Coast Guard Outlook 2017-2018 Edition

2017-2018 EDITION

Coast Guard Hurricane Response INTERVIEW: Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft UPDATE: Offshore Patrol Cutters & Inland Tenders

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CONTENTS

8 INTERVIEW: Adm. Paul Zukunft Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard

By Craig Collins

20 Answering the Call In an unprecedented 2017 hurricane season, Coast Guard first responders helped to mount historic rescue and recovery efforts.

By Craig Collins

28 Put to the Test Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft took a few minutes in mid-October to talk with Coast Guard Outlook about the Coast Guard and its response to hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria – all within a month.

By Rhonda Carpenter

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34 The Fourth Coast The U.S. Coast Guard in the Arctic

By Craig Collins

42 Serving Forward in the Arabian Gulf

By Edward Lundquist

46 The Black Hull Fleet Aging inland construction tenders continue to perform their missions.

By J.R. Wilson

50 Icebreakers Are Vital to U.S. Presence in the Polar Regions

By Edward Lundquist

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CONTENTS

56 INTERVIEW: Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

Ranking Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

By Rhonda Carpenter

62

Coast Guard Aviation Assets A 21st century air fleet

By Craig Collins

66 Offshore Patrol Cutters: Highest Acquisition Priority

By Edward Lundquist

70 Eyes in the Sky The Coast Guard’s unmanned aircraft program

By Craig Collins

74 Fast Response Cutters: Game-changers for Interdiction

By Edward Lundquist

78 Coast Guard Cybersecurity

By J.R. Wilson

82 The Cutters, Boats, and Aircraft of the U.S. Coast Guard

116 Organizational Snapshot

118 Flag Leadership

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2017-2018 EDITION Published by Faircount Media Group 4915 Cypress St. Tampa, FL 33607 Tel: 813.639.1900 www.defensemedianetwork.com www.faircount.com EDITORIAL Editor in Chief: Chuck Oldham Managing Editor: Ana E. Lopez Editor: Rhonda Carpenter Contributing Writers: Rhonda Carpenter Craig Collins, Edward Lundquist, J.R. Wilson DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Art Director: Robin K. McDowall Designer: Daniel Mrgan Ad Traffic Manager: Rebecca Laborde ADVERTISING Ad Sales Manager: Steve Chidel Account Executives: Art Dubuc Joe Gonzalez, Beth Hamm

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Publisher: Ross Jobson

COVER PHOTO: Coast Guard Petty Officers 3rd Class Eric Gordon and Gavin Kershaw pilot a 16-foot flood punt team boat and join good Samaritans in patrolling a flooded neighborhood in Friendswood, Texas, Aug. 29, 2017. The flood punt team from Marine Safety Unit Paducah, Kentucky, reported to the greater Houston area on Aug. 25. U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS CORINNE ZILNICKI

ŠCopyright Faircount LLC. All rights reserved. Faircount LLC does not assume responsibility for the advertisements, nor any representation made therein, nor the quality or deliverability of the products themselves. Reproduction of articles and photographs, in whole or in part, contained herein is prohibited without express written consent of the publisher, with the exception of reprinting for news media use. Permission to use various images and text in this publication was obtained from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Defense and their agencies, and in no way is used to imply an endorsement by any U.S. Department of Homeland Security or Department of Defense entity for any claims or representations therein. None of the advertising contained herein implies U.S. government, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or U.S. Department of Defense endorsement of any private entity or enterprise. This is not a publication of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or Department of Defense. Printed in the United States of America.

interview

ADM. PAUL ZUKUNFT Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard

BY CRAIG COLLINS Adm. Paul Zukunft assumed the duties of the 25th commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on May 30, 2014. He leads the largest component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), composed of approximately 88,000 personnel including active duty, Reserve, civilian, and volunteer auxiliarists.

Prior to this, Zukunft served as commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area, where he was operational commander for all U.S. Coast Guard missions in an area encompassing more than 74 million square miles and provided mission support to the Department of Defense and combatant commanders. Other flag assignments include commander of the 11th Coast Guard District in Alameda, California, and director, Joint Interagency Task Force West, where he served as executive agent to U.S. Pacific Command for combating transnational criminal organizations in the Asia-Pacific Region.

In 2010, Zukunft served as the federal on-scene coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon Spill of National Significance, where he directed more than 47,000 responders, 6,500 vessels, and 120 aircraft. His senior staff assignments included chief of operations, Coast Guard Pacific Area, and chief of operations oversight, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, where he directly supervised all major cutter operations in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. He also served as chief of staff at the 14th Coast Guard District in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Zukunft has commanded six units and served extensively in the cutter fleet, where he commanded the cutters Cape Upright, Harriet Lane, and Rush.

A native of North Branford, Connecticut, Zukunft graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in government; from Webster University in 1988 with a Master of Arts degree in management; and from the U.S. Naval War College in 1997 with a Master of Arts degree in national security and strategic studies. He is a graduate of the Asia-Pacific Center for Strategic Studies Executive Seminar and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government National Preparedness Leadership Initiative course.

COAST GUARD OUTLOOK: You released your “MidTerm Report” last summer, so let’s begin with an informal third quarter report: How has the last year moved you closer to achieving some of the goals you outlined in your “Strategic Intent” document?

ADM. PAUL ZUKUNFT: Sometimes success breeds success. The regions we’ve emphasized are areas that the other armed services haven’t emphasized. We’ve focused heavily on the Western Hemisphere, where transnational criminal organizations generate violent crime and drug shipments. Nearly 59,000 Americans

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perished from overdoses last year, and it looks like this year could be worse.

So where are we today? Well, one challenge to our work in the Western Hemisphere was that we couldn’t go after most of the shipments, because we didn’t have enough ships. We’ve been trying to call attention to the need to recapitalize our fleet. Last year we completed the contracting to build 58 patrol craft, our fast response cutters. These fast response cutters are 154 feet long and are very capable platforms. We awarded the contract for a light frigate we call our

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY TELFAIR H. BROWN SR.

His personal awards include the Department of Homeland Security and Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medals, Defense Superior Service Medal, three Legions of Merit, and five Meritorious Service Medals with “O” device, among others.

offshore patrol cutter. And in 2017, we’ve received a down payment of $150 million to start building the first of a fleet of heavy icebreakers. What’s important is that we have success recapitalizing, while not cutting force structure. In fact, we’re gradually growing back the number of uniforms in the Coast Guard today. We’re holding onto our civilians. When they retire, we hire replacements. So we’re holding onto our force structure. It’s growing. Yet at the same time, we’re recapitalizing our operating plant. We’re making good progress, but we need to continue that progress for several years.

In the past year, you’ve said several times, in public statements and interviews, that you prefer playing offense when it comes to border security in the Western Hemisphere. Could you elaborate a little on what that means?

A wall is a goal line defense on the border of the United States. We are the offensive part of a broad border strategy. Coast Guard authorities stretch thousands of miles beyond the U.S. and Mexico border. We have permission to go into the waters of 40 other countries, into their territorial seas if there is illicit activity taking place there, to apprehend those

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The Cyclone-class patrol coastal ship USS Zephyr (PC 8) is docked at U.S. Coast Guard Station San Juan. Zephyr was underway in support of Operation Martillo, a joint operation with the U.S. Coast Guard and partner nations, within the 4th Fleet area of responsibility.

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS CASEY J. HOPKINS

individuals and have them prosecuted in the United States.

Last year we removed more than 200 metric tons of cocaine, which is a record, [and] 585 smugglers were extradited back to the United States where the prosecution rate is nearly 100 percent – and we are on pace to break that record this year. These criminal organizations become less organized once people are apprehended, detained, and prosecuted. It’s a team effort – DHS, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense [DOD], everyone pulling together. When these smugglers try to cut a deal with the U.S. attorney, they provide meaningful information that allows us to get closer to the heads of some of these networks that are, quite honestly, operating with impunity downrange.

Since the Navy’s last Perry-class frigate was decommissioned in 2015, you’ve had to get creative with your joint patrols in the transit zone. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments, for example, have been using Navy patrol craft as a platform for interdictions. What ideas do you have for maintaining – and improving – the Coast Guard’s ability to play offense in the Western Hemisphere?

Our national military strategy necessarily pulls our Navy from the Western Hemisphere and pushes them into other regions of the world. I’m looking to backfill not just what the Navy has vacated but also add capacity so that at the end of the day, we have more at-sea interdiction capability.

I have 11 ships operating down there right now and they work for Southern Command. When they move into a law enforcement phase of an operation, then they report back to the Coast Guard. We have a very

symbiotic relationship with the Department of Defense as one of our nation’s five armed services.

So as the Navy is pulled away, we’re looking at where we operate across the world. We know where a lot of these drug shipments are taking place, because the intelligence is good. We can look at that intelligence and try to determine: Where can I take some modicum of risk and put fewer Coast Guard ships in those domains? And I can’t really elaborate on where I am taking those from, obviously. Bear in mind we’re not drawing down our readiness for coastal shore missions, such as search and rescue or port security – and including guarding our commander in chief, President [Donald] Trump. We won’t sacrifice there. But when we look at where we are offshore, some of those assets have been pulled back so we can double down here in the Western Hemisphere.

You’ve made it a point to remind people, several times in the past year, that the Coast Guard is one of the U.S. armed services, and should be treated like a military branch. Why are you finding that reminder to be necessary?

About 4 percent of my budget is funded by defense discretionary funding.* Despite the number of our ships, the number of our people, the number of our aircraft that are really serving under a Department of Defense command and control system, only 4 percent of my budget is categorized as “defense discretionary.” The other 96 percent is nondefense discretionary. So, I have to compete against every other nondefense discretionary account that funds the U.S. government. When we have an executive order that says we need to restore military readiness, let’s not forget about the Coast Guard. We’ve been around since 1790, and we are a military service.

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“And when we went out to Jakobshavn Glacier and met with the Inuit elders, they said that glacier hadn’t moved in the last thousand years – but in the last five years, it had retreated 25 miles.”

That idea’s been reflected in some of the public discussions about what the Coast Guard’s new icebreaker should look like – you and others have suggested it might carry cruise missiles. This is a historical year for the Coast Guard in the Arctic – the 150th anniversary of the Revenue Cutter Lincoln arriving in the new Alaska territory, and the 60th anniversary of the first deep-draft voyage through the Northwest Passage by the cutters Storis, Spar, and Bramble. How does the Coast Guard of today differ from the Coast Guard of 1957, in terms of fulfilling its missions in the Arctic?

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY CHIEF PETTY OFFICER DAVID MOSLEY

I think we’re seeing an unprecedented pace of change take place in the Arctic. A region that has been covered with ice for millions of years is now opening up to an ocean. We’re seeing Russia begin to militarize part of the Arctic. They plan to take delivery in 2020 of two corvettes – that will carry cruise missiles – with ice breaking capability. So we have to look ahead, to what we’ll need from an icebreaker that will be in service more than three decades from now. What might that world look like, given the pace of change? Russia is declaring a good piece of the Arctic Ocean as theirs through the Law of the Sea Convention. That has not been adjudicated – but we, in the company of Liberia and others, are among

those nations who have not ratified the Law of the Sea Convention.

But just ratifying the Law of the Sea Convention would merely give us a piece of paper. What would we have to back it up? You need at-sea capability. And as we look at what an icebreaker needs to do 10 to 15 years from now, or maybe sooner, we think we should be able to retrofit it with an ordnance package. We want to make sure that when we build this out, we reserve space, weight, and power in the event that we actually have to arm these ships.

Breaking ice just gets us to where the mission is. That mission runs the full suite of many of our national security objectives. We have sovereign interests up there. If this part of the world changes and becomes militarized on the surface, this would be the only national asset capable of sustaining our presence.

The rapid pace of change in the Arctic, and the resulting increase in human activity, haven’t been matched by a surge in infrastructure development to accommodate these changes. What can the Coast Guard do to help move things along and build capacity for fulfilling its missions in the region?

You really have to ask: Do we invest in shore infrastructure in the high latitudes? Sea ice retreat is

The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, with 75,000 horsepower and 13,500ton displacement, is guided by its crew to break through Antarctic ice en route to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station, Jan. 15, 2017.

The ship, which was designed more than 40 years ago, remains the world’s most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker.

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“I’m happy to put together a long-term plan, but it must be matched with a reliable, repeatable funding mechanism, so we could actually execute that plan.”

U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

exposing those coastlines to erosion. Storms – which would otherwise be buffered by an ice field – have made nearly 30 villages in Alaska vulnerable to coastal erosion. Several villages are even taking action to perhaps vacate those villages. These are First Nations people, so they would have to re-establish sovereignty – and that gives you this other complicating factor of environmental refugees.

I was in Greenland about a year ago and in Shishmaref, Alaska, with Sen. [Dan] Sullivan just recently. We went out there to look at rising sea levels and learn about some of the causal factors. And really there are two: the melting ice fields in Greenland and the Antarctic.

We flew over Greenland and I was struck by the amount of water – I’m talking raging rivers flowing across the ice fields of Greenland into a big sinkhole. And when we went out to Jakobshavn Glacier and met with the Inuit elders, they said that glacier hadn’t moved in the

last thousand years – but in the last five years, it had retreated 25 miles.

We’re already seeing standing water in parts of Hampton Roads, Virginia, down to the Florida Keys when we have extreme high tides. We didn’t used to have that. Now there are estimates that sea level could rise as much as 2 meters over the next century. So, you can do one [of] two things: You can hope it never happens, or you can at least plan for the worst case.

If you start to think about building infrastructure in remote parts of Alaska, you have to consider the possible effects of erosion and sea level rise. If you’re building infrastructure for the next hundred years, is that going to be under water? So maybe shore infrastructure isn’t where you invest. Instead you invest in an at-sea presence.

So how do you maintain that investment in an atsea presence? The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s director of acquisition and sourcing recently testified before Congress that Coast Guard acquisition is underfunded, and that the service doesn’t have a sufficient long-term acquisition plan – specifically, that the service has been in a “reactive mode” because of funding constraints.** What does the service need to become more proactive in designing an acquisition strategy?

We provided the administration a near-term statement of what our unfunded priorities are. We’ve also provided them a five-year look ahead at what we need to acquire: how many ships, planes, and the like. The

Melting sea ice reveals prior control efforts and the advance of erosion toward the seawall being constructed in the Inupiat village of Shishmaref, Alaska, June 2008. In August 2016, the village of about 600 voted to relocate due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

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U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS MARK BARNEY

Boarding officers in an interceptor boat from the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton seize cocaine from suspected smugglers during the boarding of a suspected smuggling vessel in international waters in the drug transit zone of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Feb. 23, 2017. Stratton seized a total of 3,700 pounds of cocaine during its counter-smuggling patrol.

challenge is when we try to extend out beyond five years. We will put together a 20-year plan, which we will submit this fall, but what we struggle with is the gyrations in our annualized appropriations. We’ve had 16 continuing resolutions [CRs] since 2010 and we spent the front half of this year under a CR. And when you do that, the first thing that stops is new acquisition. I’m happy to put together a long-term plan but it must be matched with a reliable, repeatable funding mechanism, so we could actually execute that plan. It’s unrealistic to criticize the Coast Guard for not projecting out when we can’t even project, one year to the next, what will be in our appropriations.

I try to simplify that for our committees by saying, “I need a floor of $2 billion for all Coast Guard acquisitions.” That’s ships, that’s planes, unmanned aerial systems. It’s cyber. It’s shore infrastructure. As a military service, my net budget – including retirement pay and compensation, all of it – is less than $11 billion a year. We provide a great return on investment.

I’ve doubled down on requiring a third party to audit our books. If you want to grow your funding base, can you account for every dollar you spend? We

have four consecutive years of clean financial audit opinions – the only military service to do that – and yet I find myself the only military service funded below the Budget Control Act floor.* My other service chief counterparts lament if they ever see the floor. And I’m looking from the basement up at the floor. It isn’t very pretty down here.

We’ve been a good steward of our appropriation.

In our acquisition program, the last five ships have been delivered on time, on budget, with no discrepancies. I would rack and stack that against any of the other services. But we can’t seem to move beyond the impulse, among people who do the budgeting, to see how far they can push the Coast Guard down, rather than lift us up. Bottom line: We need to be funded as a military service.

So what are your leading priorities for the rest of your tenure as commandant?

There are two. It’s great that I’ve got 11 ships downrange right now doing counterdrug operations. The long pole in the tent is our surveillance capability, a combination of assets from Customs and Border Protection’s Air

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Coast Guard aircrew members aboard two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and an HC-130 Hercules from Air Station Clearwater, Florida, fly over the Coast Guard Cutter Vice, a 75-foot inland construction tender homeported in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK

they were built, they were not built with mixed-gender crews in mind. They’re really obsolete. It would be [a] modest investment that enables, on an annual basis, $4.6 trillion of commerce flowing out of our country.

So those are two areas, unmanned systems and then our inland fleet, that quite honestly I feel have been neglected on my watch.

Speaking of neglect: The fact that the administration’s initial 2018 budget submission cut the Coast Guard funding by 14 percent might have been an indication that, even at the highest levels of government, some people might be unaware of the significance of the role the service plays in protecting American lives and property. What do you think is the No. 1 thing Americans should know about the men and women of the Coast Guard and the work they do?

In this job, I spend a lot of time working with members of Congress. We answer to 22 committees that own different parts of the Coast Guard. As a result of some of that outreach, there was outrage by many of the members when that reduction was announced. The reaction was visceral. And more than 70 members of Congress sent letters to the highest levels of our government, and immediately that funding was restored.

But the initial announcement of that cut – it wouldn’t have been healthy for any organization. We had one of our canine units here in Washington, D.C., for an event shortly after that proposal was issued, and when I was

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS MICHAEL DE NYSE

and Marine Office, the DOD, and the Coast Guard. But there’s not enough of that to go around. In fact, when I look at where those assets exist within DOD, there are much higher priorities elsewhere.

So in order to fill that vacuum, I’m going to have to bring some organic capability in the form of unmanned aerial systems that can fly for 18 to 20 hours at a time.

I think we’re going to see that technology continue to evolve, but we need to grow with that technology.

Now the good news is we’ve got about 15 members of the Coast Guard detailed to Customs and Border Protection, operating their MQ-9 Guardian Predator platform. Yet, the platform is the easy part. What it takes to operate and leverage that capability – the human element – is critical. So the good news is we’re building that competency within the Coast Guard, but we need to advance it further and bring this program to bear as well.

The other is our inland fleet. On Christmas Day, my wife and I visited one of our Coast Guard cutters that is 72 years old. It wasn’t here in Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian – it was on the waterfront down in Fort Macon, North Carolina. It’s a ship that’s still in service today. And it’s one of 35 that maintain our inland waterways. What they do is allow about $4.6 trillion worth of commerce to flow up and down our rivers – much of it downriver and out of ports, a net export commodity. This is a key enabler of our national economic security, maintained by a 72-year-old ship. Now the average age of this fleet is about 52, and when

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS ASHLEY J. JOHNSON

talking to them, they wouldn’t make eye contact with me. I said: “What’s wrong?” And they said, “Well, commandant, we heard you were going to zero out our program.” I realized that as far as they knew, I was the one making the decision to cut the Coast Guard budget by 13 or 14 percent. And that canine program was held sacrosanct. A cut like that causes anxiety and consternation at the deck plate level. It degrades readiness. It’s not healthy for any armed service.

I’ll say this: In the United States, we have the best military service across the board, far better than any other nation in the world. And in this all-volunteer service – and I would expect the chief of any of the branches to say this about his own – but across all the armed services, the men and women of the Coast Guard are the best. I’m delighted that we enjoy the highest retention rate of any of the armed services.

About 40 percent of our enlisted members who come out of basic training will be on active duty 20 years later, and about 60 percent of our officers, upon receiving their commission, will be on active duty 20 years later.

There’s tremendous value in those retention rates.

