 oil and hazardous chemical spills
• Boarded 90 large ships for port safety checks
• Inspected 64 commercial vessels
• Investigated 17 marine accidents
• Seized 318 pounds of marijuana and 253 pounds of cocaine (street value of $7.7 million)
• Serviced 150 aids to navigation
• Interdicted 112 illegal aliens
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> Evaluate the service’s proper role on the councils and the establishment of law-enforcement advisory panels on the councils.
► Increase the experience and rank requirements of the Coast Guard designates who attend the council meetings.
► Improve intelligence gathering and sharing that information with other federal agencies.
► Establish four regional fisheries-en- forcement training facilities so that Coast Guard enforcement personnel can keep abreast of changing fishery regulations and methods.
► Conduct shorter boardings and improve the knowledge of boarding personnel.
>■ Develop a method for assessing the effectiveness of fisheries enforcement and improving the adjudication process.
► Enhance the Coast Guard’s public- relations effort in this mission.
Deep-water Mission Analysis Effort: A major effort at Coast Guard Headquarters began in 1993 to review the service’s deep-water missions. The comprehensive set of analyses will look at the:
► Roles and functions of the Coast Guard's high- and medium-endurance cutters.
► Surveillance and information-collection efforts required within and beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
► Current and future status of Coast Guard aviation in the deep-water arena.
Other topics will include various law- enforcement requirements—including the interdiction of illegal migrants—reviewing potential marine-safety activities, and developing future scenarios which will suggest the levels of demand for Coast Guard presence in deep water. This entire effort is related to the future structure of the Coast Guard fleet when it will be necessary to proceed with proposals by the end of the century (or sooner) for replacement of the aging high- and medium-endurance cutters.
Transfer of the Pacific LORAN Chains: The full development of the satellite-based Global Positioning System eliminated the Department of Defense’s need for the Long Range Aid-to-Naviga- tion (LORAN) system. Therefore, beginning in 1992, the Coast Guard began to close or transfer to the host nations its remaining LORAN stations in the central and northwest Pacific. LORAN Station Barragada on Guam as well as those on Kure Island and Johnston Island and at Upolu Point, Hawaii, were closed in 1992. In 1993, the stations on Marcus Island. Iwo Jima, Hokkaido, and Gesashi were turned over to the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency (JMSA), which will continue to operate them in support of the Japanese coastal-freighter and fishing fleets. By 1995, the Coast Guard will have closed or transferred all of its LORAN stations.
New Acquisitions: Important progress was made during 1993 in the acquisition of two new assets which will have significant impact on the seagoing Coast Guard into the next century. Five pre- production models of a new 47-foot motor lifeboat were tested at Coast Guard units: Group Cape May, New Jersey; Stations Tillamock Bay and Umpqua River, Oregon; Station Oregon Inlet, North Carolina; and Station Gloucester, Massachusetts. The initial prototype boat has been undergoing testing for two years at the National Motor Lifeboat School at Ilwaco, Washington. Created to replace the aging 44-foot motor lifeboat, the 47-footer has a maximum speed of 25 knots (compared to 14 knots for the older boat) and is outfitted with advanced communications and navigation equipment. The new boat also can operate safely in gale-force winds and seas up to 20 feet.
A $40.7 million contract was awarded to Marinette Marine Corporation of Marinette, Wisconsin, for the construction of the first of the Coast Guard’s new class of 225-foot seagoing buoy tenders. The new Juniper class will replace the 50-year-old 180-foot tenders that have served the nation in a myriad of missions since World War II. Among the more notable facets of the design is a dynamic positioning system—which will allow her to hold position in difficult weather during buoy setting—and a built-in capability to respond to oil pollution incidents. The Juniper class will carry an oil- collection system that will filter vacuumed oil from the sea surface and store it on board in a 50,000-gallon tank. Any separated water will be pumped back overboard. The present plan is to replace 26 of the 180-foot tenders with 16 of these new ships during the next eight to ten years.
Near-Term Challenges
Late May 1994 will mark a time of transition for the Coast Guard as a new Commandant Vice Admiral Robert E. Kramek (now the Chief of Staff) takes the helm from Admiral J. William Kime. Admiral Kime’s tenure has been notable for the many significant changes he has implemented to make the Coast Guard a more modern and better-managed organization. It will be interesting to watch closely how many of these changes, some quite profound, will be carried into the future. Clearly with the current budget pressures, Admiral Kramek will be faced with decisions on how to make the Coast Guard more streamlined and efficient, while maintaining its high-quality service to a host of “customers.” The study groups mentioned earlier will assist him with those critical decisions. Since ocean
and maritime issues will have a difficult 1 time competing for visibility on the national policy agenda, the Coast Guard will have to be even more forceful and artic- , ^
ulate about its contributions to the nation’s security and its economic health.
A number of key challenges await the new Commandant:
> Meshing the Coast Guard’s strategic
planning efforts with those of the Department of Transportation (DoT) and the January 1994 DoT Strategic Plan. -*
> Further establishing and enhancing the : 11
Coast Guard’s role as a leading and v highly effective federal environmental e
agency. Sl
> Planning for expanded law-enforce- Sl
ment responsibilities associated with in- e
creased international migration of ille- P
gal aliens. ®
> Deciding on the expanded roles and J'
appropriate size of Coast Guard aviation. * a >• Developing a strategy for the poten- P
tial acquisition of a new deep-water fleet
that will come on line at the beginning ~ of the next century.
>• Closely monitoring the closings and cutbacks at Department of Defense facilities as to their possible effects on 1 support to the Coast Guard, particularly those services provided to Coast Guard personnel.
> Holding the line on losses to the quality of life of the entire Coast Guard work force.
>■ Continuing and enhancing the Coast Guard’s international role; advancing the position that the Coast Guard is an ideal role model for most of the world’s smaller navies and that its expertise could be more fully used to promote U.S. marine interests (and foreign policies) around the globe.
> Continuing to develop a more global approach to the management of the nation’s ports and navigable waterways; new strategies will be necessary if any expanded vessel traffic systems are to come on line during the next four years.
> Redefining where necessary the Coast Guard’s relationships with the U.S. Navy j and the Joint Chiefs of Staff organization. 1
The year of 1993 was a significant time of change for the federal government. in which the Coast Guard could formulate several new strategies to shape its own destiny. Many challenges will confront the Coast Guard during the final years of the 20th century. There is little doubt the service can remain the United States’s primary maritime operating agency if it continues to be creative and embraces change as a central attribute of the organization.
The former head of the Coast Guard’s Strategic Planning Staff, Captain Brigham now is the commanding officer of the USCGC Polar Sea (WAGB-11).