International Consensus on Small Boats

DHS policymakers spend a lot of time worrying about threats that haven’t happened yet. We also take a lot of grief from people who think that all our worrying is a waste of time—or, worse, an intentional strategy of fear-mongering. So it’s important to note those occasions when our worries have turned out to be on target.

The most recent such confirmation comes in the context of small boat terrorist attacks.

Two weeks ago, in Mumbai, India, terrorists seized a fishing vessel, killed its crew, navigated to Mumbai, and used small inflatable boats to come ashore for their attack.

DHS spent much of the last year on measures to reduce the risk that terrorists will be able to use small boats in an attack on this country.

In April, 2008, the Department developed a Small Vessel Security Strategy. The strategy outlines the goals and objectives that the Department component agencies, especially the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, will work toward. Supporting the strategy an interagency working group has been developing an implementation plan which in the coming weeks will outline the Department’s specific intentions. All of this effort has been done in coordination with the owners and operators of small vessels, including American fishing fleets, recreational craft associations, and commercial passenger and cargo vessels.

And less than a week ago, on December 5th, an international effort led by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, resulted in the approval by the International Maritime Organization of new guidelines for small vessel security.

A year in the making, the new guidelines provide recommendations for governments and the owners and operators of small vessels and related facilities such as marinas. The recommendations encourage the registry of vessels and the sharing of such registry information between governments, the installation of access controls at marinas and on small commercial craft, as well as guidance on how to conduct vessel searches.

Numerous delegations at the International Maritime Organization meeting expressed their intent to implement the guidelines within their domestic security programs.

Getting the international community to focus on terrorism, and especially on new terrorism threats, is not a job for the impatient, but this is a case where DHS was both patient and ahead of the curve, and the reward is that we were able to move swiftly once an international consensus emerged.

Stewart Baker
Assistant Secretary, Policy

Small Boats

The tragic terror attack in Mumbai and its maritime nexus represents further cause for action on an effective international and domestic approach to small vessel security. After hijacking a fishing vessel, the terrorists used off-the-shelf GPS technology to navigate from Karachi, Pakistan to Mumbai and then simply rowed ashore in inflatable dinghies. They didn’t make much of an effort to conceal their movements.

Such brazen activity would have been detected on land but the water is a much different environment. In the maritime domain, thousands of small vessels ply international or coastal waters with relative anonymity. With limited awareness offshore, law enforcement entities are forced to respond to unfolding maritime events instead of preventing them.

The Coast Guard articulated these challenges in a 2007 report.

The emergence of transnational threats: Transnational criminals, pirates, and terrorists seek to exploit the complexity of the maritime domain and the vulnerabilities of the global supply system. Weapons of mass destruction (WMD), contraband smuggling, and small vessel threats, such as water-borne improvised explosive devices (WBIEDs), represent the greatest risks from terrorism in the maritime domain. Today's trafficking of drugs, migrants, and contraband by criminals is becoming increasingly sophisticated and threatening as well.

The vastness, anonymity, and limited governance of the global maritime domain: The maritime domain, by its nature, creates its own challenges. Legitimate uses and criminal threats are growing in a realm that spans the globe, has limited governance, and provides little transparency of activity (particularly for smaller vessels). This creates tension between recognized legal regimes and the emerging need for greater security and safety -- U.S. Coast Guard Strategy for Maritime Safety, Security and Stewardship (Download PDF)

I recently wrote an article on the new approach needed to counter the small vessel threat consistent with our maritime security strategy. To mitigate the small vessel threat, law enforcement agencies need greater maritime domain awareness, appropriate legal regimes, and partnerships across the public and private sector to implement risk-based solutions. You can read the article (PDF).

There is no singular solution to the security threat presented by small vessels. The cooperative effort to reduce this threat, and mitigate potential impacts cuts across borders, jurisdictions and agencies. It requires a collaborative effort across government, the private sector and the international community.

Significant progress has been made to reduce the risks. Efforts have included technology, information sharing, improved operational capability, as well as legal regimes. Examples include:

• Improved international regulation through the International Maritime Organization
• International cooperative efforts to enhance global maritime domain awareness
• Department Small Vessel Security Summits and Strategy
• National Association of Boating Law Administrator initiatives to improve registration requirements
• Self-propelled Semi-submersible legislation
• Development of advanced interdiction capability and capacity

We must continue to work to further overlap our layers of defense and close the current gaps in our maritime security strategy. Our solutions need to be risk-based to identify the potential illicit actors while ensuring the free-flow of legitimate commercial traffic and the freedom of movement American boaters have come to expect.

Admiral Thad Allen

Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

Coast Guard Acquisition

Several blog and media reports have made a series of misrepresentations concerning the Department of Homeland Security's rescission and acquisition delegation of authority to the Coast Guard. Let me take this opportunity to help get it straight.

Some blog entries presented the acquisition decision as a disciplinary measure with negative ramifications for the Coast Guard. In fact, the language puts in writing a best practice that the Coast Guard voluntarily implemented.