You don’t have to struggle to bring in new people and continue to train journeymen. We really do build these subject-matter experts over time. We’re delighted with where we are, but we want to keep improving the way we recruit, train, and retain – and remain mindful that we need to accommodate not only individuals, but also their families, and demonstrate that

Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicholas Punla Smith (left), a cadet aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, pipes Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft’s arrival aboard the training ship in New London, Connecticut, May 6, 2017. The Coast Guard has the highest retention rate of any of the armed services.

they’re valued members of a high-performing organization. We can’t forget that: Our most valued asset is our people. n *The provisions of the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) distinguish among the status of “non-discretionary” funding (mandatory payments to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicaid); “non-defense discretionary” funding (accounts subject to mandatory caps that have kept their overall funding levels relatively flat over the past seven years); and “defense discretionary” funding (which can circumvent mandatory caps by being classified as part of emergency funding to an “Overseas Contingency Operations” account, which is exempt from the provisions of the BCA). **Coast Guard Acquisitions: Limited Strategic Planning Efforts Pose Risk for Future Acquisitions.

Statement of Marie A. Mak, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management. U.S. Government Accountability Office. July 25, 2017.

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ANSWERING THE CALL In an unprecedented 2017 hurricane season, Coast Guard first responders helped to mount historic rescue and recovery efforts.

Two days after Hurricane Harvey’s first official landfall – it struck the Texas Gulf Coast northeast of Corpus Christi as a Category 4 hurricane at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017 – it was clear the storm was in no hurry to leave. It lingered over the coast, backing off and striking twice more as it meandered to the northeast, making its third official landfall as a tropical storm near the Texas/ Louisiana border around 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30. All the while, the storm drenched most of Texas’ coastal communities with record rainfall, stranding tens of thousands of people in the floodwaters.

By Sunday, Coast Guard personnel from all over – more than 2,060 active-duty, Reserve, civilian, and Auxiliary personnel, from as far away as Guam – had converged on the Gulf of Mexico to aid in the rescue effort. Of these personnel, 38 came from the Coast Guard’s 9th (Great Lakes) District, in the form of MH-65

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Dolphin helicopter aircrews and special purpose craftairboats (SPC-AIR), used to perform ice rescues on the Great Lakes.

Similar to Everglades swamp boats, the 20-foot airboats are propelled by large, aft-mounted fans, driven by 550-horsepower engines that can push the craft over ice – or shallow, hazardous floodwaters – at 15 knots. Senior Chief Eric Bonneau, a machinery technician (MK) who maintains and operates smallboats at Sector Detroit’s Station Saginaw River, left Michigan on Saturday, shortly after Harvey’s first landfall. He and his crew were deployed to the northeast region of Houston, where they launched their boats in the middle of a road near a local high school. At one residence, they encountered a family with three girls, ages 3 to 10.

Two of the girls were paraplegic and wheelchair-bound, fed through tracheostomy feeding tubes, and one had a

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY SENIOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER KYLE NIEMI

By CRAIG COLLINS

Opposite page: People wave from the roof of a house (pictured, bottom right) in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, to signal an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Oct. 14, 2017. The aircrew flew several sorties, searching remote mountainous regions to deliver humanitarian aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to people in Hurricane Maria-affected areas of Puerto Rico.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS CORINNE ZILNICKI

Above: Coast Guard Petty Officers 3rd Class Eric Gordon and Gavin Kershaw pilot a 16-foot flood punt team boat through a flooded neighborhood in Friendswood, Texas, Aug. 29, 2017.

feeding tube attached to a stomach port. Bonneau and his crewmembers donned waders, entered the home through chest-high waters, and carried the girls out, along with their wheelchairs, oxygen, and bagged food.

“We made a total of four trips for that household alone,” Bonneau said. “It was just under 1 mile of floodwater that we had to transit, from the home to the staging area, to get them to dry land.” The crew also rescued the family’s five dogs. Altogether, Bonneau’s team, along with an airboat crew from Station Marblehead, Ohio, helped to rescue 115 people on that Monday alone, while enduring lashing winds and drenching rainfall – but the rescue of the girls and their family stands out for Bonneau. “That was a very, very big one for us,” he said, “because the girls had been there for almost two days already, so they were tired. They were hungry.

They really needed to come out.”

The 9th District’s airboats performed rescues for 10 days, eventually transitioning to the Beaumont/Port

Arthur area, near Harvey’s third landfall. Over a 10-day period, four airboat crews rescued 560 people – a good portion of the 11,020 people rescued by Coast Guard men and women during the Hurricane Harvey response.

In all, more than 30,000 people were displaced by the storm, and the response to Harvey involved more than 21,000 federal staff from numerous Cabinet-level and independent agencies. It was the largest search and rescue (SAR) effort since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE The sheer number and variety of rescue cases in coastal Texas often forced Coast Guard rescuers to improvise. Samuel Knoeppel, a rescue swimmer from Air Station Miami in the Coast Guard’s 7th (Southeast) District who spent most of his deployment in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area east of Houston, recalled the day his crew needed to medevac two critically ill hospital patients to another facility to receive a higher level of care. The crew’s H-60 Jayhawk helicopter was too heavy for the hospital’s landing pad, so the pilot landed in a parking lot some distance from the hospital, where Knoeppel got out, flagged down a passing pickup truck, and rode to the emergency room, where he told the staff they would need to deliver the patient by ambulance to the helicopter. The ensuing transfer, Knoeppel said, “was basically the same story: We picked him up, went to the other hospital, and couldn’t land on that pad, so we had to land in a field. And I got in another stranger’s car [to go] to the emergency room, and had them bring an ambulance over to the helicopter.” Because the patient was on a ventilator, and the helicopter wasn’t equipped with a compatible power supply, Knoeppel and other crewmembers

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assisted his breathing manually, with a bag valve mask, during the transit.

Another thing Knoeppel said he had never seen before: “A lot of rescue swimmers were using chainsaws to extract people from their attics, because they would crawl into their attics as their houses filled up with water, and then they would become trapped in there.” Coast Guard personnel don’t typically use chainsaws, Knoeppel said, so, “we got a really quick brief on how to operate them safely, and basically it was up to us if we wanted to take them and use them. … A lot of rescue swimmers were using them to pull people out of their attics.”

Knoeppel, who is accustomed to open-ocean rescues, confessed to being a little taken aback by the clutter and noise of his first urban SAR deployment. “The power lines and the trees were super high,” he said, “so we were doing 150- to 200-foot hoists over land, every hoist, which is not something I’ve done. We do 30- to 50-foot [hoists] over the water constantly. It definitely makes you pay attention.”

Over three days, Knoeppel rescued 34 people, including a 102-year-old man trapped on the stairs inside his house, from the floodwaters, wading chest deep through the streets. “Every house you looked at had multiple people on a roof,” he said. “It was crazy to see how many helicopters were next to you while you were hoisting.” They weren’t just Coast Guard helicopters, either; Knoeppel saw aircraft from U.S. Customs and

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Border Protection, the Navy, and the Army. “Anybody you could think of that had a helicopter was there.”

The Beaumont/Port Arthur area, near the Texas/ Louisiana border, was near where Harvey made its third landfall on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The Washington Post would later estimate that by the end of that day, the storm had dropped 24.5 trillion gallons of water on southeast Texas and southern Louisiana – enough to supply New York City with fresh water for more than 50 years. In just under five days, nearly 52 inches of rain fell on Houston, a new record for a storm in the continental United States.

As this torrent continued, a growing number of people were trapped in their houses or on their roofs in the Beaumont area. Lt. j.g. Neil Romans, one of six Coast Guardsmen who traveled from Sector/Air Station Humboldt Bay on California’s northern coast, in the service’s 11th (Pacific Southwest) District, piloted an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter in circumstances far different from the rugged cliffside rescues with which he and his fellow team members were familiar. On the coast, Romans said, rescuers are given GPS coordinates, but most of the distress calls in the Houston and Beaumont areas were attached to house numbers.

As Romans explained, Coast Guard aircrews were able to use tablet devices, similar to iPads®, with a map application installed to load individual addresses. When his crew was assigned to respond to a distress call by the Incident Management Team (IMT), Romans said, “You could type in the address, and it would drop a pin,” he said. “And then using your blue dot on the map, you could geospatially reference yourself.”

The catch, Romans said, was that these addresses had to be preloaded, as the crews weren’t able to access the internet in flight. “They had a very organized way of handling the 911 queue,” he said. “If you had received a case, then you were to complete that case before

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS JOHANNA STRICKLAND

The Coast Guard responds to search and rescue requests following Hurricane Harvey in the greater Houston metro area Aug. 27, 2017.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS MATTHEW S. MASASCHI

Coast Guard field responders Petty Officer 2nd Class Aaron Jessup and Petty Officer 3rd Class Justin Basham assess a partially sunken vessel for pollution in Crown Bay, St. Thomas, Oct. 18, 2017. More than 200 vessels in the area were identified by the Coast Guard and partner agencies as sunk or partially sunk as a result of recent hurricanes.

servicing any other impromptu signs of distress.” Many of the rescues performed by Romans’ crew and others, however, were in response to signals from the ground.

While conducting a rescue at a house in Beaumont, Romans and his crewmembers noticed a person waving a white sheet at them from another home, half a block away. They had just enough fuel to complete the rescue and return to service one last case, which they requested and received permission to do. At the residence, they hoisted an elderly disabled woman, but the MH-65’s fuel had depleted to the point at which they were faced with a difficult decision: They were forced to leave the woman’s caretaker, her daughter, behind in order to guarantee they’d reach the drop-off point.

The on-scene rescue protocols dictated that the rescue of the daughter be assigned to another crew in the area – but the elderly woman was upset after being separated from her daughter. “She was very sad and visibly emotional,” he said. “And we asked why, and she said, ‘My daughter, my daughter – she’s my caretaker, and I’m worried about her.’” Romans, his commander, and his crew conferred and decided to seek authorization to refuel and return to Beaumont for the daughter, whom they found ready to be airlifted. “We brought her right in and reunited her with her mom.”

In part, the reason so many people were stranded after Hurricane Harvey was how quickly the waters rose; even as they were packing and preparing to leave, floodwater was making escape impossible. According to Bonneau, the water near his crew’s staging area in Houston rose 25 feet as they performed their rescues.

On that same Monday, three-person flood punt teams, dispatched from Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River (LMR) in Memphis, were patrolling Houston and its suburbs. Flood punts are shallow-draft, 16-foot jon

boats equipped with small outboard engines designed for rescue and supply missions in flooded areas. One of the LMR boats was crewed by a three-person team consisting of Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis Colson, a machinery technician (MK3); Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Mello, a marine science technician (MST2); and Seaman Valerie Pimentel.

When they began their patrol in a west Houston neighborhood, the floodwaters were rising six inches every hour – something Colson, who has been involved in several flood responses, had never encountered before. Usually, he said, a response team will follow floodwaters as they drain out of a community. “But the water just stayed there,” he said. “It wasn’t draining anywhere. I didn’t have anywhere to go. So those first few days were high-tempo search and rescue, trying to get as many people out as possible.” They found other community members at work when they arrived, operating smallboats, rafts, and paddle boards, shuttling people, property, and pets to dry land.

According to Pimentel, rescues in the neighborhood were made challenging by the number of elderly residents with limited mobility. While they were assisting one family, the team was asked to check on a neighbor, an older man with diabetes who was hard of hearing – which explained why he hadn’t answered when they’d knocked on his door earlier.

By this time, the waters were about chest deep, so the team was able to pull its boat right up to the man’s door. On the second floor, they found him confused and exhausted – he’d already been hypoglycemic twice that day, he told them. “He was very hard to move,” Pimentel said. “He had a walker. He was having a really, really hard time and ... he was also kind of going into shock from everything, because it was really cold. He was really

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Crewmembers from the Coast Guard Cutter Joshua Appleby, a 175-foot Keeper-class coastal buoy tender homeported in St. Petersburg, Florida, work aids to navigation near the Port of Key West, Florida, Sept. 15, 2017.

scared. He wasn’t sure what was going on.” Colson and Mello carried him down the stairs to the boat.

Pimentel is still astonished by how rapidly the water rose that day. “We would come back from rescuing a family, and getting them to higher ground, and by the time we got back to the area, the water would be at a higher level. We were using one of the mailboxes to kind of tell us how high the water was rising each time – and by the end of the day, that mailbox was gone.” By nightfall, Colson said, the floodwaters had reached the houses’ second stories.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS MICHAEL DENYSE

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE Remarkably, Harvey was merely the first major hurricane to strike the United States in what would become one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons in history, one of only six seasons on record to feature multiple Category 5 hurricanes. It was also the first season on record to feature three Atlantic hurricanes making landfall in U.S. territory at Category 4 intensity or stronger.

Incredibly, these three hurricanes – Harvey, Irma, and Maria – all landed within a one-month window, from Aug. 25 to Sept. 20, making September 2017 the busiest month of U.S. hurricane activity on record. Before September, the U.S. mainland had never before endured two Category 4 hurricanes in the span of a year.

The storms were deadly, causing more than 400 hurricane-related deaths through October – though more continued to be reported throughout the Caribbean and the United States, particularly in Puerto Rico, the island territory ravaged by Maria on Sept. 20. The 2017 season may turn out to be the costliest in history, with a preliminary estimate of more than $188 billion in damages, nearly all of it caused by Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

As Coast Guard responders are eager to point out, they were far from alone in responding to these storms.

Each was met with a massive whole-of-government response, combining resources at the federal, state, and regional levels, that began even before the storms had reached the United States. “There was a lot of interagency collaboration,” Colson said. At the local level, his crew’s partners included the Houston Police Department, the Houston Fire Department, and the local chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). One of the under-told stories of the Harvey response was that it constituted the largest pet rescue operation in U.S. history, with the SPCA, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the Humane

Society of the United States each playing a significant role, particularly in the handling and crating of animals for transport. All told, Coast Guard personnel helped in the rescue of 1,384 pets after Harvey.

Under the National Response Framework (NRF) used by the federal government to define protocols and authority in response to a disaster or emergency, Emergency Support Function (ESF) #9, Search and Rescue, is one in which the Coast Guard obviously plays a significant role. Much of its work in responding to the storms that followed, however, was performed in service of ESF #6: Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services.

Hurricane Irma, which slammed the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Sept. 6 before making landfall in Florida on Sept. 10, was the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic, with a peak wind speed that reached 185 miles per hour. It raked along the northern coast of Puerto Rico and knocked out electric power for a million residents, nearly a quarter of the island’s population. Unlike Harvey, Irma moved relatively quickly over the U.S. mainland, traveling northward up the Florida peninsula, and Coast Guard efforts consisted primarily of welfare checks and the delivery of supplies to residents, particularly in the city of Jacksonville, where heavy rains and a record storm surge caused severe flooding in communities along the St. Johns River. Some of the LMR flood punt crewmembers, including Colson and Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Hoffman (BOSN2), who directed the work of the teams, went immediately from Texas to Florida to assist the local fire department with urban flood response.

“They had the local knowledge of the area,” Hoffman said. “And we worked with their fire chief and routed plans to the teams, and then the teams went out and did searches for people who were in need of assistance.” Over a 30-day deployment in response to hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Hoffman said, Sector Lower Mississippi River personnel – the flood punt teams; an aids to navigation

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U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY ERIC D. WOODALL

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Dave Warner, rescue swimmer, helps a survivor of Hurricane Maria carry water from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Aguada, Puerto Rico, Oct. 11, 2017, after a delivery by a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew.

The Coast Guard was helping deliver relief supplies throughout Puerto Rico as part of the Hurricane Maria response.

team from Colfax, Louisiana; 16 activated reservists; and the 75-foot buoy tenders, the cutters Muskingum and Kankakee – traveled more than 5,000 miles, searched more than 3,300 homes, surveyed more than 1,300 miles for flooding, performed wellness checks on 685 people who were sheltered in place, and distributed more than 9,000 pounds of supplies. LMR personnel rescued 408 people and 66 pets in Texas and Florida.

As Hurricane Irma was making landfall in Florida, the Coast Guard’s 7th District moved its Incident Management Team to St. Louis, Missouri. About 80 people coordinated the effort – one of whom was Lt. j.g.

Audra Forteza, a helicopter pilot and spokesperson for Sector/Station Humboldt Bay. “We arranged for all of the recovery – people and supplies – to go out to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and any other place that needed it at the time, and then Key West,” she said, where many roads had been blocked by deadfall and debris, cutting off residents from access to food and water. “Key West was a big one for Irma.”

Figuring out the logistics of disaster relief for one hurricane while another approached, she admitted, often created a chaotic work pace; on Sept. 20, while Forteza was still coordinating deliveries for C-130 Hercules, C-27 Spartan, and C-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft, Hurricane Maria slammed into the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, destroying much of what had been left behind by Irma two weeks earlier. The team moved to Miami, where it redoubled its focus on the Caribbean territories. Forteza arranged not only for shipments of supplies, but transports of Coast Guard personnel and their dependents to and from the islands.

“This was all new to me,” Forteza said. “I definitely got a better insight into what the IMT needs to operate,

the information they need, and how they work within their constraints – size and weight restrictions, things like that.”

In a season of response and recovery operations that were literally global in scale – every maritime safety and security team in the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area, for example, was deployed in support of post-Harvey relief efforts in Texas and Louisiana – one of the most noteworthy aspects, particularly for first responders, was how well they worked with their counterparts from around the Coast Guard.

The six Coast Guard members who deployed from Humboldt Bay to Texas, for example, didn’t fly their rescue missions together; upon their arrival, they were reconstituted by an Incident Management Team into distinct aircrews, each assigned a different set of missions. “It was amazing,” Romans said. “It was painless.

I flew with a couple of different people, and I couldn’t believe how good of a job the command cadre at Air Station Houston, the IMT staff, how good a job they did of receiving all these people – and it was no easy task, putting them on schedule, keeping track of them, and feeding and sheltering them.”

One of Romans’ Humboldt workmates, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeff Bothman, a flight mechanic who participated in several Beaumont /Port Arthur rescues, echoed these thoughts: “I flew and worked with people I had never met before, and the one thing I really noticed was how standardized we were, and how when we got [into] the helicopter, we all knew what to do even though we’d never spoken to each other before,” he said. “It was kind of amazing to see how our training kicked in and we all knew our jobs.”

Those jobs, for many Coast Guard responders, presented them with a perplexing mixture of emotions during the 2017 hurricane season. “It’s kind of like, firefighters don’t ever want somebody’s house to burn down,” said Knoeppel. “But when they get to do the job they train so hard for, all the time, it’s rewarding.” The scale and destruction wrought by Harvey on the Texas coast, he said, “was sad for a lot of people, and it was sad to see. But ... it’s big for the Coast Guard to be able to perform in a mission like that, and to be part of it was awesome.” n

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interview

PUT TO THE TEST

BY RHONDA CARPENTER Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft took a few minutes in mid-October to talk with Coast Guard Outlook about the Coast Guard and its response to hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria – all within a month.

COAST GUARD OUTLOOK: Could you explain the Coast Guard’s unique role in a natural disaster?

island and the condition of the aids to navigation now? Can you speak to that a little bit?

Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft: Within the national response framework, there are key tasks assigned to different federal agencies.

One of the Coast Guard’s key roles is in emergency support function #9, which deals with search and rescue. In a natural disaster, however, search and rescue may not occur out at sea. As we saw during Hurricane Harvey, 50 inches of rain threatened the metropolitan areas, placing many underwater. And it becomes an urban search and rescue mission for the U.S. Coast Guard.

I was just in San Juan last Friday [Oct. 13]. I’ve been down there twice now. So, all the ports are now open, all the aids to navigation working properly, and the throughput within the ports is returning to normal. The bigger challenge is distributing the commodities from the ports to the communities. Some of these communities have had bridge and road washouts. The interior of Puerto Rico is very, very rugged, and it [the hurricane] has literally cut off some of those mountainous communities. So, getting commodities from the ports to the end users still presents some challenges for us. And in many cases, we’re using our helicopters to deliver relief supplies to these stricken communities.

Each response was a little bit different. For Hurricane Harvey, we moved towards the hurricane and not away.

