Secretary Napolitano Tours USCG Cutter

The Secretary just wrapped up a tour of the Coast Guard Cutter Aquidneck, a 110-foot patrol boat operating in the Persian Gulf. She was joined by Vice Admiral Robert Papp, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area and Defense Force East, and Captain Douglas Heugel, the Section Chief for Patrol Forces Southwest Asia. Vice Admiral Papp essentially oversees half the Coast Guard's operations worldwide.

The trio toured the boat and spoke to the crew of the Aquidneck about their mission and concerns for the department. The Aquidneck, led commanding officer Lieutenant Fred Bertsch, is currently deployed to the Persian Gulf and supports US Navy operations in the area.

Secretary Addresses Coast Guard Personnel

Just after touching down in Kuwait, Secretary Napolitano spoke to Coast Guard personnel stationed in Kuwait. She thanked them for their service, mindful of the fact that they will be on duty and away from their families on July 4th.

Most Americans will take time this weekend to celebrate our nation's independence. Let's remember the men and women of our armed forces who will continue the work to secure America's interests abroad.

Wheels Down: Kuwait

Secretary Napolitano just landed in Kuwait, kicking off the last leg of her trip. She met with and spoke to military personnel on the ground. Stay tuned, more to come.

Two Weeks Down. What's Next?

So it's been almost two weeks since we launched "The Blog @ Homeland Security." We've been posting some regular content, like the Morning Roundup, some highlights of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary’s travel, and of course, a lot of our statements and press releases. We've also started to get down to the purpose of the blog: transparency.

We've seen a lot of supportive comments roll in, and, naturally, we've seen some criticism as well. It's true, official blogging isn't easy. Look at this as an evolving discussion, a work in progress.

Secretary Napolitano just posted some thoughts on the Leadership Journal about her upcoming trip to Europe and Kuwait. We encourage you to check it out, and keep checking the blog while she's traveling. We'll be dedicating most of our posts next week to tracking her trip. We'll have some guests talking about how her trip, stop by stop, is connected to our efforts here at home.

Thanks for your interest. We're doing this because the President issued a call for transparency when he assumed the office, and Secretary Napolitano wants to answer it. And keep leaving comments – we're listening.