Bottom line – the re-establishment of DHS as the acquisition decision authority formalizes an oversight structure that had effectively been in place since 2006; despite the delegation authority provided in 2003. Our Investment Review Process conducted reviews of the Coast Guard acquisition programs, including the various Deepwater projects and contracts, as documented in Acquisition Decision Memorandums. The formal rescission merely documents the operating procedures and demonstrates uniformity in the DHS acquisition management function as detailed in our new Acquisition Directive 102-01.

The Coast Guard marked a major milestone in July 2007 with a new consolidated acquisition directorate. Rear Adm. Gary T. Blore, leads the enterprise as assistant commandant for acquisition, managing an investment portfolio worth more than a billion dollars of investment annually.

It should be noted that Rear Adm. Blore welcomed the acquisition decision since brings Deepwater into the fold of the normal acquisition process. This re-establishment of DHS as the acquisition decision authority restores the checks and balances the Department needs, and it provides full transparency to our acquisition process.

On Nov. 7, Rear Adm. Blore clarified for his entire directorate several misrepresentations made in traditional and social media outlets concerning the Department of Homeland Security's rescission of its delegation of authority to the Coast Guard for acquisition of Deepwater projects.

The Coast Guard has made remarkable progress to improve their programs across the board, and I have complete faith in their acquisition program. Without a doubt, they turned the corner from early acquisition errors.

Elaine C. Duke
Under Secretary for Management

Identity of the Guardian

Last week I formally introduced the Guardian Ethos to all the men and women of the Coast Guard. As the Coast Guard modernizes, the Guardian Ethos will assist the Coast Guard in tying our military, maritime, multi-mission character to a more tangible identity; an identity that will resonate with our people, our external partners, and customers alike.

About a year ago, our training center at Cape May was charged with refining their curriculum to support the development of a more physically fit apprentice who had internalized the Coast Guard’s culture, character, and core values as depicted in Publication Number One – the Coast Guard’s capstone doctrine. During this process, the Guardian Ethos was created.



The Guardian Ethos is not intended to replace the Coast Guard Creed. The Creed is a contract an individual makes with the Coast Guard; the Ethos is different – it defines the essence of the Coast Guard and could be viewed as the contract the Coast Guard and its members make with the nation and its citizens.

The Coast Guard has served the American public for over 200 years. The surge capabilities inherent in a military organization combined with multiple authorities/competencies due to our multi-mission nature make us unique in government and of great value to our nation. However, because we are so multi-faceted, from time to time we are not well understood.

The Guardian Ethos is the essence of our service – it is who we are. Dating back to the days of the Steamboat Inspection Service, The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, the U.S. Life Saving Service, and the U.S Lighthouse Service, we have a proud history of serving the citizens of the United States in the maritime domain, providing safety, security and stewardship. As America’s maritime guardians, we protect them, we defend them, and we save them. We are their shield, and we stand always ready for the call to duty. We live the Coast Guard Core Values. Individually, we are each guardians, who have sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution and who adhere to the Coast Guardsman’s Creed. Together we are the United States Coast Guard.

The adoption of the Guardian Ethos provides us with a consistent service-wide term for our people. We also know that guardians honor the past but must continually look to the future and adapt. To protect, defend, and save today and tomorrow, we must understand that change and modernization are consistent with our Guardian Ethos. As guardians, we will continually change and improve our Coast Guard.

We are Guardians.

Admiral Thad Allen
Commandant, United States Coast Guard

Diversity and Readiness

To the Men and Women of the United States Coast Guard and our Shipmates in the Department of Homeland Security.

I was pleased this week to address the Annual National Naval Officers Association (NNOA) in Portsmouth, Va. From their website, “The National Naval Officers Association (NNOA) actively supports the Sea Services in recruiting, retaining, and developing the careers of minority officers. The NNOA provides professional development and mentoring for its members. The NNOA continues to establish and maintain a positive image of the Sea Services in minority communities and educational institutions.”

This year’s conference was particularly meaningful because it coincided with the 60th Anniversary of Executive Order 9981 which was signed by President Truman on 26 July 1948. Executive Order 9981 ended segregation in the armed forces and required that “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.” Since then, there has been great progress made in the Armed Forces since the end of World War II to remove barriers and ensure equality among all of those who serve our country in uniform.

That said challenges still remain to ensure our Coast Guard is an inclusive service that values and promotes diversity. Diversity is a concept that extends far beyond the traditional legal notions of equal opportunity and civil rights. Diversity is really the broad representation of culture, religion, values, ethnicity, gender, education, life experience, professional qualification, and the other many things that make us unique as individuals.

As I noted in my remarks at NNOA inclusion of diverse individuals and viewpoints produces better decisions and action in organizations. I really see diversity as a readiness issue that all of our senior leaders and unit commanding officers must consider as one of the keys to effective mission execution.

To that end, I believe we must redouble our commitment to creating a more diverse workforce in the Coast Guard. For the last several months I have been working with my diversity advisors, listening to feedback from the Diversity Advisory Council, and talking to our units in the field. Together with the Vice Commandant, VADM Vivien Crea, and with the support of senior leaders, we intend to implement a series of initiatives aimed at improving our diversity at accession points and increasing retention through improved career development and management.