And we pulled resources from across the Coast Guard – Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast – we had personnel on the ground; in the air [we had] over 40 helicopters. After looking at the storm track, we moved [our cutters] out of the way. And then as soon as the hurricane passes, they [the cutters] will come in behind it. And, at the same time, we evacuate all of our dependents while the first responders continue to stand the watch in these impacted areas.

In the Caribbean, what was the condition of the aids to navigation following Hurricane Irma?

Well, Hurricane Irma brought devastation to St. John and St. Thomas. Yet, we were able to bring assets on scene to reconstitute those ports. And those very same resources were double-tasked to do the equivalent of what I would call maritime sealift: delivering workers, water, and food. And in fact, even as of today [Oct. 18], St. John is still without electrical power.

After Maria hit, there were restrictions on transits into some of the seaports in Puerto Rico. What is the condition of the port infrastructure on the

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK

So, at this point, have all the districts responded to one or more of the hurricanes and storms?

Yes. This affected two of our districts. Hurricane Harvey primarily affected our 8th Coast Guard District headquartered in New Orleans, with the largest impact obviously being Corpus Christi, Houston, Beaumont, and Port Arthur. Hurricanes Irma and Maria impacted St. Thomas and St. John and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It skimmed across the north coast of Cuba – we’re not doing any operations there – and then it pushed across the Florida Keys near Marathon, Florida, Big Pine Key. We didn’t get the storm surge that we thought we would see in Hurricane Irma. In fact, when I went down to the Keys and talked to some of the first responders and the residents, they said they were lucky. And they were, because there was a 10- to 12-foot storm surge predicted. And we had over 10,000 residents who decided to ride this one out. If we saw that 10- to 12-foot storm surge, the loss of life could have been significant.

Another concern was that we had moved in a number of shallow water boats for urban search and rescue in Tampa, Florida, which might be one of the most vulnerable cities for storm surge along the Gulf Coast. When Irma’s track moved to the east, it pushed the water out of [Tampa] Bay – instead of flooding the bay. Since they

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS CORINNE ZILNICKI

Where were the assets moved in order to get out of the path of the storms? And then where were the potential first responders prepositioned?

Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class DeWayne Visser pilots a 16-foot flood punt boat in search of stranded or distressed people in Friendswood, Texas, Aug. 29, 2017. The flood punt team from Marine Safety Unit Paducah, Kentucky, reported to the greater Houston area on Aug. 25.

didn’t get that coastal flooding, the residents there felt they were somewhat lucky. Actually, the worst flooding was in Jacksonville, Florida.

We’ve had four hurricanes in a very short time frame. Do you think we could be looking at a “new normal” and does the Coast Guard have to do anything differently in terms of planning

or staging assets before and during hurricane season?

I’ve been serving in the Coast Guard for 40 years now. And I’ve been through Hurricane Hugo, and I have been through other hurricanes in the past, and, historically, you might see one of these every two to three years. It’s been five years since Hurricane Sandy, and it’s been even longer yet, at 12 years, since Hurricane Katrina, and now we’ve had three Category 4 or 5 hurricanes devastate the United States in one year. Is this a pattern? We always like to plan for the worst in the Coast Guard and not hope for the best. So even with these hurricanes, we tend to over-respond and bring more resources to bear than what the mission requires.

And where do those mission requirements come from?

They typically come from the governor of an affected state under the Stafford Act. But we usually increase

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The crew of the Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter Joseph Tezanos escorts the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) into San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 3, 2017.

The Coast Guard and Department of Defense partners were working directly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to aid those affected by Hurricane Maria.

the requested number of assets because, as we have seen, if you don’t bring in enough resources, you will find yourself ill-equipped to deal with that worst-case scenario. So, we’ll continue to use that approach. But as you heard, we pulled resources from all over the country, flight crews in particular for helicopters and airplanes. We had other meaningful work to do across the country and we do put those areas at risk to attend to the responses that we had to deal with for these three hurricanes.

What I also look at is what else could happen during all of this [hurricane response]? There are wildfires going on in California right now. And just to the north of those wildfire areas, you have what is called the Cascadia subduction zone. That’s a tectonic plate that is under a lot of pressure. Seismologists predict that any day that plate could release and you can have a tsunami make landfall within a matter of 10 to 15 minutes. The impact of that could be quite devastating. So, if I pulled resources out of that part of the country to deal with a hurricane and now I need to reposition those to deal with a no-notice event such as a tsunami, we would be hard pressed to answer all of those calls.

Speaking of calls, sir, does the service have any ideas about how it might accommodate individual distress calls that have come in via social media, whether it is Facebook or Twitter? I think that happened quite a bit after Harvey, and it seems likely we’ll see more of that in the future.

That’s a great question. [When] the 911 call center in greater Houston went down, our people began following social media. We then established a 1-800 number for our Coast Guard Headquarters. So, our command center here was receiving over a thousand calls an hour.

We stood up a 65-person call center here manned by Coast Guard personnel at our headquarters. They first take all these calls, triage each one of these based on severity, and dispatch the calls for response.

In Texas, we were using an application called GeoSuite™. When you make a call on your smartphone, it has a GPS chip in it, and we know exactly where the call came from. And then we could color code the severity of that call to dispatch helicopters and boats to the highest-priority locations – all with the necessary precision for a swift rescue. So, using that piece of technology was a huge asset to us.

In fact, one of these played out when we had a national media outlet interviewing a dialysis patient in need of treatment and she couldn’t get through to the 911 call [center]. The call center said, “Try this Coast Guard number.” The patient called and within 10 minutes, we got the information back to the emergency operation center in Houston to dispatch a helicopter. And this patient was airlifted for critical dialysis treatment. I think that’s one example of how we use technology, to include social media, in the middle of a storm. A lot of people are getting their information via Facebook, and so we pushed out a lot of our response activities [on] Facebook as well.

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Admiral, those are all my prepared questions. Is there anything you would like to add?

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY SENIOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER KYLE NIEMI

Thank you. As I reflect on hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, I noticed that there was substantial intersection from one storm to the next. We already had a lot of our ships, a lot of our planes and people in the region. So, we were able to shift from one event to the next and then to the following one with far greater ease than had they been disparate incidents geographically.

Outside of our response efforts, we live in these communities and have a lot of infrastructure at these locations. The Coast Guard has incurred about a billion

dollars of direct and indirect costs. We’re hopeful that we do see the supplemental relief necessary to restore our readiness.

Lastly, as we were doing this [responding to the hurricanes], Coast Guard units were also providing security to the U.N. General Assembly. We were also involved in the largest Arctic search and rescue exercise ever in Iceland and interacting with the other eight Arctic nations.

And concurrently we also confiscated about 25 tons of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific. I like to say the sun never sets on the Coast Guard, so even though it may sound like we were fully consumed with this response, we are deployed worldwide. n

Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Thomas, an aviation maintenance technician from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, surveys a location where his MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew intends to lower food and water to people in need in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, Oct. 14, 2017. The aircrew, operating out of Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico, flew several sorties, searching remote mountainous regions to deliver humanitarian aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to people in Hurricane Maria-affected areas of Puerto Rico.

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THE FOURTH COAST The U.S. Coast Guard in the Arctic

By CRAIG COLLINS

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK

Snow and Ice Data Center, the Arctic has warmed more than any other region on Earth, causing changes to sea ice, snow cover, and the extent of permafrost.

Its purchase of Alaska made the United States one of five nations with an Arctic coast, and the rapid pace of change in the region has brought a mixture of opportunities and challenges, both for the country and the people of Alaska. As the extent of Arctic ice continues to shrink in summer, it becomes an increasingly maritime region. Vessel traffic through the 50-mile-wide Bering Strait, between mainland Russia and Alaska, nearly doubled from 2010 (242 transits) to 2016 (485). Last summer the luxury liner Crystal Serenity, carrying more than 1,700

The Coast Guard cutters Spar, Storis (center), and Bramble make their way through Arctic ice during the first transit of the Northwest Passage by a U.S. vessel, circa 1957.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

On Aug. 3, 2017, three weeks after the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Maple had left its homeport of Sitka, Alaska, it arrived in the Amundsen Gulf – the western entry to the Northwest Passage through Canada’s archipelago. Maple, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender on its way to midlife upgrades at the Coast Guard Yard near Baltimore, was accompanied by the Canadian icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier on a voyage that allowed professional exchanges between the two crews. Maple served as a ship of opportunity to support scientific research conducted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The voyage was also meant to be a historic commemoration of two Arctic anniversaries for the United States Coast Guard: 60 years ago, over the summer of 1957, three Coast Guard cutters – Storis, Bramble, and Spar, along with the Canadian icebreaker Labrador – completed the first deep-draft transit of the Northwest Passage. The Coast Guard’s history of service in Alaska can be traced back 150 years to 1867, when the Revenue Cutter Lincoln delivered the U.S. diplomats who would accept delivery of the new territory from Russia. The first Arctic patrols began soon afterward, conducted by the Revenue cutters Wayanda, Corwin, and Bear.

For the Coast Guard’s 17th (Alaska) District, the summer of 2017 is a time to look to both the past and the future: “We’re using this 150-year milestone to reflect on our legacy of service and our very unique relationship with Alaska,” said Rear Adm. Michael McAllister, District 17 commander, “while at the same time, preparing for a pretty exciting – but to some extent uncertain – future as the Arctic opens up.”

The Artic looks far different than it did in 1867, or even in 1957. Over the past 30 years, according to the National

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS GRANT DEVUYST

The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star sits hove-to in fast ice in McMurdo Station, Antarctica, during Operation Deep Freeze, Jan. 7, 2016.

Each year Polar Star – the only heavy icebreaker in the U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet – breaks ice to resupply McMurdo Station, which is managed by the National Science Foundation.

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passengers and crew, became the largest cruise ship ever to sail the Northwest Passage, completing its Sewardto-New York voyage in September. In mid-summer 2017, Crystal Serenity and at least one other operators were planning additional Northwest Passage cruises. On July 29, the Finnish icebreaker Nordica set a new record for the earliest transit of the Passage.

Receding Arctic ice has unlocked access to a wealth of natural resources – according to the U.S. Geological Survey, 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered natural gas and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil lie inside the Arctic Circle. While the Trump administration signed an executive order in April 2017 aimed at enabling offshore oil exploration in the Arctic, most companies, given recent reductions in oil prices, remain circumspect about investing time and money in a remote marine region fraught with hazards. In July, however, the administration granted an Italian oil company the right to drill exploratory wells in state waters (within 3 miles) off the coast of Alaska. A flurry of exploratory activity in recent years has led to the discovery of new oil deposits above the Arctic Circle, including the Horseshoe and Willow deposits on the North Slope. Several new wells in these deposits will extract oil through hydraulic fracturing – the first application of fracking above the Arctic Circle.

Fisheries, also, are transforming more rapidly than governance is adapting in the Arctic. In the northern and eastern Bering Sea, the Coast Guard enforces federal management of one of the world’s most productive fisheries, but north of the Bering Strait, fishing has been banned in federal waters since 2009 and, under a five-party international treaty signed in 2015, in international Arctic waters. Warming ocean temperatures, however, have encouraged the migration of several species, such as Arctic cod, northward. A U.S./U.K./Canadian study conducted several years ago indicated that other commercially important species, such as salmon and mackerel, were also migrating to cooler waters, and so many mackerel have migrated into the waters off the Greenland coast that the Danish government launched an experimental commercial fishery in 2013.

For Alaska natives, the earlier recession of ice – particularly of shore-fast ice, which has traditionally bound the entire 1,060-mile Arctic coastline of Alaska from November to July – is a mixed bag. It expands the window of time during which subsistence hunters or fishermen may ply the narrow offshore gaps, or leads, in the ice, but it also increases their exposure to danger by creating unpredictable conditions. In June 2017, four men were lost off the coast – two had departed in a wooden rowboat from the village of Wales, at the tip of the Seward Peninsula; two in an aluminum skiff from St. Michael, on the shore of Norton Sound. All four men perished at sea.

While shore-fast ice may function to restrict human maritime activity, recent years have underscored its

A Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf boarding team boards a fishing vessel in the Bering Sea in spring 2017. The Coast Guard is charged with protecting living marine resources and routinely inspects vessels’ on-board safety equipment and monitors catch and processing to ensure resources are not exploited.

other important role for native communities: Like the wetlands of the Gulf Coast, the ice has served as a buffer against powerful storms. Without this buffer, many coastal Alaskan villages have suffered dramatic – even catastrophic – erosion. At least two villages, after failing to stop their homes from tumbling into the sea, have already voted to relocate farther inland.

The last decade alone has been a period of rapid, consequential, and irreversible change in the Arctic, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. It’s a region where stakeholders exercise an impressive degree of cooperation and shared decision-making. The Arctic Council, established in 1996, provides an intergovernmental forum for high-level discussion of issues common to Arctic nations. The Polar Code, an international safety regime adopted by the International Maritime Organization for the design and transit of high-latitude ships, was adopted in 2014 and is now being implemented. The Arctic Coast Guard Forum, established in 2015, recently adopted a framework for working together on emergency marine response and combined operations in the region.

The U.S. Coast Guard has the authority to enforce applicable laws and international agreements in the Arctic, and it has established and nurtured healthy and supportive working relationships, both with its

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ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE The Coast Guard’s ability to establish a presence in the highest latitudes is complicated by several factors, but three stand out: weather, distance, and infrastructure.

The Coast Guard operates on and over water, and while the maritime season is lengthening in the Arctic, the region is still icebound for more than half of the year.

The nearest Coast Guard Air Station (AirSta) to Alaska’s northernmost settlement, Utqiagvik (previously known as Barrow), is on Kodiak Island – more than 940 miles away. The nearest deepwater port, Dutch Harbor, is a 1,300-nautical mile, five-day voyage from Utqiagvik.

While a permanent Arctic presence, at least shoreside, doesn’t make sense for the Coast Guard at this time, the service is charged with carrying out 11 statutory missions in domestic and international waters – waters that, more so every year, include the Alaskan Arctic.

Since 2009, the service has surged people and platforms northward to achieve its operational missions and conduct exercises designed to learn more about working in the region, a window of activity known as Arctic Shield.

This year the service established a forward operating location (FOL) in the town of Kotzebue, about 33 miles north of the Arctic Circle, beginning on July 1. Two MH-60

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK

This photograph of Flaxman Island, on the Arctic coast of Alaska, reveals physical features of a changing Arctic: collapsing bluffs, salt-killed tundra (lighter brown near the bluff edge), and drained thermokarst lakes (rust-colored depressions).

Jayhawk helicopters and their aircrews were installed at a leased Alaska Army National Guard hangar, and the cutters Healy, Sherman, Maple, Hickory, and Alex Haley were deployed north of the Bering Strait at various times throughout the season. Training exercises conducted as part of Arctic Shield included a simulated oil spill response near Utqiagvik, which featured a seminar that brought Coast Guard, tribal, local, state, and industry agencies together to discuss and exercise pollution response capabilities available to North Slope communities.

Establishing an FOL in Kotzebue extends the Coast Guard’s reach by a considerable amount, McAllister said, enabling its Jayhawks to reach Utqiagvik, to the north, or Bethel, to the south, in a single sortie. In late July, the Jayhawks played a critical role in two rescues in and near the waters of northwest Alaska, in which six people were returned safely home.

In June, just 20 days before the Coast Guard had established its FOL in Kotzebue, the two young boaters who were lost off the coast of Wales were heard shouting for help within 30 minutes of their departure, but bystanders were unable to render assistance because of the weather and the amount of ice between the boaters and the shore. The Coast Guard responded from AirSta Kodiak, 740 miles away, with a C-130 long-range surveillance plane and two Jayhawk helicopters. “We conducted nine searches, in very poor weather conditions,” McAllister said, “and we were unable to locate those gentlemen.”

PHOTO BY BRUCE RICHMOND, ANN GIBBS, USGS

international counterparts and, in a series of regular outreach and educational activities, with Alaskan communities. In May 2017, in an interview at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard, emphasized that having the authority to fulfill its missions has never been the service’s problem in the Arctic: “We need to do more than paper it with policy,” he said.

“We need to populate it with presence.”

Wales is 177 miles from Kotzebue. “The uncertainty created by the earlier recession of ice, I think, is manifesting itself in cases that are coming earlier in the season,” said McAllister. “It has definitely caused us to consider expanding the amount of time we need to have our assets up in the Arctic area.”

Officials are working together at both the international and federal levels to establish more robust measures for assuring safety, national security, and environmental health in the Arctic. After years of study and public comment, the Coast Guard will be working with the Russian Federation and the International Maritime Organization to establish a two-way navigation route through the Bering Sea and Bering Strait. The service is working with Congress and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine the feasibility of an Alaskan Arctic port that could accommodate deep-draft vessels such as a national security cutter, oil tanker, or heavy icebreaker.

As the commandant has pointed out several times in the past year [see page 8], investing in onshore infrastructure in the Arctic – a deepwater port, or a permanent Coast Guard station – doesn’t make a lot of sense right now, for two reasons: First, even in the town of Nome, one of the leading contenders for a deepwater port, there are no roads or rail lines linking the community to the interior, and there are few facilities capable of handling the surge in activity that a large-scale Coast Guard operation, such as a mass rescue or an oil spill cleanup, might require. Last year’s Arctic Shield exercise featured a multi-agency mass rescue simulation off the coast of Kotzebue, at around the same time the Crystal Serenity was passing through

CLOSING THE ICEBREAKER GAP In the Arctic, only one platform is capable of providing a consistent at-sea presence: an icebreaker. For the past several years, much has been made about the “icebreaker gap” between the United States, which has two operational icebreakers, and neighboring Russia, which has 40, and 11 more in production. The Coast Guard commissioned an independent study in 2009 that concluded the service needed three heavy and three

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY LT. BRIAN DYKENS

A Coast Guard Air Station (AirSta) Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew, deployed to forward operating location (FOL) Kotzebue, Alaska, departs on an area-familiarization flight, July 18, 2017. FOL Kotzebue housed two AirSta Kodiak Jayhawks and crews in support of Operation Arctic Shield.

the Bering Strait. The scenario was a 200-passenger cruise ship that would suffer an on board fire and have to be abandoned, with severely injured patients evacuated to Kotzebue and those with minor or no injuries evacuated to Nome.

The simulated evacuation to Nome was suspended, said McAllister, due to “real-world weather,” and the exercise focused on leveraging resources to create something like a M.A.S.H. unit to increase capacity in Kotzebue – which, like every other Arctic community, has no trauma center.

The medical clinic in Kotzebue has eight doctors and 17 beds. “They essentially doubled the medical capability there in Kotzebue,” McAllister said, “and were able to do a more sophisticated triage of the medical cases. And then we would work with the Department of Defense, and certainly use our Coast Guard forces and the cruise line, to set up that conveyor belt of evacuation, via government or commercial air, to Anchorage.” With such a dearth of infrastructure linking Alaskan communities to the rest of the world, a new port would seem a remote prospect.

Second, at a time when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that more than 30 Alaskan communities face an “imminent” existential threat from coastal erosion and flooding, planning for a coastal installation seems foolhardy. In the near future, the commandant has said, the Coast Guard’s efforts to project itself into the Arctic will focus on its at-sea presence.

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medium icebreakers to fulfill its statutory missions in the polar regions.

The Healy, a medium icebreaker, was commissioned in 1999 and is used primarily as a scientific research vessel in the Arctic. The Coast Guard’s heavy icebreaker, Polar Star, was built in 1976, along with its sister ship, Polar Sea, which has been inactive since 2010 and now exists as a source of spare parts. Polar Star is the only U.S. ship powerful enough to break the heavy sea ice to access McMurdo Research Station, the international installation in Antarctica, so it spends a good part of every year carving a channel for supply ships in the Southern Hemisphere.

The dilemma posed by having the Coast Guard’s two icebreakers at opposite ends of the world is clear: If one gets in trouble, it’s on its own. Reactivating the Polar Sea is not an option – it’s too expensive and too uncertain a prospect. The worse news is that, despite the urgent need for another heavy icebreaker, no ships of that class have been built in the United States in the last 40 years – and also that the cost of a new heavy icebreaker is estimated to be around $1 billion, or nearly 10 percent of the Coast Guard’s annual budget.