I outlined the initial steps we intend to take in my remarks at the NNOA Conference.

• We will enhance senior leader participation with Minority Serving Institutions including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, those institutions affiliated with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and Tribal Council Institutions.


• We will increase attendance by senior leaders and commanding officers at national conferences of affinity groups such as NNOA, the Association of Naval Services Officers, Coast Guard Women’s Leadership Association and Blacks in Government.


• I have directed that Officer Evaluation Reports for junior officers be signed by the reported on officer before the report is forwarded from the command to establish parity with our enlisted evaluation system.


• We will expand the use of Individual Development Plans to all O-4s and E-6s and below.


• We will focus our College Student Pre-commissioning Initiative (CSPI) toward institutions with more diverse student populations.


• Finally, we will begin a pilot program to promote Coast Guard career opportunities for diverse candidates in the Baltimore, Md area.

Instituting these changes will take time, but we are committed to moving forward “at best speed.” Our Assistant Commandant for Human Resources will provide updates on these items and future endeavors through a series of messages. Some initiatives, such as the IDP program which have the potential to increase workload will be piloted first to ensure we get it right.

There are more changes coming, but as we refine our strategy and deploy it, I want to make sure you have a voice. I want to hear your ideas on how we can develop a diverse workforce to improve mission effectiveness. Please comment on this journal posting so others can see and build on your ideas. I previously asked all Coast Guard personnel to direct our Guardian Ethos towards each other, those who serve beside us. This initiative is in keeping with that Ethos and I ask for your active involvement.

Admiral Thad Allen
Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

Tool Needed to Prosecute Drug Traffickers Using Subs

I commend the Government of Mexico and the Mexican Navy for their superb interdiction of a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel carrying more than 10,000 pounds of cocaine last Wednesday. This was a remarkable example of the value of active international cooperation in combating drug smugglers and the great effectiveness of the U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South. The professionalism demonstrated by the CBP Marine aircrew, JIATF-South and Mexican Navy was one of the most impressive international interdictions I have seen in my 37-year career and sends a clear signal to drug traffickers and other transnational criminals that there is a unified effort to secure our maritime borders from all hazards.

SPSS vessels represent an increasingly significant threat to our safety and security. These vessels, which can be both manned and operated remotely, can transport multi-ton loads of cocaine and other illicit cargo to the U.S. The use of SPSS vessels has grown in recent years as a means to counter effective interdiction efforts. The SPSS, once perceived as an impractical and risky smuggling tool, has proven successful as an innovative and highly mobile, asymmetrical method of conveyance. After just 23 total SPSS events between 2000 and 2007, drug trafficking organizations conducted at least 45 SPSS transits during the first six months of FY 2008. SPSS now account for 32% of all maritime cocaine flow in the transit zone.

Success against this emerging threat requires a multi-faceted approach, including: international cooperation and coordination; a persistent patrol presence in the transit zone; active intelligence gathering and sharing; and effective legislation to facilitate prosecution. As demonstrated by last week’s case, the U.S. and its partners have the ability to aggressively pursue and interdict SPSS vessels, but it is the legislative piece that is currently missing. The Mexican Navy’s interdiction notwithstanding, the overwhelming majority of SPSS interdictions result in the successful scuttling of the vessel with its entombed cargo of cocaine. Absent contraband evidence, there are few practical options under existing U.S. law to pursue prosecution.

If operation of and embarkation in an SPSS were illegal, U.S. interdiction forces and U.S. Attorneys would have the necessary legal tools to combat the SPSS threat even in the absence of recovered drugs or other contraband. Criminalizing the operation of stateless SPSS vessels on international voyages would improve officer safety, deter the use of these inherently dangerous vessels, and facilitate effective prosecution of criminals involved in this treacherous and emerging trend.

The penalty for any SPSS offense should be sufficiently strong to deter use and encourage cooperation by those interdicted at sea. Because the desired legislation is limited to stateless SPSS and submarines on international voyages, the law would not affect legitimate business users and law abiding hobbyists.

We strongly support the legislation introduced in both the House and Senate and urge passage of this legislation to enhance both national and regional security and fully empower our ongoing interdiction efforts.

Admiral Thad W. Allen
Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

Living the Guardian Ethos

Memorial Day means many things to the American people and to all of us who serve, or have family who serve in the armed forces. As we honor those who gave their lives for this country, we celebrate their service, selflessness, and heroism. For the Coast Guard, Memorial Day also marks the start of our busiest season, as 17 million recreational boaters kick off their summers on the water. It is also the time our role as “guardians” is most visible to the public.

Throughout the summer, we are engaged as “guardians” across the full spectrum of operations and missions. Our men and women stay busy 24/7 keeping boaters safe, protecting the maritime environment from pollutants, and preserving our fragile living marine resources. We prepare our service and our communities for hurricane season on the East, Gulf and Southern coasts. We patrol the Arctic as the winter ice recedes, and we maintain our vigilance in the Caribbean and along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, keeping drug traffickers and migrant smugglers from reaching our shores.