But there is good news: Congress has set aside $150 million in this year’s budget for preliminary acquisition activities, and the Coast Guard and the Navy have established an Integrated Program Office for determining requirements and interacting with industry contractors. It’s a start, said Michael Emerson, the Coast Guard’s senior Arctic policy adviser: “We’ve gone on record saying that if we get funded on time, we’ll push out the first of at least a minimum of two icebreakers needed for self-rescue by 2023,” he said. “And we’re actually trying to accelerate that further if there are economies that we can find along the way in the construction phase.”

Discussions of what the Coast Guard’s new icebreaker might look like took an interesting turn this year when several experts – including the commandant – mentioned the possibility that it might be armed with cruise missiles.

There are no such specifications yet, but the news broke in early 2017 that Russia was building two 374-foot ice patrol ships, armed with deck guns and missiles, designed specifically to be ice-capable surface combatants.

When envisioning a new icebreaker, Emerson said, it’s important to think beyond how the Coast Guard uses them today. “We’re not looking to build another Polar Star,” he said. “Since we know we’re going to keep these ships for 40 or 50 years, we’re trying to imagine the state of play in the future – and in the future, as the ice recedes, we expect to have sovereignty challenges involving national defense and security. This border that was once ice locked for most of the year, this fourth coast along Alaska’s north and west, is now essentially unmonitored. It’s exposed. The new icebreaker will be armed, just as our other cutters are, for standard law enforcement and for asserting U.S. sovereignty.”

Because of the Coast Guard’s lack of shore presence in the Arctic, and the lack of reliable satellite coverage,

the new icebreakers will also have to serve as mobile command-and-control platforms, with a suite of communications and mobile sensing capabilities similar to national security cutters.

With diminishing sea ice and increasingly accessible Arctic resources, the incentive for the United States and other Arctic nations to assert sovereignty is greater than it’s ever been. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal nations can claim sovereign rights to the seafloor resources beyond the internationally recognized 200-mile exclusive economic zones (EEZs). These “extended continental shelf” claims are intended to ensure exclusive sovereign rights to explore and exploit natural resources – including gas, oil, and mineral wealth. “We’ve got some of the richest estimated reserves of oil and of strategic minerals right in our backyard,” Emerson said. “So this obviously makes our sovereignty ripe for challenge. If anybody wanted to exploit our extended continental shelf claim, or do any mining or seabed exploitation off of our coast, it would be worth their while.”

The hitch is that, while a surveying crew aboard the Healy is busy mapping and defining the dimensions of this extended continental shelf, the United States still hasn’t ratified UNCLOS, which was finalized in 1982.

“Extended continental shelf claims can be evaluated through a mechanism in the Law of the Sea Convention,” explained Emerson. “But having not ratified it, the U.S. lacks a seat at the table, and is limited to filing positions on other coastal state submissions.” The result is that an extra 350,000 to 600,000 square miles of potential riches on the Alaskan continental shelf appear to be unclaimed – and the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon) recently has established a pattern of stopping to do research in this area, often sailing right up to the boundary of the U.S. EEZ. Without U.S. ratification of UNCLOS, the U.S. extended continental shelf claim will lack legal certainty. To some observers – including Zukunft – China’s behavior in the region looks like that of a nation hoping to assert squatter’s rights.

At present, there’s no reason to sound alarms about such activity. The U.S. reluctance to ratify UNCLOS doesn’t pose an immediate risk to national security, but as time moves on, the nation’s potential to develop natural resources, which are currently difficult and expensive to access, will become more challenging in the international arena. As it looks to its future in the Arctic, the Coast Guard remains mindful that the scope of its work is defined by its maritime domain – which, despite the rapid pace of change, is only just beginning to transform into a fourth coast.

“It’s early in the opening of the Arctic,” said Emerson.

“I wouldn’t say that tomorrow there’s suddenly going to be this cascade of activity – but we’re seeing increases in shipping, in resource development, ecotourism, and fishing. And I think those things are only going to increase.” As they do, look for the Coast Guard’s presence to grow along with them. n

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SERVING FORWARD IN THE ARABIAN GULF One of the Coast Guard’s busiest commands operates far from the U.S. coastline. Based in Bahrain, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) works alongside the U.S. Navy and partner nations to provide maritime security in the Arabian Gulf.

The mission of PATFORSWA is to train, organize, equip, support, and deploy combat-ready Coast Guard forces in support of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and national security objectives. PATFORSWA works with Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) in furthering their goals to conduct persistent maritime operations to forward U.S. interests, deter and counter disruptive countries, defeat violent extremism, and strengthen partner nations’ maritime capabilities in order to promote a secure maritime environment in the CENTCOM area of responsibility (AOR).

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK

PATFORSWA exercises administrative control of six Coast Guard cutters in addition to performing the necessary support and training functions. Commander Destroyer Squadron 50 and Commander Task Force (CTF) 55 – which is actually the same organization – exercises operational and tactical command over PATFORSWA. DESRON 50/TF55 directs the operations of all Coast Guard forces in the AOR and ensure CENTCOM strategic objectives are prioritized.

Six 110-foot Island-class patrol boats – the Coast Guard cutters Adak, Aquidneck, Baranof, Maui, Monomoy, and Wrangell – are forward deployed to Bahrain.

PATFORSWA also includes the Maritime Engagement Team, and robust shoreside support, maintenance, and logistics components. The Advanced Interdiction Team (AIT) is deployed for six-month periods from the Maritime

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 1ST CLASS JOAN E. JENNINGS

By EDWARD LUNDQUIST

Opposite page: Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 26, Det. 1, conducts a vertical onboard delivery with the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Maui.

HSC-26 is a forward-deployed naval force asset attached to Commander, Task Force 53 to provide combat logistics and search and rescue capability throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS NICOLE J. GROLL

Right: Coast Guard Reserve Port Security Unit (PSU) 301 boarding team members clear a room during Boarding Team Member training on Coast Guard Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts, March 29, 2017. Using nonfiring blue guns, members of PSU 301 go through a “ship-in-a-box,” which simulates the inside of large ships such as a cargo vessel.

Security Response Team (MSRT) in Chesapeake, Virginia.

While they are deployed as CTU 55.1.8, PATFORSWA acts as administrative control for the team, liaising on their behalf with U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F), and CTF 55.

While assigned to CTF 55, the individual units under the PATFORSWA umbrella execute operations in support of Combined Maritime Task Forces 150, 151, and 152. “We bring a non-redundant capability to the combined maritime component commanders throughout the AOR,” said Coast Guard Capt. Clinton Carlson, commodore of PATFORSWA. “With our unique Title 10 and Title 14 authorities, the Coast Guard has proven exceptionally valuable in conducting law enforcement centric and defense operations simultaneously.”

The Bahrain-based patrol boats have a different mission focus than the stateside Island-class cutters, which primarily conduct traditional Title 14 missions such as SAR; law enforcement boardings for the prevention, detection, and suppression of violations of laws of the United States; aids to navigation (ATON) verification; and depending on the region, high-value asset escorts. In the CENTCOM AOR, Carlson said the Island class almost exclusively executes Title 10 missions. “They work in concert with U.S. Navy assets and classified operations, multinational exercises, and close quarters interactions with Iranian vessels while providing Title 14 [law enforcement] expertise to the operational commanders. To facilitate these missions, WPBs [Island-class cutters] operate at least 1,000 hours more than stateside WPBs. This requires a much more robust support network to continually train, provide intelligence, repair and replenish the cutters prior to their next operation. No other location in the entire organization has the magnitude of on-call support.”

The patrol boatcrews practice visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) techniques, maritime law enforcement,

water survival, and tactical egress/emergency evacuation.

Training topics include mission planning; boarding procedures; law enforcement case package preparation; defensive tactics; use of force; escorts and detainee processing; close quarters combat; tactical combat casualty care; hidden compartments; hazardous situations; confined spaces; and smuggling trends.

Teams are trained with mannequins, mechanical breaching gear, non-gun and air-soft training weapons, and contraband detection kits.

PATFORSWA is responsible for several teams that deploy to Bahrain from the United States.

The Maritime Engagement Team (MET) conducts subject-matter expertise exchanges with the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Oman) as well as with other coalition and allied forces. The MET originally had the mission of maintaining the currency of the cutter law enforcement teams. “Since then the mission has grown, and is now used to share the Coast Guard core law enforcement competencies with our coalition partners throughout the region and into the European Command and Africa Command AORs,” Carlson said.

The MET also participates in numerous exercises critical to enhancing the interoperability of U.S. and foreign forces in the CENTCOM AOR in the realm of visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) and smallboat operations. The MET is responsible for outfitting and training the six cutters and conducting their water survival training program certifications.

The MET conducts both Title 10 subject-matter expertise exchanges and Title 22 formal training. This 12-person team conducts VBSS and smallboat operations and counter-smuggling work ops at their Naval Support Activity Bahrain “ship-in-a-box” facility consisting of both an indoor (air-conditioned) and outdoor mock

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ship, volumetric lab, and smuggling dhow. The ship-ina-box is fabricated from shipping containers. It’s three stories high and offers 2,000 square feet of interior space to simulate shipboard inspections.

There’s also a “real” 60-foot dhow fishing vessel with more than 20 hidden compartments to challenge boarding parties. “The dhow, purchased several years ago, is an actual Arabian Gulf dhow that the team has outfitted with hidden smuggling compartments, and is used to teach proper effective search techniques,” Carlson said.

The MET participates in operations and training with other U.S. armed forces and foreign military partners.

So far in FY 2017, the MET has engaged with more than 1,300 personnel from 40 countries.

The AIT is a 12-man Coast Guard deployable specialized forces (DSF) team that rotates into the theater for six-month deployments. This DSF team of professional maritime law enforcement specialists from the MSRT in Chesapeake, Virginia, provides operational commanders with a full spectrum boarding team capable of every aspect of maritime enforcement, from “pattern of life” boardings to opposed/nonconsensual boardings. The AIT is a primary contributor to the Combined Maritime Forces CTF 150 and CTF 152 operations. They have the ability to immediately deploy to any asset within the NAVCENT AOR and conduct non-compliant or opposed boardings of vessels suspected of conducting smuggling or piracy operations. Their primary focus in the AOR is enforcing maritime law, monitoring pattern-of-life activities of local merchant and fishing fleets, and detecting and countering illicit smuggling of lethal aid and narcotics.

The Redeployment Assistance and Inspection Detachment (RAID) was disestablished in 2015. Primarily working in Afghanistan, they helped Department of Defense (DOD) and State Department personnel prepare their equipment, vehicles, and supplies for redeployment. They provided guidance to DOD unit movement officers and hazardous materials (HAZMAT) certifiers on requirements and regulations, ensured proper container and structural integrity per the International Convention for Safe Containers, and advised DOD on proper stowage, segregation, blocking, bracing, placarding, labeling, packaging, and manifestation of containerized cargo. RAID members were Customs Border Clearance Agent-certified and enforced all U.S. customs and applicable regulations.

During the U.S. Army’s redeployment from Iraq, the RAID inspected 20 percent of the Army’s shipping containers containing 2.2 million pieces of equipment.

Their efforts saved DOD tens of millions of dollars in transportation costs due to cargo delays resulting from improper processing.

CHALLENGING ASSIGNMENT Upon receiving orders to PATFORSWA, each candidate is required to successfully complete a variety of predeployment training developed to best prepare him or

her for the Coast Guard’s most dynamic and high-threat operating area. This includes various courses designed to simulate combat situations before completing tactical combat casualty care and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training. These courses and more are aimed at preparing the candidates for CENTCOM deployment. Additional specific training is provided to each individual based on his/her rate and assignment to develop their technical abilities for their often unique position within the crew.

The training regime is geared toward ensuring immediate integration into their respective crews.

Unlike any other unit in the Coast Guard, PATFORSWA experiences a 100 percent crew turnover annually through three transfer seasons. By comparison, stateside crews have less pipeline training, do not receive any combat training, and do not have the same expectation of being fully functional immediately upon reporting to their new unit.

Each Island-class cutter receives at least one week per month to perform all scheduled maintenance, and every 18 months the unit is sent into a dry dock to conduct more comprehensive repairs to major pieces of machinery. This maintenance plan has extended the operational life of these assets by several years. While the 110-foot Island-class cutters back home are being decommissioned and replaced by the fast response cutter (FRC), the PATFORSWA 110s are continuing to be expertly maintained to ensure they continue to support regional strategic objectives. Although the patrol force desperately needs the increased operational capabilities that FRCs would provide in the CENTCOM AOR, the Island class will continue to serve for the foreseeable future.

Carlson said PATFORSWA is like no other Coast Guard command. “The PATFORSWA assignment process is allvolunteer and competitive. Our team is composed of the top performers in each given specialty and are entrusted with highly sensitive information and expected to perform at the highest operational level. This is a unit that consistently punches well above its weight class and has become a valuable arrow in the C5F quiver.”

Coast Guard men and women assigned to PATFORSWA have a wide variety of opportunities open to them, and the highest assignment priority, upon successful completion of their tour. The enlisted personnel can develop skills that may not normally be afforded to them in their rate; such as weapons qualifications, cross-deck experiences with U.S. Navy assets, and additional pipeline schools not offered to stateside billets. In addition, all members gain a greater understanding for DOD, joint capabilities, and national strategic objectives for the region.

“They are exposed to a vastly different culture and gain a greater appreciation for how people live outside the United States,” said Carlson. “The junior officers who leave PATFORSWA have all gained a deeper understanding of how the Coast Guard fits into the national command structure and the national security strategy.” n

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THE BLACK HULL FLEET Aging inland construction tenders continue to perform their missions.

Founded as the Revenue Marine in 1790, the U.S. Coast Guard is the nation’s oldest continuous seagoing service, responsible for 11 congressionally mandated missions, and the 12th largest naval force in the world. Although part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), it often is called upon to report to the Department of Defense – or directly to the president – and has fought in every U.S. war, from the Revolution to Southwest Asia.

Every day, the Coast Guard protects and defends more than 100,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways and enforces U.S. law in the world’s largest exclusive economic zone – 3.4 million square miles stretching

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from north of the Arctic Circle to south of the Equator and encompassing nine time zones, from Guam to Puerto Rico.

It also has some of the oldest vessels of any U.S. uniformed service, especially its fleet of 35 inland construction tenders, the oldest commissioned in 1944, the youngest in 1989. Their average age of 52 years in service is nearly twice their planned operational life.

Known as the “black hull fleet,” these cutters range in size from 75 to 160 feet in three classes (WLIC, WLR, WLI) and nine variants, representing different years of acquisition.

Their primary missions are to build and service shore structures, such as piers and buoy trestles, and

USCG PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS DANIEL SCOTT

By J.R. WILSON

to maintain buoys and aids to navigation (ATON).

As part of the multi-mission Coast Guard, however, they also may be used for law enforcement (drug interdiction, fisheries regulations, etc.), environmental and humanitarian response, search and rescue (SAR) operations, and homeland security.

“They don’t do a lot of drug interdiction, but in many areas, they are the only federal presence for miles, maybe the only government presence at any level. So, in multi-mission mode, they may not be chasing drug cartel fast boats, but typically operate on one week at sea and two weeks in port, during which they load and unload all the batteries, buoys, construction materials, etc., they carry and retrieve,” according to Mike Emerson, director of Marine Transportation Systems.

The rest of the world has similar requirements with respect to inland waterway maintenance, although the U.S. vessels doing that work are the oldest.

“Europe manages their waterways in a similar fashion to us, compared to Africa and some others, as does Canada. The vessels are similar, but what we do differs in that we are very multi-mission and our folks rotate through the ATON mission from other backgrounds. We do a lot of training and our vessels are crew centric, living aboard for a week, working from dawn to dusk, so the berthing is bigger, range is greater, carrying capacity is greater,” he said.

“The numbers also are comparable. Some of our vessels may be responsible for 700 ATON per vessel and may be the only asset for miles. Canada and Europe probably have more assets clustered in specific areas near locks and dams, where ours are more evenly distributed.”

The Coast Guard black hull fleet’s ATON and waterway infrastructure support operations are critical to the annual movement of $8.7 billion worth of goods and commodities through the 12,000-mile inland waterways

component of the nation’s Marine Transportation System (MTS).

“These are the ‘cop-on-the-beat’ vessels. They are fundamental to waterway safety. It’s not a sexy mission, but they basically are responsible for how we manage the waterways so they can support commerce, involving multiple classes of U.S. and foreign vessels, across a full range of sizes,” said Emerson, a retired Coast Guard captain.

That includes enforcing compliance for navigation for waterways, channel markings, speed, no-wake zones, special-use areas for environmental protection, etc. They also ensure the navigation aids are working properly and replace buoys that have been damaged or sunk.

“It’s a different blend [of crew] from other Coast Guard vessels, which typically have operational support specialists, gunners mates, etc., depending on their primary missions. Ours reflect our ATON, cargo-loading and construction missions,” he said. “Commercial tugs typically have a crew of six; ours have 12 to 14, including engineers, machinery technicians, some general purpose, non-rated new enlisted crewmen, damage control, electricians’ mates, and bosuns’ mates.”

The construction tenders pour concrete, repair docks and jetties damaged by storms or monster tides, clear channels, open new ranges, update those altered by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) changes to waterway infrastructure, etc. The river tenders work 30,000 navigation aids, a major year-round effort because waterway contours change continuously and the channels need to be precisely marked so commerce can continue.

In addition, they do SAR, as needed, help vessels needing gas or a tow, and carry their own pilings and put up ranges and lights as needed, on demand. Their on-thefly missions include response and recovery, environmental protection, damage assessment, determining the need

PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS NICOLE BARGER

Opposite page: The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Sledge, a 75-foot river buoy tender based out of Baltimore, Maryland, finishes a day of aids to navigation (ATON) work on the Delaware River near Philadelphia, April 19, 2017. Sledge is one of eight WLRs stationed around the United States that perform essential ATON tasks to help keep mariners safe and keep the flow of commerce moving without interruption.

Right: A group of cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy work on designs to replace some of the oldest cutters in the Coast Guard’s fleet. These vessels – inland construction tenders – are the service’s waterway aids to navigation fleet, which include buoy and construction tenders, and have an average age of 52 years. The cadets were involved in a 35-week capstone design project, which specifically focuses on the design of a ship that could potentially replace these classes of vessels.

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The Coast Guard Cutter Smilax arrived at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, May 4, 2015, to begin an anticipated 15-week repair availability for overhaul, inspection, and preservation work on the 100-foot inland construction tender. Commissioned in 1944, Smilax is the oldest vessel in active Coast Guard service today, and proudly carries the title Queen of the Fleet (and the privilege of a gold hull number). The cutter is homeported in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, where it maintains more than 1,000 fixed aids to navigation and dozens of buoys throughout the North Carolina Outer Banks, assuring safe navigation for mariners.

surge these boats outside their normal range to be used as response assets. So, we’re looking at how they will be used, with a lot of multi-mission response-and-recovery capability going into the replacement design.”

Some changes already are challenging the current fleet, especially those dating back to the 1940s.

“We didn’t have the need for ATON we have now, the speeds of the inland waterway vessels have increased, one tug pushing 15 articulated barges, etc. We typically replace one-third of the buoys each year that are run over, sunk, washed off station, etc.,” he said.

“Repairing nav [navigation] aids and replacing lights is a daily business now, where back in the lighthouse days nighttime river traffic really wasn’t done, there were far fewer recreational boats, dinner cruises, etc. Not to mention responses to recreational boaters who don’t understand the dynamics of river tugs and such.

USCG PHOTO BY CHARLES WILSON, CG YARD

for infrastructure, and as command and control platforms for special events.

They also are on standby during hurricane season. For example, after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, inland cutters opened the harbor at the Port of Charleston within 24 hours, working with USACE and others to sound the channel. They were brought down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Katrina, providing platforms for some of the survey work and general utility.

There is an ongoing sustainment program to keep the inland cutters operational, but the real problem is not the technology on board, but the age of the hulls.