At the same time, we keep our ports secure and commerce flowing safely and expediently around the world. In the midst of all these activities, our men and women are often transferring to new duty stations, training to maintain qualifications, or picking up the responsibilities of fellow crewmembers involved in this cycle of work and growth. We find ourselves acting as guardians to both our communities and our shipmates.

Recently, we’ve had a lot of discussion in the service about what it means to be a “guardian.” Memorial Day provides a rare moment to reflect on this role, before we launch into the throws of summer. A Coast Guardsman named Harry Hamlet, who served as our Commandant three quarters of a century ago, was one of the first to contemplate our ethos. Vice Admiral Hamlet penned the Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman, the words of his generation that expressed our service’s core values. The creed is a personal vow of character, specifically service, self-sacrifice, and courage. He also implored Coast Guard members to be model citizens in our communities and to possess a “cheerful and helpful demeanor.” His creed became the pledge of the men and women in the Coast Guard for generations to come.

During my tenure as Commandant, our senior enlisted leadership developed another pledge – what has been coined our "Guardian Ethos." It complements Admiral Hamlet’s creed. The Guardian Ethos defines who we are and is akin to a contract between members of the Coast Guard and the American people. Although in name and style, it matches the “Warrior Ethos,” it contains a few differences that shape our identity as a service. While both the pledges speak of serving and defending America, the “Guardian Ethos” goes on to say “I will save them. I am their Shield.” This is really the essence of the Coast Guard today, though it dates back to the days when the Coast Guard was the Steamboat Inspection Service, the Revenue Cutter Service, and the Life Saving and Lighthouse Services. We have a proud history of serving the nation and our communities in the maritime domain both in wartime and peace. And our core values remain focused on saving lives and protecting both people and the environment. We will always be America’s Maritime Guardian.

On this Memorial Day, as we honor the men and women who gallantly gave their lives for this nation, let’s pay homage to those living the Warrior and Guardian Ethos. Courageous and selfless young men and women within the Department of Homeland Security and in all of the armed forces serve with distinction throughout this country and around the world in countless ways. They keep America and Americans free and safe while making the world a better place for all of us. Their commitment, as well as that of their families, symbolizes the pride, strength and idealism of this great nation.

Admiral Thad W. Allen
Commandant U.S. Coast Guard

A Fresh Look at Port Security

It often amazes me how certain myths about our Department’s efforts continue to endure despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Take port security, for example. I regularly see stories in the media asserting that our nation’s seaports are insecure as if we’ve done nothing since 9/11 to protect them. Just yesterday, a columnist for the New York Times casually repeated that claim.

I suspect a lot of this venting is simply intellectual laziness by those who prefer to recycle old sound bites rather than do their homework. In some cases, a deeper misunderstanding is taking place about how ports function in the real world. I’m referring to those who contend that because we don’t physically inspect every one of the 11 million shipping containers arriving at our ports each year, our entire system of security is compromised. Incidentally, those same individuals never explain that if we did open every box, there’d be a line of ships stretching across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans waiting to enter our country.

As we approach our Department’s fifth anniversary, I’d like to step back for a moment and take a fresh look at what we’ve done since 9/11 to protect our ports and maritime commerce, and hopefully dispel some of the stubborn inaccuracies that continue to persist.

First of all, it is factually wrong to suggest we’ve shortchanged funding for our ports. In fact, we’ve invested more than $16 billion to date. This includes funding for the Coast Guard’s port security operations, deployment of our personnel and equipment overseas, research into science and technology development, $1.39 billion in port security grants to states and port authorities, and hardening of physical assets and infrastructure.

Second, we’ve pushed our security perimeter outward so that we can identify and interdict suspicious cargo before it even has a chance to threaten our country. We now require information and intelligence on every single U.S. bound shipping container before it’s loaded onto a foreign ship. We’ve stationed CBP officers at 58 overseas ports accounting for 86 percent of the container traffic that comes to the United States. We’ve deployed equipment overseas to scan cargo for radiation before it leaves for our country. And we’ve proposed new regulations to collect more commercial data from the private sector so we can better track international shipments.

Third, we’ve taken common-sense measures to protect our ports here at home. Every major port and maritime facility in our country must now file a security plan with the Coast Guard that identifies its vulnerabilities and sets a plan to address them. We’ve enrolled close to 80,000 maritime workers into our Transportation Worker Identification Credential program, which provides secure identification to workers who pass terrorist and criminal background checks. Most significantly, we now scan virtually 100 percent of containers for radiation upon their arrival to prevent the entry of potential weapons of mass destruction. Prior to 9/11, we scanned zero percent of such cargo.

Have we achieved perfect security at our ports? Of course not. No human endeavor will ever achieve perfection and no system of security is infallible. But we have dramatically elevated our protection and built successive layers of security that have made our ports more secure than they have ever been. And we’ve done this without destroying the underlying reason for having ports in the first place – the efficient movement of people and commerce.

Those who don’t put in the effort to get their facts straight, or who use misinformation to suggest we are ignoring our maritime sector, are not serving their readers or the American people. They also do a disservice to the men and women who stand watch over our ports and our frontlines every day.