“Because there are nine variants, it’s not a classic sustainment. We just re-engineered some of the WLRs, but otherwise it’s been ‘just-in-time’ maintenance. That’s not uncommon for the Coast Guard, which has a history of hand-me-down vessels from the Navy since World War II, all different classes and so independently managed, based on availability and other engineering indicators,” Emerson explained. “We have upgraded some of the on board systems, such as cranes, but here we’re talking about aging hulls.

“Picking up a 1944 work vessel that has been rode hard, I’m reluctant to even consider what would be required to keep it in service. We’re talking about just the basics of getting underway, staying afloat, and propelling themselves. In addition, the missions have changed, with more women in the Coast Guard and more calls to

USCG PHOTO BY PA3 CHRISTOPHER GRISAFE

“We are working on a suite of ATON, such as virtual buoys that are depicted graphically, integrated with GPS, with signals from automated carrier signals, enabling almost autonomous navigation. We are pushing virtual ATON integrated into the bridge management systems of both Coast Guard and other vessels. On the Ohio River, for example, we’ve been demonstrating AIS [Automatic Identification System] capabilities for the past year-anda-half, with a physical buoy with a beacon that is recognized by some of the prototype moving maps.”

Emerson believes recently approved new funding indicates Congress and DHS recognize the problem and are beginning to address it.

“We got $1 million this year to reduce the large number of variants down to about three. So within the broad base of support we have in the heartland, especially the 22 homeport states, there should be broad support on both sides of the aisle. These are not off-theshelf configurations, but are fairly simple designs. We hope to get delivery of the first replacement assets in the 2020s, three designs that do the job,” Emerson said.

“This recapitalization effort is based on our analysis that some of the existing hulls – up to 70 years old – are beyond their lifespan and don’t warrant upgrades so much as replacement. We want to get replacement assets designed for mixed-gender crews, better habitability – including air conditioning, heat, and insulation – higher availability. Right now, the maintenance and failure rates make their availability about 20 percent below what is acceptable.”

The replacement effort will be a vast change from the original acquisition of the black hull fleet, which began with transferred vessels the Navy no longer needed, then grew in purchases of one or two at a time to deal with changing waterways and related infrastructure. As wharfs became major inland waterway ports and USACE made major alterations to rivers, the Coast Guard acquired what it could afford and was available to meet its needs.

But those needs have continued to increase, even as the fleet becomes more outdated. With the green light to replace them, the Coast Guard is looking at newly designed vessels specifically built to deal with current and future requirements.

“We started with the requirements, then went to the Marine Design Center in Philadelphia, the Army Corps folks who design their custom tugs and barges, and asked for a suite of designs to choose from. Based on the requirements, they gave us about a dozen, which we narrowed down to three that would allow for a couple of customized barges and cover all requirements – icy, fastflowing, shallow waters, draft limits, bridges – there are 80 on the upper and lower Mississippi alone,” Emerson said.

“Our next step is to go back to them with some edits. We reduced the requirement for on board fuel and endurance to a more realistic scenario so we could have a shallower draft. We typically push one barge with some construction materials, so we don’t need the horsepower to push more and larger barges.”

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry prepares to set seasonal buoys along the Mendenhall Bar, Juneau, Alaska.

He expects the acquisition process to take about 10 years, although it could be longer as the inland cutters are worked into the replacement schedule for other vessels across the Coast Guard, including icebreakers.

No priorities have yet been established on which vessels will be replaced first, although the Coast Guard Cutter Smilax – the oldest – is expected to top the list.

“We’re probably looking at 2030 to have the last of the current fleet retired. The question of the hour is whether we need a one-for-one replacement or some other formula,” Emerson said. “Some people want to do away with the physical constellation of ATON. New technologies are augmenting these aids and certainly enhance their value, but if you lose GPS or power, even if the physical ATONs are replaced as the primary source, they certainly won’t go away for the next few decades.”

Whatever changes technology may bring to America’s inland waterways, Emerson sees not only a continuing need for the inland fleet, but a growing one.

“I fully expect the continued increase in multi-mission demands on these assets. Based on their locations, I suspect they will retain their primary ATON missions, but also will be used more by governors for western river floods, for response to droughts, support for special events, port security, timely construction projects,” he predicted.

“The size of the vessels and amount of inland traffic are increasing in every realm – commercial fishing, recreation, tourism, etc. That means a lot more complex use of waterways, but the waterways aren’t getting any bigger. In addition, a lot of the things being rolled out are vulnerable to cyberattacks, so the future will demand more support for these waterway cutters.” n

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ICEBREAKERS ARE VITAL TO U.S. PRESENCE IN THE POLAR REGIONS America’s icebreaker fleet is on thin ice, but activity to replace them is warming up. The U.S. Coast Guard is in the “analyze/select” phase of acquiring a new polar icebreaker. This phase involves evaluating acquisition approaches and assessing the merits of each approach.

The United States needs icebreakers for conducting and supporting nine of 11 statutory missions in the polar regions, defending U.S. sovereignty in the Arctic by helping to maintain a U.S. presence in U.S. territorial waters in the region; defending other U.S. interests in polar regions, including economic interests in waters that are within the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) north of Alaska; monitoring sea traffic in the Arctic, including ships bound for the United States; and conducting other

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typical Coast Guard missions (such as search and rescue, law enforcement, and protection of marine resources) in Arctic waters, including U.S. territorial waters north of Alaska.

The operational polar ice breaking fleet currently includes one 399-foot heavy icebreaker – CGC Polar Star (WAGB 10), commissioned in 1976 – and one 420-foot medium icebreaker – CGC Healy (WAGB 20), commissioned in 2000 – which was designed for polar research activities. These cutters are designed for open-water ice breaking and feature reinforced hulls and specially angled bows.

Polar Star underwent a three-year reactivation and returned to operations in late 2013. Since then, Polar

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS GEORGE DEGENER

By EDWARD LUNDQUIST

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS MEREDITH MANNING

Opposite page: The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, a heavy icebreaker homeported in Seattle, breaks a parallel channel in the ice beside a previous channel near the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Jan. 15, 2015. As the area of broken ice widens, southerly winds will push the ice out to sea, allowing supply vessels to deliver cargo to the station.

Above: The Coast Guard Cutter Healy, a medium icebreaker, sits in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska during an Arctic deployment in support of scientific research and polar operations, July 29, 2017. The Coast Guard’s leadership role in providing a continued Arctic presence is essential to national security, maritime domain awareness, freedom of navigation, U.S. sovereign interests, and scientific research.

Star has completed three Operation Deep Freeze deployments to resupply McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The Coast Guard expects Polar Star to remain in service through approximately 2020 to 2023. Sister ship CGC Polar Sea (WAGB 11), was placed in commissioned inactive status by the service in 2011, and some of its parts were used to reactivate Polar Star.

Healy is a bit larger than Polar Star and Polar Sea – it is 420 feet long and displaces about 16,000 tons.

However, due to its design (propulsion systems and hull form), it has less ice breaking capability than Polar Star and Polar Sea and, as a result, is considered a medium polar icebreaker.

Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft has ruled out trying to bring back the currently inactive Polar Sea to duty. In an address at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank in May 2017, he said the Coast Guard’s long-term thinking calls for six icebreakers: three heavy and three medium.

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“Consequently, the Coast Guard expedited its acquisition of new heavy icebreakers with delivery of the first polar icebreaker scheduled in 2023,” Zukunft said.

The Coast Guard awarded five firm fixed-price contracts for heavy polar icebreaker design studies and analysis in February 2017. The studies will identify design and systems approaches to help reduce acquisition cost and production time lines. Draft heavy polar icebreaker system specifications were released in April 2017 in a request-to-industry input on heavy polar icebreaker technology risks, sustainability, productivity, and affordability. The draft specifications addressed icebreaker hull structure, propulsion and electrical plants, command and control systems, outfitting, and auxiliary components.

There is widespread congressional support for the icebreakers.

“The United States continues to be late to the game in the Arctic, as evidenced most clearly by our meager existing fleet of Coast Guard icebreakers capable of operating in this important region,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, “with rapidly increasing commercial activity and sea traffic in the Arctic and Russia’s alarming military buildup, America can no long afford to neglect this area of the globe.”

By comparison, Sullivan pointed out, Russia has 41 governmental and privately owned conventional and nuclear icebreakers, with 11 additional icebreakers in development or planning, including three new nuclearpowered icebreakers to be completed by 2020.

A June 2013 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Mission Need Statement reads that “current requirements and future projections ... indicate the Coast Guard will need to expand its icebreaking capacity, potentially requiring a fleet of up to six icebreakers (3 heavy and 3 medium) to adequately meet mission demands in the high latitudes. ...”

“We probably know more about outer space than the Arctic,” said Zukunft during his address at the CSIS forum in May. About 20 percent of the waters are charted to modern standards, he added.

The diminishing multi-year ice in the Arctic is opening up the region for shipping. Cruise ships are venturing into higher latitudes, and routes from Asia to Europe can be much shorter by crossing through Arctic waters in the summer months. But diminished ice doesn’t mean ice free. Any kind of scientific or commercial activity in the region must be self-sufficient because help is far away, even in the best of conditions, and the Arctic is usually the worst of conditions.

Compounding the distance for any kind of medical support or resupply is the nearly total lack of communications infrastructure. “The biggest problem [with communications there] is bandwidth,” and that affects all operations, Zukunft said.

For years, the U.S. Navy operated armed icebreakers, which were later turned over to the Coast Guard. Today, there is talk that the nation’s new icebreakers could be armed. But having the space, weight, and power margins to ensure national level interests are satisfied (e.g., defense readiness, maintaining national sovereignty, etc.) is essential and must be designed in from the beginning; not added on as an afterthought.

URGENT REQUIREMENT The U.S. Coast Guard’s “Polar Icebreaker Operational Requirements Document” (ORD) is the formal statement, developed by the sponsor in collaboration with the stakeholders, of the operational performance and related operational parameters for the proposed concept. The polar icebreaker (PIB) ORD is the source document that consolidates and describes the operational system in terms of a range of acceptable and desirable standards of performance; support and maintenance requirements; and serves as the source document for a host of systems engineering activities, ongoing requirements analysis, and cost-estimating to ensure the success of the program. The PIB ORD was developed by a 46-member, 11-agency integrated product team (IPT) to describe the operating requirements that span the

T

he United States is an Arctic nation, with a significant coastline along the Arctic Ocean, and major research activities in polar waters and on the Antarctic continent. So the ability to have a presence and operate in polar ice is vital, and required to meet the service’s statutory missions. Coast Guard polar presence is a national priority for: • defending U.S. sovereignty in the Arctic by helping to maintain a U.S. presence in U.S. territorial waters in the region; • defending other U.S. interests in polar regions, including economic interests in waters that are within the U.S. exclusive economic zone north of Alaska; • monitoring sea traffic in the Arctic, including ships bound for the United States; • conducting other typical Coast Guard missions (such as search and rescue, aids to navigation, law enforcement, environmental protection, and protection of marine resources) in Arctic waters, including U.S. territorial waters north of Alaska; and • conducting and supporting scientific research in the Arctic and Antarctic.

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doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities spectrum needed to meet the Coast Guard’s missions in high latitudes.

NAVY-COAST GUARD TEAM According to the “U.S. Navy Arctic Roadmap: 20142030,” “The Coast Guard and Navy are committed to ensuring safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime activity in Arctic Ocean waters and

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY STEPHEN MINNICH

A model icebreaker hull (background) maneuvers to free a beset vessel during a test at the National Research Council of Canada’s facility in St. John’s, Newfoundland, July 26, 2017. The test showcased the progress made on the testing and evaluation of design models for the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaker acquisition program, which is being supported by an international, multiagency team.

to promoting our other national interests in the Region.”

“The Navy and Coast Guard have a decades-long history of cooperation and collaboration. The two services have worked together in close partnership during times of war and peace to protect our Nation’s ports and waterways and to promote our maritime security interests overseas.

The history of this collaboration between the two sea services acknowledges the distinctive missions, competencies, and cultures of each service,” the roadmap stated. “The combined efforts of the Navy and the Coast Guard in the Arctic Ocean will reflect this historic relationship. …”

Zukunft made a commitment to partner with the Navy to establish an Integrated Program Office (IPO) to acquire new heavy icebreakers. “This approach leverages the expertise of both organizations and is delivering results,” Zukunft wrote in congressional testimony in May 2017. “The recent award of multiple Industry Studies contracts – a concept the Navy has utilized in previous shipbuilding acquisitions to drive affordability and reduce schedule and technical risk – is an example of the positive results of this partnership. We will continue refining the system specification and prepare to release a request for proposal for Detail Design and Construction in FY 2018.”

The IPO was established to best utilize the experience of both services to oversee the accelerated construction of heavy polar icebreakers and rebuild this critical national capability.

According to Brian Olexy, a spokesman for the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate, the IPO will leverage existing designs and mature technologies to mitigate schedule and cost risks using a strategy based on robust industry collaboration and competition leading to award of a contract for detail design and construction. The IPO is emphasizing responsible acceleration by incorporating proven concepts. “The arrangement complies with congressional guidance to leverage Navy involvement for this acquisition program, and maximizes the Coast Guard’s ability to use best practices from the Navy and other shipbuilding programs.”

The IPO is staffed by members of both services, and led via an integrated leadership team. The Coast Guard serves as the technical authority but with Navy IPO staff members providing consultation services where they are subject-matter experts in program management, contracting, budgeting, ship design, and other areas.

“They contribute as active, embedded members of the IPO and ship design team with direct management functions and responsibilities and participate in program and technical decisions,” Olexy said.

This is not the first time the Coast Guard and Navy partnered in an acquisition program, said Olexy. “The medium icebreaker Healy was acquired under a similar Navy-Coast Guard IPO arrangement.

MODEL OF SUCCESS Representatives from the Coast Guard; DHS Science and Technology Directorate; Naval Sea Systems Command; Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division; and the National Research Council Canada (NRC) have met at NRC’s St. John’s, Newfoundland, ice-test facility to discuss the testing and evaluation of potential designs for the icebreaker acquisition program.

“This collaboration benefits both countries as they engage in vital research and development to improve the technology of ice breaking ships,” stated NRC President Iain Stewart in July 2017. “Our knowledge of how ships and offshore structures can operate in harsh environmental conditions combined with our worldclass research facilities and expertise positions Canada as a strategic partner in providing safety and efficiency to the new U.S. polar icebreakers.”

NRC’s St. John’s facilities are home to one of the largest ice test tanks in the world, used to measure the performance and evaluate the hydrodynamic properties and safety of ice-going ships and structures. The ice tank can create realistic model environments to simulate first-year and multiyear ice, pack ice, ridged ice, and glacial ice.

“Model testing activities enable us to examine critical design elements and make informed design decisions early in the acquisition process,” said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael J. Haycock, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition officer. “The data we gather from model testing at the NRC is going to be a major driver of our heavy polar icebreaker acquisition program’s success and will be critical to our efforts to effectively manage costs, mitigate risks, and maintain an accelerated program schedule.”

Neil Meister, the Coast Guard’s technical director of the polar icebreaker replacement project, said building a heavy icebreaker is something that happens once in a generation. “These are considered national strategic assets. What we’re making is essentially a steel fist that has to last for decades and be able to float, run into things, meet our national mission needs, and operate at 40 below zero. These ships do a lot of crazy things that most ships don’t do. The capabilities we are building into the replacement reflect that.”

“Modeling capabilities such as the breakout of a beset vessel is a complex phenomenon that is challenging to predict numerically,” said Stephen Minnich, a naval architect at Carderock. “The powering requirement for the ice breaking mission is an important design and cost driver that ice testing helps to predict. In addition to helping the IPO understand the design trade space, access to this type of facility and expertise through this collaboration is an incredible learning opportunity for our scientists and engineers.” n

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interview

SEN. GARY PETERS, D-MICH. Ranking Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

By RHONDA CARPENTER

First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008 and elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014, Sen. Gary Peters represents the state of Michigan.

He serves on the Armed Services Committee; Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the Joint Economic Committee.

Peters began his public service as a Rochester Hills city councilman in 1991. In 1994, he was elected to the Michigan State Senate and later served as the Michigan State Lottery commissioner.

He volunteered for the U.S. Navy Reserve at age 34, where he earned a Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist designation and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he volunteered again for drilling status.

Born in Pontiac, Peters graduated from Rochester High School and went on to Alma College, where he earned a B.A. in political science. After graduation, while working a full-time job and raising a family, he went on to earn an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Detroit Mercy, a law degree from Wayne State University Law School, and an M.A. in philosophy from Michigan State University, with a focus on the ethics of development.

COAST GUARD OUTLOOK: What motivated you to go into the military, and then into public service?

SEN. GARY PETERS: My family has a long tradition of military service. One of my forefathers fought with the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War and served alongside Gen. George Washington at Valley Forge. My father, a World War II Army veteran, instilled in me at an early age the need to give back and serve the country we love. At age 34, I volunteered to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve. I had the privilege of serving alongside many brave and dedicated men and women,

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and I bring that experience with me every day in my role as an elected official. My time in the Navy Reserve taught me the importance of ensuring that we, as a country, always strive to keep the promises we have made to those who have gone in harm’s way to protect our country.

Coast Guard men and women secure the nation’s borders and protect the homeland, along with myriad additional responsibilities. You were among a group of 23 senators urging the Trump administration to

U.S. SENATE PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO PHOTO BY JOHN KLEMMER

Peters and his wife, Colleen, live in Oakland County and have three children: Gary Jr., Madeleine, and Alana.

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The U.S. Coast Guard plays a critical role in protecting our nation’s borders, conducting counterterrorism patrols and law enforcement operations, as well as ensuring the flow of goods to the United States year-round. President [Donald] Trump’s initial budget proposal cutting the Coast Guard by 12 percent would have dealt a devastating blow to our nation’s maritime security, and I was proud to lead 23 of my Senate colleagues in a letter urging against these drastic cuts. The men and women serving in the Coast Guard deserve operational assets, stable infrastructure, and the tools they need to do their jobs and support their families. I’m pleased the administration dropped their efforts to include these cuts in their final budget, and I will continue advocating for full funding for the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard needs full funding not only to support new acquisitions and appropriate personnel levels, but they also have to maintain and fix their existing operational assets. Between 2010 and 2015, the Coast Guard’s acquisition budget decreased by 40 percent, which was well below the levels necessary to fulfill its mission and maintain its equipment and infrastructure.

The fleet of cutters and patrol boats that guard our nation’s waterways are aging at an unsustainable rate, and Coast Guard command centers, boathouses, and housing are in need of repairs and upgrades. Without the operational platforms, resources, and personnel to carry out these missions, the Coast Guard will be unable to adequately secure our maritime borders.

The Coast Guard acquisition budget continues to constrain needed investments for icebreakers, national security cutters, offshore patrol cutters, fast response cutters, and Great Lakes icebreakers. Although the Coast Guard has continued to demonstrate the ability to accomplish more with less, the service’s operational tempo is unsustainable as its infrastructure continues to age and becomes technologically obsolete. The Coast Guard must be funded to the level they require in order to carry out their missions and respond to individual and national emergencies.

The U.S. Coast Guard conducts all 11 of its congressionally mandated missions in and around your home state. While all are important, the mission of ice breaking is essential to maneuver approximately half-a-billion dollars in commodities each winter through the Great Lakes’ ice fields. In March, you stated in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security that the men and women of the Coast Guard should have “the resources they need to keep open shipping lanes in the Great Lakes.” What does the service require in the region, and in the Arctic, to fulfill its ice breaking mission?

The Coast Guard’s ice breaking operations ensure shipping lanes in our northern regions are accessible, which keeps our nation’s economy humming. Ships on the Great Lakes carry 163 million tons of cargo annually

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and are more efficient than rail or trucks, which gives our region’s agricultural, mining, and manufacturing industries a competitive advantage. In recent years, the Great Lakes have seen record levels of ice cover, and without continuous heavy ice breaking provided by the Coast Guard, this ice cover threatens the uninterrupted movement of commercial shipping that is so vital to the economy in Michigan and neighboring states. We need to ensure commercial ships can get their products to consumers and grow their businesses, and this requires additional Great Lakes ice breaking capabilities. The CGC Mackinaw, commissioned in 2006, is the only heavy icebreaker operating on the Great Lakes, and the other nine ice breaking tugs, some of which were commissioned in the 1970s, are aging drastically. I worked to authorize a new Coast Guard heavy icebreaker in the Great Lakes, and I will continue to urge Congress to appropriate the necessary funds for its construction.