Michael Chertoff

State of the Coast Guard

Yesterday I delivered my second State of the Coast Guard address at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. In this annual address to the Coast Guard, our interagency partners and our maritime stakeholders, I focused on the Coast Guard’s future – the strategy, legislation, and budget we need to build a 21st Century Coast Guard.

Since becoming Commandant nearly two years ago, I’ve traveled across the country and around the world to meet personally with thousands of Coast Guard active duty, reserve, Auxiliary and civilian employees. I made a commitment to them that we would provide the equipment, support and training they needed do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. I pledged to continue to recapitalize our aging fleet and command and control systems. I’m pleased to report that we are seeing the results of those efforts right now.

The Coast Guard’s first major cutter to be built in more than 25 years, the National Security Cutter Bertholf, successfully completed sea trials this week and we are preparing to missionize three new HC-144 Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft. We are also well underway in our reorganization of our force structure, having made significant progress across all fronts to modernize and transform the service over the past year and a half. More importantly, we’ve provided a vital service to the American public and reached new milestones in our history in the past year, such as the removal of a record-breaking 350,000 pounds of cocaine at sea and our celebration of a million lives saved since 1790.

Going forward, the Coast Guard cannot rest on our reputation or remain fixated on our wake. Now is the time to build a 21st Century Coast Guard, one that will be responsive to the environment as it evolves around us. As a unique instrument of national security, we will work closer than ever with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to put our cooperative maritime strategy in action. As America’s lifesavers and guardians, we will enhance our marine safety program, develop our intelligence and maritime domain awareness, and take action to restore our polar icebreaking fleet, as we prepare to operate in an increasingly open Arctic. We also need to grow the Coast Guard. We cannot continue to meet the ever growing needs and higher expectations of our citizens with a workforce that is essentially no bigger than it was 50 years ago. That is why I will fight for every penny of the President’s FY09 $9.3 billion budget request. It is a down payment on the future of America’s Coast Guard.

Never before has this nation relied so heavily on our oceans and waterways for the safety, security and prosperity of all Americans. And never before has this nation relied so much on its Coast Guard to protect the environment and our keep our communities safe and secure. We will answer that call.

All threats. All hazards. Always ready.

Admiral Thad Allen
Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

What a Difference a Year Makes

About a year ago, the Coast Guard’s $24 billion Deepwater capital acquisition program to replace and modernize virtually our entire fleet of offshore cutters, boats, aircraft, and command and control systems over 25 years, came under intense public scrutiny. The DHS Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, our Congressional overseers, and others voiced concern with significant challenges we faced in performance, cost and schedule. At the time, we committed to taking strong, decisive action to improve Coast Guard management and oversight of this vital modernization program. Here’s where the program stands today.

Much of the criticism last year centered around eight 110-foot patrol boats among a fleet of 49 boats kept well beyond their planned service life in a failed attempt to lengthen them to get additional years of service. These efforts did not live up to their promise, and we have since rescinded our acceptance. We will replace the remainder of our 110-foot patrol boats with a new fleet of 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRC), the first of which will begin to enter service in 2010. To speed project completion and increase competition in the market, we took the FRC project outside of the Deepwater contract last year and issued a request for proposals in record time. We are currently reviewing those proposals and look forward to announcing a new contract award this spring. In the interim, we have increased patrol days for some of the remaining patrol boats using the crews of the laid up cutters and are in the process of procuring four additional new 87-foot patrol boats.

Another area of significant concern focused on the fatigue life of our newest Deepwater cutter, the 418-foot National Security Cutter (NSC). In response to these concerns, we worked tirelessly with our own engineers, industry and our Navy counterparts to identify structural design modifications needed to help ensure a 30-year service life. We also undertook a significant re-structuring of the NSC project contract with industry last year. This has resulted in better conditions and cost control for the government while resolving numerous outstanding contractual issues that existed for more than two years.

We suspended work on our Vertical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VUAV) project due to our concerns with the technological maturity of the designs offered. We are studying several alternative technologies and continue to research the best way forward that will meet our surveillance and reconnaissance requirements, possibly in concert with other DHS efforts.

These improvements in the Deepwater program are the direct result of aggressive oversight and management reforms implemented in the past year to put the program back on track. We changed the way we are doing business overall by improving the organizations, policies and processes that govern how we acquire ships, aircraft and equipment. We call this strategy for business transformation our “Blueprint for Acquisition Reform.”

In July, we reached another milestone when we stood up the consolidated Acquisition Directorate (CG-9), which is comprised of several legacy acquisition offices, including the Deepwater Program Office. The new directorate manages services and supports a $27 billion investment portfolio that includes more than 20 major acquisition projects, including the Rescue 21, the Nationwide Automated Identification System (NAIS), and our Response Boat – Medium projects. Our vision for the directorate sets a new course for our acquisition community. This will enable us to be more effective in how we apply our resources; in the way we direct our workforce to the highest priorities in contracting and program management; in acquisition workforce professional development; and in our standard acquisition policies and processes.

We are just beginning to see the fruits of our labor as a result of many of the acquisition program changes made in the past year. USCGC BERTHOLF (WMSL 750), the first of eight NSC’s to be built, recently completed machinery trials as one step leading to commissioning next year. USCGC WAESCHE (WMSL 751) is thirty percent complete and we will cut steel for the third ship, USCGC HAMILTON (WMSL 752), next year. We also took delivery of three new HC-144 Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft and started construction on five more, upgraded our entire fleet of 95 HH-65C Dolphin helicopters with more powerful engines, and added new sensors and communication systems aboard 35 of our legacy Medium Endurance Cutters in the past year. Our Mission Effectiveness Project to sustain and refurbish our legacy fleet of 110-foot coastal patrol boats and both classes of medium endurance cutters is in on schedule and within budget. I had the opportunity to fly aboard the first MH-60T Jayhawk going through conversion at our Aircraft Repair and Supply Center in Elizabeth City, NC recently and was impressed with its significant improvements in state-of-the-art sensors, navigation and communications. This coming summer, the first of six newly missionized C130J Hercules long range surveillance aircraft will be operational. Moreover, we are seeing real results in the execution of our vital missions as a result of Deepwater, having removed more cocaine at sea (161 metric tons) than in any other year in our history of drug interdiction and set a new altitude record in the course of an HH-65C rescue in the state of Washington.

Undoubtedly, we will face additional challenges in the future as we struggle with simultaneously maintaining an obsolete fleet of ships and aircraft while we introduce a new fleet of more capable ships and aircraft into service. Yet, I am confident that the Deepwater program is back on course and optimistic that we will prevail in doing both to the best of our ability. Make no mistake about it. Deepwater is underway and making way.

Admiral Thad W. Allen
Commandant U.S. Coast Guard

America’s Lifesavers vs. Northwest Floods

Last week, a life-threatening storm, the Pineapple Express, swept through the Pacific Northwest. Within hours, hurricane-force winds with gusts close to 130 mph and torrential rains caused record-breaking floods throughout the region. Thousands of residents were stranded when major highways quickly became rivers, cutting off those who needed help. Communities throughout Oregon and Washington flooded like never before, taking the lives of ten people. The Coast Guard closed all river bars from Tillamook, Oregon, north to the Straits of Juan De Fuca, and pre-positioned additional people and equipment in advance of the storm.

Coast Guard rescuers saved more than three hundred people and six pets, in our biggest mass rescue operation since Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast more than two years ago. Working hand-in-hand with our local, state and Federal emergency response partners, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, air and boat crews rescued and evacuated storm victims from some of the most remote and inaccessible locations. In order to assist such a large number of people in distress, our local commanders brought in reinforcement from as far away as San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. These Coast Guard men and women demonstrated selflessness and devotion to duty, concentrating on rescuing others despite being without power and communications at home and work, and having little contact with their own families. One Coast Guard watchstander stood 26 hours of continuous watch, coordinating landing zone logistics and air operations in Chehalis, Washington.

During one rescue operation, a Coast Guard aircrew helped evacuate a mother and her premature newborn baby. The infant was suffering from respiratory distress and needed transport to another hospital’s neonatal unit. The aircrew from Air Station Port Angeles responded by attending to the mother while another crewmember provided manual breathing for the newborn. The baby survived by breathing through a tube during the one hour in flight, while both mother and child were being safely transported to the hospital.

We also reached out to more than 500 volunteers through our regional Citizen’s Action Network to assist us in locating people in distress, identifying pollution incidents, and responding to discrepancies in aids to navigation as a result of the record flooding.

Coast Guard men and women, with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security, are deployed all across the country and stand ready to respond to all threats and hazards as we carry out our duties as America’s lifesavers and guardians of the seas.

Admiral Thad W. Allen
Commandant U.S. Coast Guard

Guarding Our Coasts Since 1790

Today marks another milestone in Coast Guard history. This afternoon, I joined Director John Walters of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Mike Braun, Chief of Operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration, to announce that the Coast Guard seized more than 350,000 pounds of cocaine at sea this year, a record-breaking 160 metric tons worth an estimated street value of more than $4.7 billion. That’s half of the Coast Guard’s annual budget and surpasses all of our previous seizure records.

Our success is the direct result of Coast Guard men and women doing the hard things expected of those who “guard our coasts.” Every day, we execute this dangerous mission hundreds of miles from our borders to keep illegal drugs from reaching our shores where they threaten our families, our schools, and our communities here at home.



We are not alone in our efforts. We have tremendous cooperation among more than two dozen other nations throughout the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that make up the transit zone. Together with our federal law enforcement partners, Department of Defense counterparts, the Joint Interagency Task Force South, and 26 other nations in and around the transit zone, we are sharing more intelligence and rapidly deploying interdiction forces to seize more drugs than we ever have before. Whether suspected smugglers transit far offshore on the high seas to avoid detection or seek refuge in the territorial waters of coastal states, they ultimately cannot hide from the sights of our international partners who share in our determination to rid ourselves of this transnational threat to our collective safety and security.