In addition to ice breaking capacity on the Great Lakes, additional icebreakers in the Arctic are needed to protect our economic and national security interests. Right now, the Coast Guard’s only Arctic heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, is the sole U.S. surface presence capable of keeping Arctic shipping lanes open or conducting search and rescue missions year-round. Russia has over 40 icebreakers in its fleet, many of them nuclear powered, with plans for new breakers underway. In December 2016, China began

Above: U.S. Sen. Gary Peters meets with Cmdr.

Greg Matyas (left), then commanding officer of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Michigan.

Opposite page: U.S. Sen. Gary Peters visits U.S. Coast Guard Station Marquette, Michigan, with Chief Boatswain’s Mate Mark Reilly (left), officer in charge.

OFFICE OF U.S. SEN. GARY PETERS

not cut the service’s funding. How might an 11.8 percent budget cut affect the Coast Guard?

“ The men and women serving in the Coast Guard deserve operational assets, stable infrastructure, and the tools they need to do their jobs and support their families. I’m pleased the administration dropped their efforts to include these cuts in their final budget, and I will continue advocating for full funding for the Coast Guard.” construction on its first domestically built polar icebreaker, which will have an operational range of 20,000 nautical miles and is forecasted for final completion by 2019. That’s why it is imperative for the U.S. to invest in additional assets like new heavy icebreakers so that our nation can meet emerging transportation, security, and mission-support demands.

The Commerce Department extended the comment period on Executive Order 13795, which could roll back key protections to marine sanctuaries and monuments. As stewards of living marine resources, in what ways could these rollbacks change this Coast Guard mission?

OFFICE OF U.S. SEN. GARY PETERS

Nationwide, marine sanctuaries generate $8 billion and support over 70,000 jobs in coastal communities across the country through numerous economic activities

including fishing, research, recreation, and tourism.

These sanctuaries are major economic drivers for local communities, including in Alpena, Michigan, where the Thunder Bay [National] Marine Sanctuary brings nearly 100,000 annual visitors to northeast Michigan.

In 2005, counties surrounding Thunder Bay garnered $100 million in sales associated with sanctuary activities and $39.1 million in personal income to residents, and it supported 1,704 jobs.

I was extremely alarmed by the April executive order from President Trump directing the Department of Commerce to review designations and expansions of national marine sanctuaries from the last 10 years – including Thunder Bay’s 2014 expansion from 448 square miles to 4,300 square miles, a tenfold increase.

I was additionally concerned that the public comment period on the executive order was only 30 days. Public engagement was [a] critical component in the creation of many of our national sanctuary designations, including Thunder Bay’s expansion, and the public deserved sufficient time to share their thoughts about the potential rollbacks. That’s why I sent a letter calling on the Department of Commerce to extend the public comment period and give stakeholders enough time to register their comments. I’m pleased that following my letter, the public comment period was extended from July 26 to Aug. 15. This extension provided a brief, but important opportunity for individuals to highlight the role that marine sanctuaries and monuments play as an economic lifeline to coastal communities.

Moving forward, we must devote robust resources to these special places so that researchers and scientists at Thunder Bay and other sanctuaries have the support they need to continue their conservation and research efforts, in addition to supporting coastal communities, boosting tourism and economic growth, and protecting unique and important natural and cultural resources. As ranking member of the subcommittee that oversees NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] and the Office of [National] Marine Sanctuaries, I will continue standing up for marine sanctuaries like Thunder Bay to ensure future generations of Michiganders can enjoy this treasured part of our state.

In the Great Lakes region, a key component of the service’s mission is to protect the marine environment. Do you think the Coast Guard has the resources it needs to respond to a significant violation of this mission should one occur there?

The Great Lakes support Michigan’s multibilliondollar fishing, agricultural, commercial shipping, and tourism industries, in addition to serving as the drinking water source for 40 million people in North America.

Given the Great Lakes’ economic and ecological importance to our region, it’s imperative that we protect them from environmental and health threats like oil spills, invasive species, and toxic algal blooms. The

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Coast Guard is a key partner in these marine protection efforts.

In the U.S. Senate, I’m working to support the Coast Guard’s mission and combat these threats by supporting legislation that promotes research and monitoring of algal blooms and the spread of invasive species.

I’m also particularly concerned about the threat of an oil spill on the Great Lakes’ freshwater ecosystem. Last Congress, I introduced bipartisan legislation that was signed into law to improve pipeline safety and oversight in the Great Lakes basin, including a provision to improve freshwater oil spill responses under heavy ice cover. The Coast Guard has stated that it does not have the technology or capacity for worst-case discharge cleanup under solid ice, and that its response activities are not adequate in ice-choked waters – common conditions on the Great Lakes. I was able to include a similar provision in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 requiring the Coast Guard and other federal agencies to conduct an assessment of oil spill response activities for cleanup in freshwater, especially under heavy ice cover.

This provision will ensure that the Coast Guard will be able to better assess challenges and develop a plan to clean up spills in icy waters. Earlier this year, I authored legislation that was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee to build on these efforts by creating a Coast Guard Center of Expertise for oil spill response in freshwater. The center will allow the Coast Guard to coordinate with universities and other partners to study the environmental impacts of freshwater spills, develop freshwater-specific response strategies, and how to better prepare for a response in or under ice. The Coast Guard already has centers devoted to analyzing liquefied gas shipping, towing vessel issues, and offshore safety, and given the importance of the Great Lakes, a center devoted to studying freshwater issues is essential.

So much of what the Coast Guard does goes largely unnoticed by the public. What is the No. 1 thing the American public should know about the service?

The Coast Guard is a lean branch of our armed forces, with 41,700 active-duty members supporting 11 statutory missions worldwide. The Coast Guard is uniquely tasked with providing maritime security, law enforcement, and prevention and response activities in both domestic and international waters for more than 4.5 million square miles of ocean, 95,000 miles of coastline, 26,000 miles of commercial waterways, 361 ports, 3,700 marine terminals, and 25,000 miles of inland and coastal waterways – the largest system of ports, waterways, and coastal seas in the world.

In 2016, the Coast Guard prevented a record-breaking 443,000 pounds of illegal drugs worth nearly $5.6 billion from entering the United States. And as of September 2017, the service broke that record with its most recent offload of 50,550 pounds of cocaine and heroin, ensuring 455,000 pounds of illegal drugs remained out of the United States this year. The Coast

Guard’s long-serving fleet of high endurance cutters, medium endurance cutters, and Island-class patrol boats are key resources for preventing illicit drugs from pouring into the United States.

Additionally, the Coast Guard has been called upon in recent years to support the Department of Defense’s overseas contingency operations, such as counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa, and the protection of petroleum pipelines and shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf. Six Coast Guard cutters and associated support staff have been deployed to the Persian Gulf since 2003 working in support of Department of Defense combatant commanders.

For my home state of Michigan, the Coast Guard does everything from search and rescue missions that keep recreational swimmers and boaters safe to navigational support and ice breaking operations for commercial shipping vessels and oil spill response in the event of a disaster on the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard’s vital services keep Michigan’s economy going strong.

Why is the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act so important to the nation?

Our oceans and the Great Lakes are an important food source, and we must harvest these resources in a sustainable way to ensure we can feed a growing population here in the U.S. and across the globe.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, although it does not apply to the Great Lakes, guides the management of federal fisheries. The Magnuson-Stevens Act and its subsequent reauthorizations were crucial to reducing illegal fishing in U.S. waters, and more recent authorizations improved fish stocks threatened by overfishing. In addition to reauthorizing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries programs, there is still room to improve our nation’s approach to fisheries management through the next reauthorization. I serve as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, and we are currently taking a closer look at this issue in a series of hearings this fall.

As we explore ways to improve our fisheries management, we can look [to] the success we have had rebuilding 41 fish stocks. These successes offer important lessons for hundreds of other fish stocks threatened by overfishing. Many of these fisheries lack crucial information about abundance, life history, and habitat of the fish. Finding innovative sources of data and improving data collection methods will help management make better decisions and reduce the uncertainty about the fish stocks in our oceans. Fisheries also face ongoing threats from extreme weather and changing ocean conditions. Fisheries management will need to find ways to account for the changing environment to ensure we can continue harvesting fish from the ocean and sustainably manage this important food source for future generations. n

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COAST GUARD AVIATION ASSETS A 21st century air fleet

By CRAIG COLLINS Western Hemisphere; and more maritime activity both in the Arctic and in vast areas of ocean protected by U.S. law and international treaties – are requiring the Coast Guard to do more every year, over an expanding area, in collaboration with a growing number of local, federal, and international partners.

Given such a challenging set of circumstances, identifying other aircraft and surface vessels by flying a patrol plane close enough to either see them or make radio contact is, to put it mildly, not the most efficient way of doing things. Much public attention has been paid to the Coast Guard’s new generation of surface assets – the Legend-class national security cutters (NSCs), the Sentinel-class fast response cutters (FRCs), and the Heritage-class offshore patrol cutters (OPCs) – but perhaps less so their counterparts in the air.

Like the new Coast Guard cutters, the emerging generation of the service’s air assets are suited to the 21st century Coast Guard – not simply because they are bigger, faster, or have a longer range than their predecessors. Their value to the service lies in their ability to

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS MATTHEW S. MASASCHI

Today, Capt. Joe Kimball is chief of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Aviation Forces – but not too long ago he was the commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station (AirSta) Miami, Florida, where he, being a seasoned aviator, sometimes piloted the service’s mediumrange airplane, the HC-144 Ocean Sentry, on patrols.

Even in 2014, his last year at AirSta Miami, Kimball said, “When we were flying, we didn’t really have a common operating picture, to see what other assets were out there and where they were. We would fly and look for vessels in closed fishing areas, or vessels that were smuggling. And if we saw a radar contact in the distance, we would have to fly over and identify them.”

In the mid-term report he released last summer, Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, noted that in his four decades of service, “I have not witnessed a more geo-strategically complex environment.”

Multiple trends – including a boom in commercial traffic throughout the U.S. Marine Transportation System; increasingly sophisticated transnational organized criminal networks that destabilize societies throughout the

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Opposite page: Aircrew members from Coast Guard Air Station (AirSta) Miami aboard an HC-144A Ocean Sentry prepare to take off from Guantanamo Bay, July 17, 2017.

Crewmembers from AirSta Miami, and AirSta Miami, Aviation Detachment (AVDET) Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, provide logistics and inventory support to port security units and cutters in port at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

Above: An HC-130J Super Hercules long-range surveillance aircraft sits on a runway in Waco, Texas, following its arrival May 11, 2017, to begin installation of the Minotaur Mission System suite. The aircraft previously operated out of Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and is the second HC-130J to undergo a mission system retrofit.

more efficiently cover a wider area in collaboration with federal and international partners. Their sophisticated sensing, computing, and communications technology allows operators of these new aircraft to analyze and share intelligence while deployed, making it easier to work as a team to address threats.

The new generation of the Coast Guard’s long-range surveillance and transport aircraft, for example, the HC-130J Super Hercules, is a nose-to-tail overhaul of the previous generation of HC-130Hs, with new Rolls-Royce turboprop engines, composite scimitar propellers, and digital avionics. These upgrades have increased the range of the aircraft by 40 percent and its top speed by 15 percent, while decreasing its takeoff distance by 15 percent. But the aircraft’s most important enhancement may be its suite of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) components, which combine radio and digital transmission of voice and data.

The Super Hercules features advanced radar and electrooptical/infrared (EO/IR) thermal imaging sensors, which enable operators to identify targets for search and rescue, law enforcement, and intelligence-gathering missions.

The Coast Guard’s HC-130J is the first C-130 in the world to feature a 360-degree belly-mounted surface-search radar.

Like all Coast Guard fixed-wing aircraft, the Super Hercules is also in the process of receiving a software package, jointly developed with the U.S. Navy, that will integrate the input and output of the aircraft’s sensing and communications equipment, and allow this data to be shared among all similarly equipped assets in a given mission. Called Minotaur, the system is a “missionization” package that will incorporate these systems and help to create a common operating picture.

What this means is that a Coast Guard airplane pilot will no longer have to identify another mission asset – a ship or an aircraft – by flying close enough to make visual or radio contact; the Minotaur package integrates the Automatic Identification System (AIS), so that the crew will instantly know who’s in the area, and where they are.

AIS signatures are just one data item that can be shared in real time with the missionization package: On a single display, aircrews can see an overlay of all data that’s being taken in by mission partners: radar, EO/IR thermal imaging, and other information, all developing in real time. “That facilitates both manual and automatic correlation of data,” Kimball said, “to more quickly and efficiently process the awareness of what’s on the surface.”

The implementation of Minotaur in all Coast Guard fixed-wing aircraft will have benefits beyond the creation and correlation of a common operating picture.

Real-time tracking of data among assets, and the ability to record and play back this tracking sequence, will become a valuable tool for prosecution and adjudication.

Because Minotaur is a government-owned open architecture system, operating on interoperable assets across multiple platforms belonging to the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, it can be grown and expanded more efficiently than a proprietary system.

The Coast Guard’s Program of Record calls for a fleet of 22 Super Hercules aircraft, and the 10th was delivered in March 2017. Beginning in the summer of 2016,

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MEDIUM-RANGE UPGRADES Over the past decade, the Coast Guard has been phasing out its older HU-25 Guardian, a high-speed mediumrange aircraft that was finally retired from service in 2014. Its replacement, the HC-144 Ocean Sentry, was phased in at Coast Guard air stations beginning in 2009.

The Ocean Sentry was a marked improvement, offering the Coast Guard the ability to remain on scene and track targets for longer periods of time – up to 10 hours – with improved sensor capability and room for more passengers. By 2014, the service had acquired 18 Ocean Sentries, and the HC-144 was logging more flight hours annually than any other Coast Guard aircraft.

The Coast Guard’s original plan called for a fleet of 36 Ocean Sentries – but this plan was altered when Congress, in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014, directed the service to cease its HC-144 program and instead acquire and missionize 14 C-27J Spartan aircraft, to be transferred from the U.S. Air Force. The Ocean Sentry and the Spartan are twin-engine turboprops, similar in configuration – according to Kimball, the Spartan is faster, with greater range, endurance, and lift capability – and will play similar roles in mediumrange surveillance.

On May 1, 2017, Coast Guard AirSta Sacramento, the first operational unit to receive C-27Js, achieved its full complement of aircraft after delivery of its sixth

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The first operational C-27J Spartan assigned to Air Station Sacramento readies for its first watch in June 2016. The C-27J medium-range surveillance aircraft are replacing older HC-130H aircraft currently assigned to the air station.

Spartan. The integration of aircraft that had already been purchased by the federal government will save the Coast Guard hundreds of millions of acquisition dollars, and as delivered by the Air Force, the C-27Js, outfitted with weather radar and communications equipment, are capable of supporting transport and other Coast Guard missions. In order to become fully integrated into the Coast Guard fixed-wing fleet and capable of shared maritime domain awareness – to earn the designation HC-27J – the Spartans will undergo a missionization process to make them interoperable with other Coast Guard assets.

For both the Spartan and the Ocean Sentry, the Coast Guard is working with Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Pax River on integrating the Minotaur mission system architecture. The Ocean Sentry missionization is part of an overall program, Ocean Sentry Refresh, to upgrade its flight management system. So far, two aircraft have successfully undergone the refresh – and they’re now designated HC-144Bs. In May 2017, the Coast Guard contracted with a thermal imaging manufacturer to outfit eight Ocean Sentries with improved EO/IR sensors, increasing the stand-off distance at which they can identify a contact.

“Missionization” will mean something slightly different for each of the Coast Guard’s three fixed-wing aircraft, but the same basic standards of the Minotaur architecture will apply to each. Standardizing this architecture will greatly improve efficiency and effectiveness across a range of activities – not only operations, but also training, logistics, and maintenance.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY LT. SCOTT HANDLIN

the service awarded contracts for missionization of this fleet, and a prototype with the Minotaur Mission System Suite has undergone in-flight testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (Pax River), Maryland. Three additional HC-130Js have begun missionization at L3 Technologies in Waco, Texas – a process that, when concluded, will complete their transformation into the Coast Guard’s new generation of long-range aircraft.

Left: A Coast Guard Air Station (AirSta) Borinquen, Puerto Rico, MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew flies toward Las Marias, Puerto Rico, Oct. 5, 2017, to deliver relief supplies to victims of Hurricane Maria. AirSta Borinquen had been helping deliver food and water to residents stranded by mudslides and washed-out roads.

Right: Two Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters sit at the ramp outside the Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Aug. 10, 2017. The yellow aircraft is one of six Jayhawk helicopters sporting a retro paint scheme as an homage to the centennial of Coast Guard aviation in 2016.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS ERIC D. WOODALL

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY AUXILIARIST DAVID LAU

THE ROTARY-WING FLEET Coast Guard helicopters, the MH-65 Dolphin and the MH-60 Jayhawk, each have their own advantages: The smaller Dolphin can serve as a cutter-based helicopter, while the larger Jayhawk, the Coast Guard’s version of the Army’s Black Hawk, has a longer range and greater hoist capacity. Beginning in 2007, the Coast Guard began an overhaul of its 42 Jayhawk helicopters, converting them from HH-60Js into multimission MH-60Ts. This upgrade, which was completed in 2014, involved: • a Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS), which integrates multiple communications, navigation, and sensing subsystems; • a glass cockpit (integrated digital color displays, replacing the old analog dials and gauges); • EO/IR sensing capabilities; and • additional fuel tanks to extend its range.

The Jayhawk’s new cockpit electronics put weather data, flight plans, search and rescue information, maps, and other crucial flight data right at the pilot’s fingertips, so that aircrews can spend more time focusing on mission objectives.

The additional capabilities and extended range (the Jayhawk has a range of about 600 nautical miles, compared to the Dolphin’s 300), recently led Coast Guard AirSta Traverse City to replace its existing fleet of Dolphin helicopters with Jayhawks. The move will allow pilots to fly missions over the air station’s full area of responsibility, which includes all of Lake Michigan, all of Lake Superior, and most of Lake Huron. The MH-60T, equipped with anti-icing technology, is also capable of rescuing up to 15 people.

Traverse City’s Dolphins were sent to other Coast Guard facilities in need of their agility and

short-range capability. Given the increasing importance of drug interdiction operations, which often require a helicopter capable of landing on a cutter or ship helipad, the change in Traverse City has been of mutual benefit.

The Coast Guard fleet of 102 Dolphin helicopters, meanwhile, is in the final segment of a similar incremental upgrade, a transformation into MH-65E shortrange recovery helicopters. The -E series features new radar, EO/IR sensors, and a CAAS cockpit similar to the Jayhawk’s. The Coast Guard delivered its second MH-65E to Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama, for use in developing a training curriculum for the new upgraded models.

Upgrades aside, the Dolphin and Jayhawk helicopters are among the oldest air assets the Coast Guard owns – the Dolphin entered service in the mid-1980s, and the Jayhawk in 1990. According to Kimball, his office is considering a service life extension for both platforms. “Right now we’re doing the engineering analysis to see what components we’d have to change,” he said, “to take the helicopter from 20,000 hours to 30,000. That could allow us to fly these helicopters into the late 2020s and early 2030s. It would give us some breathing room, to see how technology develops and the DOD’s [Department of Defense] future vertical-lift effort unfolds.”

Like all Coast Guard air assets, the helicopters of the future will likely resemble their counterparts in the other military branches, while bearing the indelible reminders – beyond the white and orange paint – that they’re Coast Guard assets, capable of doing much more, over a much wider area, in collaboration with more partners than ever before. n

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The Heritage-class offshore patrol cutters (OPCs) will ultimately comprise 70 percent of the Coast Guard’s offshore surface fleet. The first OPC is scheduled for delivery in fiscal year 2021.