We have the best interagency coordination and collaboration among our federal law enforcement partners and Department of Defense counterparts I have seen in more than 35 years in law enforcement. Following each successful seizure, our joint task forces for investigating and prosecuting drug cases, like Operation Panama Express, produce real-time, actionable intelligence to continuously improve our targeting. Our intelligence-based operations are great examples of the kind of interagency teamwork and coordination that exists among Customs and Border Protection, ICE, DEA, the Coast Guard, and other Homeland Security and Department of Justice agencies. This intelligence and information sharing among federal, state, local and international organizations is unprecedented and is shutting down drug traffickers.

New interdiction tools and tactics are forcing drug smugglers to go to greater lengths to change their own tactics in an effort to avoid detection and interdiction at sea. Smugglers are secreting cocaine into liquids, employing semi-submersible vessels that float just above the surface, and using less-traveled, lengthier routes far into the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to hide and evade law enforcement. Today, we are employing some of the most sophisticated, interoperable and capable hardware in our history to interdict smugglers at sea. Naval combatants from the U.S., Denmark, Great Britain and France routinely embark Coast Guard law enforcement teams for counterdrug patrols.

Our counterdrug strategy is working as we see growing amounts of drugs seized before they reach our shores. While the numbers are impressive, they don’t tell the whole story. The impact of these efforts is also unprecedented. This is made clear by the reduced supply of cocaine observed in more than 35 major cities throughout the United States.

In the last ten years alone, the Coast Guard has seized more than two million pounds of cocaine. With interagency teamwork, collaboration with our international partners, and ever-more effective tools and tactics, we will continue to tighten the web of detection and interdiction at sea, as we secure our maritime borders and keep illegal drugs out of the country.

For more than 200 years, the Coast Guard has been enforcing our nation’s laws and protecting our borders. Make no mistake about it: Our courageous men and women in law enforcement and those who support them are having a real impact on drug smugglers today. We can all sleep a little more soundly knowing the Coast Guard is on patrol.

Admiral Thad W. Allen
Commandant U.S. Coast Guard

The Cosco Busan Oil Spill--Finding Answers

Last weekend, I flew to San Francisco to get a first-hand look at the Coast Guard’s response and the ongoing cleanup of a 58,000-gallon fuel oil spill in the Bay. I met with local and state officials, received a briefing from the Unified Command, and conducted an overflight of the area to assess the damage and cleanup operations. Every place I went, I witnessed overwhelming unity and support from Bay area residents. They are a dedicated and compassionate people who care deeply about their community. We owe them a great debt of gratitude for their help in responding to this preventable incident.

What happened: On November 7th, the 900-foot container ship Cosco Busan with a full crew and San Francisco Bar pilot aboard struck the tower supporting the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in a heavy fog. The allision resulted in a 200 foot long tear to the port side of the ship that ripped open several fuel tanks. Members of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco responded to initial reports to assess the damage and begin coordinating cleanup operations. Coast Guard pollution investigators were on scene within an hour of initial notification. A Unified Command comprised of the Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Game, and a contractor hired to represent the ship’s owner, was established to coordinate and manage the oil spill cleanup operations in accordance with the National Response Plan and the local Area Contingency Plan.

What We’re Doing: As of Friday, more than 1,000 people have been assigned to the cleanup operation and approximately 16,000 gallons of oil has been recovered from the water and surrounding shoreline. Six shoreline assessment teams have been deployed in support of 16 cleanup teams working on more than 27 beaches in five counties. More than 20,000 feet of protective boom has been put in place to protect sensitive areas and reduce the spread of any remaining oil on the surface. Regrettably, more than 800 oiled birds have died, while 800 more have been captured for rehabilitation. Most of the observable oil on the surface of the waters has been recovered, and cleanup crews are now focusing their efforts on cleaning shoreline beaches.

The National Transportation Safety Board initiated an investigation into the allision. They will examine the performance of the master, pilot and crew, as well as the operation and maintenance of equipment and navigation systems. In addition, a Coast Guard marine casualty investigation for the purpose of taking appropriate measures for promoting safety of life and property at sea has begun.

What I’m Doing: While these investigations are ongoing and all of the facts have not yet been determined, it is clear that there was some miscommunication in the first day after the allision occurred as the Unified Command struggled to determine the actual amount of oil spilled into the Bay. Many have criticized the delay in reporting of the actual amount of fuel spilled. Everyone potentially impacted by this environmental crisis, from the fishermen, to the families in the Bay area, to the environmental preservationists who enjoy and rely on the Bay, deserve to know what happened. I understand their concerns and frustration and am committed to getting answers.

That is why I directed the Coast Guard Chief of Staff to initiate an Incident Specific Preparedness Review (ISPR). It will examine the implementation and effectiveness of the Area Contingency Plan and its integration with other applicable contingency plans at the federal, state, and local levels. The review will also carefully evaluate the effectiveness of the Coast Guard’s oil spill response and communications efforts, as well as the overall preparedness system. The Incident Specific Preparedness Review includes membership of federal, local, state, and industry stakeholders. The ISPR will inform actions by the Coast Guard and others to produce positive, effective preparedness improvements that will benefit the San Francisco Bay region, as well as other regions of the country.

Members of the Cosco Busan Incident Specific Preparedness Review will include representatives from:

• The City of San Francisco
• The State of California
• Pacific States - British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force
• Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• U.S. Coast Guard (Chairman)
• An appropriate member of a broadly representative environmental coalition

The members will provide my Chief of Staff with an initial report within 90 days. I am committed to ensuring this review is done in the most timely and transparent manner possible and will make it available to the public upon its completion. The results of the review will also be made available to the NTSB, marine casualty investigators, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for San Francisco in support of any ongoing or potential investigations.

I consider it my duty and a personal responsibility to the people of the San Francisco Bay Area, the State of California, and our own people to conduct a comprehensive, high level assessment of our performance in the critical hours after the Cosco Busan spilled thousands of gallons of oil into the Bay. While we would not normally initiate an Incident Specific Preparedness Review during the course of an ongoing cleanup operation, I have determined that due to the severity of this incident and the potential benefits in identifying areas to improve response coordination and communication in the future, it is imperative that we get this review underway as quickly as possible. This action underscores the commitment I have made to Secretary Chertoff, Governor Schwarzenegger and our Congressional leadership. We will not rest until we know what happened, why it happened, and what we can do to improve preparedness and response in the future.

Admiral Thad W. Allen
Commandant U.S. Coast Guard

Marine Safety and Security--Two Sides of the Same Coin

Since the attacks of 9/11, the Coast Guard has adapted to meet the growing needs of the nation and the challenges surrounding new and evolving threats of the 21st century. We have grown and taken on new missions while moving from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security. Some members of Congress and within the commercial maritime industry have expressed concern recently that the Coast Guard’s emphasis on protecting the homeland from terrorism detracts from other Coast Guard missions, like our marine safety program.

I am committed to our long-standing legacy missions as much as I am to our expanded homeland security mission, especially since marine safety and security are not mutually exclusive. They are both vital to our national interests and must be closely coordinated to be effective. The fact is, safety and security are two sides of the same coin. It is precisely that paradigm that makes the Coast Guard so effective and efficient. We employ a unique combination of military, humanitarian, and federal law enforcement authorities and capabilities to keep our waterways and critical maritime infrastructure safe and secure. Our greatest strength is our responsive, flexible and adaptive character. We are always ready – for all maritime threats and hazards.

In the past six months alone, Coast Guard men and women have responded to the call for help on the high seas from mariners and ships hailing from across the globe – from the Bering Sea to the Gulf of Mexico. Like most emergencies at sea, these situations were complicated and required much more than simply rescuing mariners in distress. They involved crewmembers and cargos from around the world, as well as the potential for major oil spills.

Today, more than ever before, our safety, security and environmental stewardship missions are inextricably linked like the interwoven threads of knitted blanket. Remove one thread and the others begin to unravel.

Many of you may think of the Coast Guard as lifesavers and guardians. Saving lives is one of our first and proudest missions, but we believe preventing maritime disasters is just as important as responding to them when they do occur. The Coast Guard is a world leader in helping prevent accidents at sea and maintaining the security of cargo and ports. Our marine safety program is responsible for ensuring the safe operation and navigation of some 20,000 U.S. and foreign-flagged vessels.

Each year, Coast Guard inspectors conduct more than 70,000 domestic vessel inspections and 10,000 port state control exams to help safeguard maritime commerce, international trade and supply chain security. Trained investigators also conduct 14,000 casualty, suspension and revocation, and civil penalty cases annually to investigate marine accidents and violations. These investigations help prevent future maritime tragedies and leverage lessons-learned to make maritime commerce safer. All of these duties are carried out by a cadre of approximately 1,000 trained uniformed and civilian inspectors, investigators and port state control officers stationed all across the nation and around the world.

Our marine safety program needs to grow to keep pace with significant expansion in the worldwide maritime industry, and we are working toward that end. This August, I commissioned a review of our marine safety program and on September 25, I provided a comprehensive plan to Congress (Enhancing the Coast Guard Marine Safety Program). The plan outlines more than a dozen new initiatives under three broader program goals that I intend to pursue and implement with the support of Congress, in cooperation with the commercial marine industry. The first goal is to improve major marine safety program capacity, competency and performance. The second goal is to enhance service delivery to mariners and industry customers. The third goal is to expand outreach and advisory mechanisms for industry and maritime communities.

We are also modernizing the Coast Guard – improving our organizational structure so that in any maritime incident, we can get our folks where they need to be, with the right training and equipment, in the quickest way possible. To better serve the American public, we also brought together our rapidly deployable emergency response teams under one Deployable Operations Group command, whose skills and capabilities complement those of other Federal, state and local response agencies. Like the rest of the Coast Guard, these highly trained deployable teams carry out a broad range of safety, security and environmental protection missions.

As I told the Propeller Club of DC a few weeks ago, as we work to improve our Marine Safety program and our service delivery structure, we will remain focused on all of our core roles and missions. The Coast Guard will always be about protecting our citizens, our communities, the marine environment, and U.S. economic and security interests within our ports and inland waterways, along our coasts, and around the globe. Just as we have for 217 years, America’s Coast Guard will be there to keep all of us safe and secure.

Admiral Thad W. Allen
Commandant U.S. Coast Guard