OFFSHORE PATROL CUTTERS: HIGHEST ACQUISITION PRIORITY The U.S. Coast Guard’s new offshore patrol cutter (OPC) is urgently needed to replace the aging medium endurance cutters – some of which have more than five decades of service – to perform vital patrol missions.

Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft has said on numerous occasions that the OPC is the Coast Guard’s top acquisition priority.

That’s a big deal when one considers that the service currently has more than 20 major and non-major acquisition programs to recapitalize the service’s surface, aviation, and command and control capabilities.

“The offshore patrol cutter will be the backbone of Coast Guard offshore presence and the manifestation of our at-sea authorities,” said Zukunft. “It is essential to stopping smugglers at sea, for interdicting undocumented migrants, rescuing mariners, enforcing fisheries laws, responding to disasters, and protecting our ports.”

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The OPC will replace the two classes of medium endurance cutters, the 1,300-ton, 210-foot Reliant class and the 1,800-ton, 270-foot Famous class. Both are getting old and becoming more expensive to maintain and operate.

The Coast Guard has made targeted investments to maintain an acceptable level of reliability and operational availability of these cutters, but they are reaching technological obsolescence. At the same time, the evolving Coast Guard national and international maritime security missions require a more modern and capable fleet.

“These cutters will eventually comprise 70 percent of Coast Guard surface presence in the offshore zone. OPCs will provide the tools to more effectively enforce federal laws, secure our maritime borders by interdicting threats before they arrive on our shores, disrupt TOCs (transnational organized crime networks), and respond to 21st century threats,” stated Assistant Commandant

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for Acquisition and Chief Acquisition Officer Rear Adm. Michael J. Haycock in written testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

The new OPC will fill the capability bridge between the 418-foot national security cutter (NSC), which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the 154-foot fast response cutter (FRC), which serves closer to shore. The 4,500-ton NSC has a range of 12,000 nautical miles, while the 353-ton FRC has a range of 2,500 nautical miles. Both of these new classes of cutters are now serving in the fleet, and both continue to be built.

The OPC, which has been designated as the Heritageclass maritime security cutter-medium, or WMSM, will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups and serving as mobile command and control platforms for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration incidents and other events.

The cutters will also support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect emerging commerce and energy exploration in Alaska. The OPC has been referred to by some as a light frigate.

The OPCs are desperately needed in the fleet.

Because of the age of the ships and their systems, the Coast Guard and the medium endurance cutter (WMEC) crews have struggled to keep medium endurance cutters seaworthy and functional in order to conduct their six- to eight-week patrols. Despite the challenge and growing cost to operate and maintain, the WMECs are still performing their vital missions, and some of them will find new homes when they leave Coast Guard service. Already the Coast Guard Cutter Courageous has been decommissioned and transferred to the government of Sri Lanka where it now serves its navy as SLNS Samudura. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Durable was decommissioned and transferred to the coast guard of the Colombian navy as ARC Valle del Cauca.

While most Coast Guard counter-narcotics interdictions are cued by intelligence, the age, and availability of WMECs limit the services ability to respond to those intelligence cued events. Newer platforms such as the NSC and OPC will make a major difference in successfully fight against TOC networks, especially in the transit zones.

Although the design is not fully locked in, the notional design of the new OPC will be 360-feet in length and displace about 3,500 tons. Therefore, the OPC will be larger, slightly faster, have better sea-keeping characteristics, and be equipped with modern systems and equipment, which will be more supportable and reliable than the WMECs. While much bigger, the OPC will be able to operate without a correspondingly larger crew.

Currently, the desired crew is estimated to be about 90 to 104 officers and enlisted personnel, not counting detachments, compared with the 75-person crew on the 210s or the 100-person crew on the 270s.

Because crew fatigue is an issue for long operations in heavy weather and launching and recovering boats,

the difference in crew size is based on the quantity and frequency of boat and air operations. The OPC has 126 berths, so it can handle detachments such as the aviation detachment for the MH-60T Jayhawk or H-65 Dolphin helicopters, or ScanEagle® unmanned aircraft.

The OPC will have the ability to exchange voice, data, and video with other Coast Guard and Navy ships and aircraft as well as other U.S. government agencies, NATO, international partners, and commercial and private vessels and aircraft. And because the OPC will have a lot of “Navy-type/Navy-owned” equipment, the OPC will be interoperable with the Navy and well supported.

For the acquisition itself, the Coast Guard used a twophased design-build strategy to acquire the OPC. This approach established stable requirements and design early in the acquisition to help mitigate cost and schedule risks. The Coast Guard awarded contracts to three vendors in February 2014 for phase 1, the preliminary and contract design. After evaluating an extensive range of contract deliverables submitted by the preliminary and contract design phase contractors, the service selected Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc., (ESG) to continue to phase II, which includes detail design and options for construction of up to nine OPCs. This approach further promotes affordability by allowing the Coast Guard to review how nine cutters would be priced in a competitive environment before selecting a single contractor.

Phase II is valued at $110.29 million, and has a potential value of $2.38 billion if all options are exercised. The production contract option has not yet been awarded.

The Coast Guard exercised an option to procure long lead-time materials for the first OPC on Sept. 7, 2016.

The total value of the option is $41.68 million. This covers the initial order of components and materials necessary to support the cutter’s construction including propeller and steering components, marine diesel engines, the ship integrated control system, switchboards and generators. The order supports delivery of the first OPC in fiscal year 2021.

According to Denise Bechtol, OPC deputy program manager, the Coast Guard learned a lot from the NSC and FRC contracts, and incorporated those lessons learned into designing the OPC contract.

There will be 25 OPCs to replace the smaller and less capable but more numerous WMEC 210s and WMEC 270s. Performance of the 25 OPCs was carefully modeled and predicted using the complex Coast Guard Maritime Operational Effectiveness Simulation operations analysis model.

Because the service retains its cutters in service for many years, the OPC is being designed to have the ability to adapt and embrace new technology as it becomes available.

“Our biggest challenge has been the contract selection and award. Now that’s behind us, and we’re working on the project itself,” said Bechtol. “We’re running at full speed.”

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ESG has never built a ship for the Coast Guard or the Navy. But Brendan D’Isernia, ESG’s OPC deputy project manager, said the company has constructed many large and complex ships. “This is not new ground for us in terms of complexity or the skill required to build these ships.”

The company that got its start building long-line fishing boats and scallopers is now building large freezer trawlers, 433-foot articulated tug and barge dredge units and multi-purpose supply vessels with 250-ton capacity cranes, dynamic positioning, and helicopter decks.

Babcock is the design agent for detail design, and VARD is the design agent for preliminary and contract design (Phase I) and is still involved as a subcontractor to Babcock. VARD has experience working with Babcock to develop the offshore patrol vessels for the Irish Navy.

The design isn’t finalized, so specifications and appearance could change. But that isn’t likely. “We’re a year into detailed design and the notional design and specifications haven’t changed significantly in three years,” said Rick Cunningham, ESG’s OPC program manager.

The Coast Guard established an on-site presence (Project Resident Office, or PRO) at the shipbuilder’s facility in Panama City, Florida. The PRO is staffed by Coast Guard personnel who work alongside the shipyard team during production to ensure effective communication and program management. The PRO monitors budget, schedule, and contract performance. The PRO stand-up was commemorated with a ceremony at the shipyard on May 3, 2017. The service’s other major cutter acquisition programs also have Coast Guard PROs at their shipyards. The OPC PRO team will grow when the ships enter full production.

There will also be inspectors on site from the American Bureau of Shipping, to ensure the ships is being properly built to “Naval Vessel Rules.”

Lead ship construction will begin in 2018, with delivery scheduled for 2021. The program completed the first initial critical design review, a critical juncture in preparing the proposed OPC design for production, with the contractor in July 2017.

ESG’s OPC design is based on a lot of Coast Guard experience and expertise. “We brought on former cuttermen for what we called our Cutter Advisory Board.

We had captains, admirals, master chiefs, aviators, and people with a lot of knowledge about what the ships and crews will have to do, and how to provide the best possible ship for them to do their jobs,” Cunningham said. “We have to do this right, because these ships will be around for 40 years.”

In an effort to improve the human systems integration, a mockup of the bridge and the operations center have been created at Panama City to ensure the spaces are designed so people can move about and effectively do their jobs.

According to Lt. Zach Dietz, who works on the OPC program at Coast Guard Headquarters, the new ships represent a huge upgrade over the legacy WMECs. He

T

he Heritage-class OPCs will carry the names of cutters that have distinguished themselves in Coast Guard history. The first 11 ships will be named as follows: • Argus (WMSM 915) • Chase (WMSM 916) • Ingham (WMSM 917) • Rush (WMSM 918) • Pickering (WMSM 919) • Icarus (WMSM 920) • Active (WMSM 921) • Diligence (WMSM 922) • Alert (WMSM 923) • Vigilant (WMSM 924) • Reliance (WMSM 925)

thinks the OPC will be popular with cuttermen. “Having seen the ship being designed, I believe it will be a ship people will want to serve on.”

While some critics point to ESG’s lack of Coast Guard or Navy experience, former Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Bob Papp, now retired and working for ESG, said that the company has been competing in the commercial market for 40 years, and knows how to manage affordability.

“This is going to be the best cutter the Coast Guard ever had,” Papp said.

“The new ships will be faster, more stable, and more connected,” said retired Coast Guard Capt. Brian Perkins, who was part of the team that began the process of replacing the WMECs back in 1998, and who became a member of ESG’s Cutter Advisory Board. “I wish their captains the very best of success. I am jealous.

I wish I was young enough to command one.”

In the meantime, the operators can’t get the OPC into the fleet soon enough. “Our border security mission isn’t conducted at the border. It’s conducted hundreds and even thousands of miles away to stop threats from getting near the U.S. The OPC has the range and capability for those missions. The Heritage-class OPC will be a vital backbone to our fight against transnational organized crime networks,” said Capt. Jason Ryan, chief of enforcement for Coast Guard District 7 in Miami, Florida.

The OPC is designed for both a manned helicopter and unmanned aircraft system (UAS). “The helo is limited in the amount of time the crew can fly. The UAS can remain aloft longer and require less crew resources allowing us to use our manned aircraft when we want to stop actual threats,” said Ryan. “We don’t want to use the helicopter for search and reconnaissance. We want to use it as part of our end-game capability.

“OPCs will be a tremendous capability when we get them,” said Ryan. “They’ll be the workhorse of our fleet.” n

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The ScanEagle, a 44-pound fixed-wing craft, launches from a ship at sea.

EYES IN THE SKY The Coast Guard’s unmanned aircraft program

Seventy percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States passes through the Eastern Pacific, and in recent years, the Coast Guard and its mission partners have been increasingly effective at finding and seizing these illegal shipments. By the time the Coast Guard National Security Cutter Stratton had returned from its six-week patrol of the Eastern Pacific Ocean in early April 2017, it had seized more than $50 million worth of cocaine and apprehended 10 suspected drug traffickers.

It wasn’t a record haul for a national security cutter (NSC) patrol, but the Stratton’s recent voyage stands out as a milestone for the service: It was the first in which drug seizures were directly assisted by a cutter-based

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unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The ScanEagle®, a 44-pound fixed-wing craft launched from a catapult aboard the Stratton, flew 39 sorties, providing maritime surveillance through multiple sensors, including telescoping cameras and a turret-mounted electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging system. With a range of a little more than 60 miles, the ScanEagle was able to relay video and data about targets of interest to the Stratton’s crew.

According to Cmdr. Dan Broadhurst, UAS division chief in the Coast Guard’s Office of Aviation Forces, the addition of these capabilities transformed Stratton’s on board combat information center from a radio room into a fullmotion video experience.

INSITU COURTESY PHOTO; © 2007 DOUG KIEM

By CRAIG COLLINS

It was the ScanEagle’s second deployment aboard the Stratton, completing its service as a prototype system for initial tests and demonstrations. The Coast Guard views its success as an important starting point, and not a crowning achievement, in its UAS program.

The Coast Guard still misses multiple opportunities to catch suspected traffickers over the area known as the Western Hemisphere transit zone, which covers 6 million square miles – twice the area of the continental United States. Adm. Paul Zukunft, Coast Guard commandant, was careful to point this out in this year’s State of the Coast Guard Address: “While it’s refreshing to see the new generation of major cutters arrive at our piers,” he said, “we – the Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense – are lacking enough ‘eyes in the sky.’ We simply do not have enough surveillance platforms to track and take down the threats to our nation. The Coast Guard must acquire land-based, unmanned, or remotely piloted systems in a meaningful way.”

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS SONDRA-KAY KNEEN

PROGRESS TOWARD A MEDIUM-RANGE UAS The national security cutters, which have been in service since 2008, have always been envisioned as platforms for unmanned aerial systems – but for a number of reasons, settling on what such a system would look like has been a painstaking process. The Coast Guard first envisioned an NSC-based vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) UAS, capable of using cutter helipads, but the program that funded that effort has undergone serious restructuring, and the service has struggled to fund its own dedicated UAS program.

In 2015 and 2016, Congress appropriated funds for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) that allowed the Coast Guard to establish a program known as the small unmanned aircraft system for the national security cutter, or sUAS for NSC. This funding enabled the service’s choice of the ScanEagle, manufactured by Boeing subsidiary Insitu, as the prototype system. The service contracted for two 105-day deployments per year.

In spring 2017, as the ScanEagle completed its successful voyage, the Coast Guard issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) for a medium-range UAS, for use on its Legend-class NSCs. As Broadhurst pointed out, the service’s aviation leaders don’t think “small UAS” (sUAS) is a good descriptor for this system; they prefer to classify the coming generation of unmanned systems in the same way their other air assets are classified: as short-, medium-, and long-range.

In its draft RFP, the service specified that it wants the new medium-range UAS to be able to be launched and recovered from aboard a cutter, have an endurance of 12 hours, operate EO/IR cameras, and have day and night capability. While the ScanEagle has performed well, Broadhurst described the sUAS for NSC program as a “laboratory for growing a larger program.” It’s an

open competition to determine who will build the Coast Guard’s medium-range UAS, and Insitu will surely be a strong contender – but the new medium-range UAS will need to satisfy new Coast Guard-specific requirements, said Broadhurst. The funding mechanism used to create the sUAS for NSC program – a discretionary defense appropriation, routed through NAVAIR – meant that many of the ScanEagle’s technical specifications were matched to the Navy’s needs.

Broadhurst envisions the new medium-range UAS as a Coast Guard-specific system used on all nine of the national security cutters, with wide-area surface surveillance technology and perhaps detect-and-avoid capabilities, which are just beginning to emerge in larger UAS systems. The technology imparts a measure of autonomy to the unmanned vehicle, Broadhurst said, the ability to “detect other air vehicles around it and then maneuver to avoid them, so that it can be safe to fly without radar coverage – the same way you can fly a manned aircraft without needing a radar, because the man on board can see another traffic agent, and he has the eyes and the brains and capability to maneuver out of a midair collision.”

The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton offloaded approximately 6 tons of cocaine in San Diego, California, March 31, 2017. Several Coast Guard cutters seized the cocaine in nine interdictions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean from mid-January through February. The load represents eight interdictions of suspected drug-smuggling vessels, known as pangas, and one case of seized bales of cocaine dumped by suspected smugglers.

Stratton’s crew made history by being the first Coast Guard cutter to deploy fully equipped with a small unmanned aerial system for an entire patrol.

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One of most important things to note about the draft RFP, Broadhurst said, is that it signifies the Coast Guard has “a controlling stake in our own destiny, being able to write our own contracts and make modifications as we need to, because our mission is fundamentally different than that of Navy and other services.” After a period of receiving input on the draft, the full RFP is anticipated in late 2017. The Coast Guard anticipates the contract for the medium-range UAS will be awarded in the second half of the 2018 fiscal year.

CBP PHOTO

EXPLORING LONG-RANGE POSSIBILITIES Broadhurst’s point about the Coast Guard’s ability to control its own destiny could be applied to its use of long-range, land-based unmanned aerial vehicles.

The service doesn’t have its own fleet, but since 2008 has been working jointly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which oversees the Border Patrol and operates a fleet of Predator B (also known as the MQ-9 Reaper) UAVs, which are capable of remotely controlled or autonomous operations. Under the arrangement, administered by a Coast Guard/CBP Joint Program Office, the CBP provides the vehicles, the fuel, maintenance, and other support functions, while the Coast Guard provides pilots and sensor operators. The Predator B flights are launched from Jacksonville, Florida, and Corpus Christi, Texas. “We provide a reliable and dependable cadre of active duty personnel,” Broadhurst said, “who end up flying a significant amount of the flight time in support of the CBP and Coast Guard’s common missions.”

Under the arrangement, the Coast Guard, if it identifies the need for a Predator B in fulfilling mission requirements, requests the use of a UAV from the CBP. In spring 2016, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chair of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, sent a letter to the CBP in which he questioned how well this arrangement was working out for the Coast Guard and requested information on the service’s requests. The CBP’s own demand for UAV capabilities, Hunter wrote, often rendered it unable to

A pair of CBP’s Predator B unmanned aerial vehicles.

provide consistent support for the service. While careful not to assign blame – the Predator B is a valuable asset, in high demand – Hunter nevertheless suggested it was time for the Coast Guard to begin acquiring its own fleet of long-range UAVs. Broadhurst and the Coast Guard don’t have an opinion about whether this is a necessary step. “Some people see benefit with the Coast Guard going their own way,” he said, “and others see benefit in continuing to strengthen the joint program. … If we’re talking about leaving the joint program right now, we have another five to 10 years of hard work in front of us while we build up the infrastructure, the people, the logistics – everything that you need to run an organic UAS program.” There would also be complex issues to be resolved about the service’s use of the national airspace.

It’s understandable, Broadhurst said, that some would consider being “benched” for five years, while a new long-range UAS program is built from scratch, a less attractive option than increasing support, in the form of people and money, to the existing joint program.

For now, the Coast Guard is doing what it does best when faced with such a dilemma: It’s carefully studying its options. The 2018 budget proposal, meanwhile, contains start-up funding for research and development of a land-based long-range UAS for the service.

For now, the only UAS program with full congressional funding is the sUAS for NSC program. “We anticipate that being the springboard to get us into everything else,” Broadhurst said. He envisions a future with both short- and medium-range UAS aircraft operating from cutters, and perhaps even long-range aircraft operating out of Coast Guard air stations. But for the time being, he said, “We’ll define requirements. We’ll demonstrate the value and the worth of our UAS. And when the Coast Guard is ready, we’ll take the bones of that program and make it into a major aviation acquisition.” n

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The Coast Guard Cutter John McCormick and crew make way to their homeport at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan in Ketchikan, Alaska, March 2017, concluding a 6,200-mile trip from Key West, Florida.

FAST RESPONSE CUTTERS: GAME-CHANGERS FOR INTERDICTION The Coast Guard’s new fast response cutters (FRCs) are just that: fast and responsive. The 154-foot FRC is a big improvement over the 110-foot patrol boat (WPB) it is replacing, and not just because it is bigger.

The FRC has the same statutory missions as the 110s, performing multi-day patrols to cover the full U.S. 200mile exclusive economic zone and beyond. But size does matter. The larger FRC (354 tons compared with 168 for the WPB) carries more fuel for longer patrols and has improved sea-keeping, superior command and control, and a more capable stern-launched cutterboat than the WPB. It’s better armed, too, with four crew-served .50-caliber machine guns and a remotely operated 25 mm chain gun.

“The acquisition program of record is 58 FRCs. To date, 44 are under contract and 23 are in service,” said Brian Olexy, a spokesman for the Coast Guard’s acquisition directorate. “The lead Sentinel-class fast response cutter, USCGC Bernard C. Webber, was delivered in 2012.”

The FRC acquisition is being conducted via a phased acquisition approach. The first phase supported the acquisition of 32 total FRCs through periodic option awards for cutter production. The Phase II contract was awarded May 4, 2016, to Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, Louisiana. It is based upon the design of the Phase I contract, and includes options to complete the program of record. The initial Phase II award included six FRCs (hulls 33-38) and option one of Phase II was awarded in June 2017 for six FRCs (hulls 39-44), bringing the total number of FRCs on contract to 44.

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The initial 18 ships were assigned to District 7 homeports, including Miami and Key West in Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Follow-on cutters have been homeported in Cape May, New Jersey; Ketchikan, Alaska; and Pascagoula, Mississippi. Honolulu, Hawaii, will be the homeport for the 24th FRC, the Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry.

According to Olexy, the FRC program is on track with respect to cost, schedule, and performance. Recent FRCs delivered to the Coast Guard require less post-delivery work needed to prepare the vessels for operations than earlier boats.

Instead of pursuing a ground-up design, the Coast Guard selected a “parent craft” design for the Sentinelclass patrol boat to ensure that the operating force receives new patrol boats, capable of performing the required missions, as quickly as possible, Olexy said. The Coast Guard coined the term parent craft to describe the use of an existing ship design that has successfully performed equivalent missions.

The FRC is being built using a design inspired by the Netherlands-based Damen Group Stan 4708 patrol vessel, which is slightly larger than Damen’s 4207 patrol boat currently in service with navies, coast guards, customs services, and border patrols around the world. The FRC has been through a rigorous test-and-evaluation process by the Department of Defense and has been certified as meeting the requirements.

In order to make a ship that’s larger and more capable without doubling the size of the crew, the aboard crew

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

By EDWARD LUNDQUIST

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY RICARDO CASTRODAD

Coast Guard personnel and federal law enforcement authorities offloaded approximately 3,157 pounds of cocaine and transferred custody of four suspected smugglers from the Winslow Griesser at Coast Guard Sector San Juan Oct. 7, 2016, following the interdiction of a drug smuggling go-fast vessel in the Caribbean Sea Oct. 3, 2016.

was reduced and a shoreside support element was created for maintenance and sustainment. “When a cutter returns from deployment or patrol, there’s a team ready to deal with casualties, repairs, and scheduled maintenance,” said Cmdr. Thomas Crane, program manager for the future offshore patrol cutter (OPC).

The FRCs bring increased operational capacity to the Coast Guard’s patrol boat fleet because they are designed to operate at 2,500 hours per year compared to the 1,800 hours per year of the legacy 110-foot WPBs. “We try not to exceed those hours, because that’s how we budget for maintenance and fuel costs. The FRC’s availability is meeting expectations, and we are happy with the performance.

Our crews are excited to serve aboard the FRC,” said Crane. “We just pushed out the first two PACAREA [Pacific Area] FRCs to Alaska, and we’ll get them to Hawaii later this year.”

The FRC’s over-the-horizon interceptor (OTH-IV) is a bigger boat than the WPB’s 17-foot rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB). And it’s the same boat as used on the medium endurance cutter (WMEC), national security cutter (NSC), and OPC. The FRC’s stern ramp can more safely launch and recover the OTH-IV in greater sea conditions with fewer people.

It’s called “over-the-horizon” because it has an electronics package that can communicate with the FRC 30-plus miles away. The 110 must be within sight of its RHIB to communicate. The OTH-IV has radar, imaging systems, Automatic Identification System (AIS), and high-frequency (HF) radio communications.

“It’s a huge capability improvement over the 110,” said Crane.

Crane said this is a game-changer for interdiction, because the FRC can deploy its OTH-IV covertly to maintain an element of surprise.

The first FRCs were assigned to District 7, because that’s where they were most urgently needed. “Because

of the D7 [District 7] operational requirement, they probably run their boats the hardest,” Crane said.

“The FRC is our coastal patrol boat. We employ them for patrols with an average endurance of about five days,” said Capt. Jason Ryan, chief of enforcement for Coast Guard District 7 in Miami. “We can’t be everywhere at once, but we can be where we want to be when we need to be.”

“The FRC has high-tech C4ISR [command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] capabilities, and connectivity with joint and interagency command and control,” said Ryan.

“It is well suited to communicate with and conduct operations with our DHS [Department of Homeland Security] partners, such as Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol, as well as our state and local partners with a significant presence on the water, like Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Miami-Dade Police, and Broward County sheriffs.”

District 7 was able to develop the expertise and experience for the new patrol boats. “We were able to build out three large FRC homeports with the maintenance augmentation teams and the ability to support the boats,” said Crane.

Now the boats are seeing service in other areas of operations, like Alaska. “There’s still some learning to be done, because the missions are a little different, as is the environment – namely it’s colder,” Crane said.

Crane said the FRC has a better ability to maintain speed in increased seaway, and its low-profile design, with its bridge amidships, allows for a better ride. “For the size of the boat, she handles very well at a higher speed of advance,” he said.

Twin fixed-pitch propellers powered by two 20-cylinder MTU marine diesel engines enable the FRC to achieve speeds of more than 28 knots.

The propulsion system is controlled from the bridge, where the engineering status can be monitored without any personnel on watch in the engineering spaces. “We can start and stop systems, transfer fuel and water, and monitor everything remotely. But all that technology comes with a maintenance tail. The size of the shoreside maintenance team is based on the number of FRCs in that homeport,” said Crane. “That’s why we cluster our new assets together.”

The improved capability and operational capacity have already delivered immediate benefits and increased presence for the Coast Guard. Compared to

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U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS ERIC D. WOODALL

older patrol boats, the FRCs bring faster response times, longer endurance – both for crew fatigue and fuel – greater communications, and a greater seakeeping capability that will allow the FRCs to conduct more missions in adverse weather conditions.

Lt. Graham Sherman, the Coast Guard 5th District cutter manager, said the FRC has provided the Fifth District with an offshore search and rescue asset that is much more capable than legacy patrol boats. “These assets have a much longer range and a better ability to endure heavy sea states. This allows the cutter to transit hundreds of miles offshore to respond to and rescue vessels in distress. The FRC’s ability to remain underway for long periods of time at far distances offshore has also made them an ideal platform to enforce living marine resource laws by conducting boardings of commercial fishing vessels while they are engaged in fishing,” Sherman said. “The ability to provide this overt, offshore presence deters fisherman from conducting nefarious activities on the fishing grounds.”

According to Lt. Jason McCarthey, commanding officer of the Cape May, New Jersey-based Coast Guard Cutter Rollin Fritch, the FRC’s advanced technology and smooth ride on the ocean has made the FRC a highly desirable platform for crewmembers to serve aboard.

“Thanks to the cutter’s superior maneuverability and the available 11,000-plus horsepower, the FRC can respond to almost anything at 28 knots in moderate sea conditions. The FRC’s state-of-the-art fin-stabilizer system allows the cutter to maneuver at full speed comfortably due to the fins’ ability to react quickly to the sea state.”

The FRCs can also launch their smallboat in a higher sea state than 87s and 110s, making them more adaptable to the operating environment, McCarthey said.

The FRC operationally complements the offshore capabilities of the NSCs and the extended range and endurance of the future OPCs. The FRC’s systems include an advanced communications suite that greatly improves interoperability with the NSC, the OPC when fielded, and Coast Guard aircraft. A radio system called KITE (Keyswitch Integrated Terminal Equipment) allows the crew to manage multiple radio channels simultaneously, allowing them to better coordinate with the rest of the fleet. A secure satellite internet system provides chat rooms and file-sharing to facilitate communications with partner assets, and allows the crew to quickly access intelligence to make informed decisions.

The arrival of the first two FRCs in District 17 in Alaska – the Coast Guard cutters John McCormick and Bailey Barco – have been welcome. Maritime commerce is vital to Alaska’s economy. Alaska produces 57 percent of the total fish landed in the United States each year. In addition, mining, oil, tourism, passenger ferries, and cargo industries all rely on a robust marine

The Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos conducts sea trials off the coast of Key West, Florida, July 19, 2016.

transportation system. Alaska is a challenging area due to the extreme environmental conditions, remoteness, and the limited response capabilities to protect an extremely large area. There are international borders and exclusive economic zones with Russia and Canada that require enforcement. The increased activity in the Arctic has further heightened the demand for governance in the region.

“We have two FRCs so far, both stationed in Ketchikan, and we expect to get six,” according to Capt.

Steve White, chief of enforcement for the Coast Guard’s 17th District. “We have a maintenance support team at Ketchikan, but the challenge is figuring out how to serve such a vast AOR [area of responsibility]. We’re going to have six FRCs and we are still working on the best force laydown and homeport configuration.”

Already the new cutters have performed five patrols.

The FRCs assisted with six search and rescue cases and one pollution case in their first three months of deployment, assisting eight persons in distress in southeast Alaska.

“We had to push one of our FRCs from Ketchikan all the way across the Gulf of Alaska to Dutch Harbor to address a shortfall with our aging 110s. That’s 1,200 miles. Having those kinds of legs is a tremendous advantage,” White said.

According to White, the living conditions are better, which is important for the longer missions. “It’s a leap ahead in habitability. Not just in the staterooms, which are designed for mixed-gender crews, but also in the ergonomic design of the bridge layout and the automation. It’s much easier on the watchstanders.

“We like to maintain a contact rate with our different fishing fleets. We’ve been taxed in our ability to do that until the FRCs arrived,” said White. “They’ve been a game-changer.” n

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U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer DeAnna Melleby, information systems security officer for the Coast Guard Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Information Technology unit at Coast Guard Base Boston, peers through a space in a server April 20, 2017.

Melleby and her team have a number of countermeasures they use to keep the Coast Guard computer network secure, including a “sniffer” program that identifies when USBs or cell phones are plugged into the system.

COAST GUARD CYBERSECURITY Although the U.S. Coast Guard is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rather than the Department of Defense (DOD), Coast Guard Cyber Command (CGCYBER) is a service component of DOD’s joint U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). Stood up in 2013, it also works closely with DHS and the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, which is responsible for critical infrastructure response for the nation.

Specifically, CGCYBER works on anything dealing with the maritime environment and the U.S. Marine Transportation System (MTS). Its mandate was laid out in the 2015 “U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Strategy”: “We will

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ensure the security of our cyberspace, maintain superiority over our adversaries, and safeguard our Nation’s critical maritime infrastructure.”

“For enabling ops, we’re centralizing operations of the enterprise platform – defensive and DOD Information Network Operations [DODINOP] – under CGCYBER, which was just formalized in February 2017,” Cmdr. Lars McCarter, CGCYBER director of operations, explained. “We’ve aligned defending cyberspace with those who do operations and maintenance to better enable operations for the service.”

One piece of that is providing and supporting the enterprise platform, now centralized in the Network

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS ANDREW BARRESI

By J.R. WILSON

Operations and Security Center (NOSC), which comprises: • C4IT Service Center Centralized Service Desk • Telecommunication and Information Systems Command (TISCOM) Enterprise Services Operations Division • Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) New funding for FY 17 allowed the addition of 64 personnel to CGCYBER, for a total complement of 400, a mix of government contractors and military personnel, most reassigned from other locations. For example, of 120 at the Centralized Service Desk in St. Louis, Missouri, 110 came from the Enterprise Service Operations Branch, which was reassigned to CGCYBER from the Telecommunication and Information Systems Command.

In 2017, the first two Coast Guard Academy graduates were selected to go to Cyber Command. They were given a C4IT (command, control, communications, computers, and information technology) officer’s specialty code (OSC) pending creation of a cyber officers OSC, which is still under discussion. At this point, cyber is not a fullfledged career path in the Coast Guard, and those working there can go into other career fields if they leave.

The Coast Guard has 11 congressionally mandated missions, ranging from ice breaking to law enforcement to maritime safety and aids to navigation. While cybersecurity has become an increasingly important component of all the uniformed services and government agencies, it has not been designated as a 12th mission.

“I don’t know that cyber will ever become a mission area; it is intertwined with all the other mission areas the Coast Guard does,” McCarter noted. “We’re already tasked to some degree with [cyber] protection of the MTS through our other mission areas. So the question is, how do we apply cyber methodologies to those other mission areas to ensure they continue unabated under cyber attack.”

Part of the answer is the creation of a Cyber Protection Team (CPT).

“We’re in the process, probably won’t be IOC [initial operational capability] for at least a year, but we’re starting to man it under the NOSC. The CPT will be responsible for defensive cyberspace operations outside the enterprise platform on systems not connected to our central networks. That would include our training networks, some control systems not always connected to the DODINOP, etc., as part of protecting the MTS,” he said.

“We have an environment today where cybersecurity in the maritime environment is shared. The owners and operators of the MTS have the primary responsibility. What we’re trying to determine is should the government have more responsibility. And, quite frankly, at this time, we don’t know. But right now cyber is a shared model where the owner/operator is required to provide security and we provide guidance.”

Under the current system, however, that can be problematic, as was the case with a June 2017 ransomware

attack on Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company. Maersk was one of the first high-profile victims of a growing number of attacks that encrypt the victim’s hard drive, preventing the computer from booting and blocking access to all data, then demand a ransom payment to release it.

“Maersk ended up shutting down their port facilities pre-emptively to stop the spread. That caused impacts for about 24 hours on their port operations. The attack did not compromise their entire system – they shut it down themselves – but the end result was the same: degraded operations. We have seen instances where malware on ships at sea has caused impact on company systems. And we can see future operational impact from those and we want to get in front of that,” McCarter said.

“As a result, CGCYBER started sharing information as we looked into that incident and how we respond to cyber incidents and coordinate with our port partners. There were a lot of lessons learned. One thing we want the CPT to do is provide expertise to Coast Guard operations commanders, port captains, and others, when asked. Not necessarily direct, hands-on technical support, but guidance. The CSOC is a standard security operations center; DOD stood up CPTs to deploy that center technology.”

The biggest threat for the Coast Guard is adversaries targeting things off the DODINOP, especially the MTS, which is responsible for more than $1.5 trillion in annual cargo moving through U.S. seaports to and from international trading partners, in addition to billions of dollars in domestic goods and services.

“As we harden things on the DODINOP and align with DOD, we’ve found adversaries are more aggressively targeting those,” he said. “The other big threat is to the MTS. We don’t have the same visibility into that that we have with our own systems, but it is something the Coast Guard is very concerned about. Can an adversary impact cyber to the extent it would compromise MTS operations and the critical infrastructure of the nation and how do we deal with that?

“We have draft cybersecurity regulations and are looking at changing some regulations with Congress to require certain cybersecurity plans as part of the operations plans of critical infrastructure owners and operators. That’s proactive. On the reactive side, should something happen, we want them to know who to call for help.”

As with virtually every large organization, especially government and military, the Coast Guard is continually targeted by advanced persistent actors.

“Most attacks never become incidents; they are mitigated, sometimes automatically by our defense-indepth systems and personnel at the CSOC. I wouldn’t say the number of effective incidents has risen, but the number of attempts has increased. We focus on those mission essential systems [MESs] we know are critical to our mission areas and directly apply our resources to the security of those MESs above all else,” McCarter said.

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“The Enterprise Mission Platform [EMP] underpins all 11 mission areas, so adversaries target information on that platform, regardless of specifics.

“We haven’t been able to map particular trends to particular target areas. When you do enterprise cyber risk assessment, your first goal is to measure those mission essential services needed to execute our 11 mission areas. Those MESs are viewed as our cyber key terrain and we apply additional defense-in-depth around them and watch them more closely than we do the rest of the EMP. That allows the most efficient use of our resources to ultimately ensure those missions can be executed.”

The Coast Guard’s unique status as a non-DOD uniformed military service is reflected in its CGCYBER organization and operations.

“The way we approach cybersecurity is very similar to DOD. Our network, the EMP, is part of the DOD information network and we protect it to the same degree DOD protects it at large, following DOD standards for cybersecurity operations,” he explained.

“Where we differ is how we align to DHS – we’re a component of DHS, but are considered a dot-mil as a member of DODINOP. Our CPT network will be certified to DOD quality standards, but fully interoperable with DHS. No other organization does that.”

Cybersecurity knows no national boundaries – Maersk, for example, is based in Denmark. And marine operations,

Vice Adm. Charles Ray, deputy commandant for Operations (left), and Rear Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, commander of Coast Guard Cyber Command, cut the ribbon during the opening of the Coast Guard Battle Bridge ceremony, May 30, 2017.

even on inland waterways, is an increasingly international enterprise, in both military and civilian operations.

For now, CGCYBER interacts with its USCYBERCOM international partners – the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – and conducts annual exercises with them. But they do not train jointly with other nations or go anywhere to train another nation’s navy, a standard mission for the Coast Guard at large.

“I can see our engagements with international partners increasing in the out-years, however. Mexico has asked how we apply cybersecurity methods to the MTS. And Canada was briefed on cyber as one of a range of topics last year as part of a joint U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard exchange,” McCarter said.

“Through the next decade, I think CGCYBER will be more externally focused than today, more on critical infrastructure, on partnering with other U.S. government agencies to ensure security of critical infrastructure.

I don’t know how that will materialize, but I think it will be an important development in the future.” n

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THE CUTTERS, BOATS, AND AIRCRAFT OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD PROFESSIONALLY AND PROFICIENTLY OPERATED BY THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD, the service’s cutters, boats, and aircraft are standing by 24/7 to respond to safety and security threats in all weather conditions, day or night. As the lead federal agency in the maritime domain for law enforcement, incident response, homeland security, and disaster management, these specialized capabilities enable the Coast Guard to save lives, protect the environment, enforce federal laws on the high seas, and defend the homeland.

In recent years, the Coast Guard realized several achievements with recapitalizing its assets.

The Coast Guard commissioned the sixth national security cutter (NSC), Munro, in April 2017, and its 24th fast response cutter late in 2017. Fourteen HC-27J aircraft have been transferred from the Air Force and are being modified for Coast Guard missions.

Despite these milestones, fleet and aircraft recapitalization time lines lag service need, endangering the ability to be “Always Ready” to prepare for, respond to, and quickly recover from major incidents.

Moving forward, the Coast Guard will thoughtfully pursue and achieve a balanced and executable acquisition program for the deteriorating offshore, coastal, and inland assets.

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ICEBREAKERS

Icebreaker, 420-foot Healy class (WAGB) The Coast Guard’s largest ship, the CGC Healy, was launched in 1997 and commissioned in 1999, joining the two Polarclass icebreakers in their homeport of Seattle, Washington.

The Healy is designed to conduct a wide range of research

CGC Healy

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activities, providing more than 4,200 square feet of scientific laboratory space, numerous electronic sensor systems, oceanographic winches, and accommodations for up to 50 scientists.

Healy is capable of breaking 4.5 feet of ice continuously at 3 knots and can operate in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees F. The scientific community provided invaluable input on lab layouts and scientific capabilities during design and construction of the ship.

As a Coast Guard cutter, the Healy is also a capable platform for supporting other potential missions in the polar regions, and is capable of accommodating two H-65 Dolphin helicopters or one Dolphin and one H-60 Jayhawk helicopter.

• Length: 420 feet • Beam: 82 feet • Displacement: 16,000 tons • Power plant: Four diesels, two shafts, 30,000 shaft horsepower (shp)

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

The Coast Guard operates three oceangoing icebreakers, the newest of which, the CGC Healy (WAGB 20), commissioned in 1999, is the service’s largest ship. The Coast Guard also operates one icebreaker on the Great Lakes – the CGC Mackinaw (WLBB 30), which replaced an older ship of the same name.

Icebreakers are painted with an “icebreaker red” hull to make them noticeable in ice-covered waters. One oceangoing icebreaker, the Polar Sea, was cannibalized for parts used to help return its sister, Polar Star, to operation. The Coast Guard and Navy, under an integrated program office, released a draft Request for Proposals Oct. 19, 2017, for the detail design and construction of a new Heavy Polar Icebreaker (HPIB).

CGC Polar Star • Speed: 17 knots • Range: 16,000 nautical miles at 12.5 knots; 37,000 miles at 9.25 knots

• Speed: 18 knots • Range: 16,000 nautical miles at 18 knots; 28,275 at 13 knots

Vessel in this class: • Healy (WAGB 20) Seattle, Washington

Vessels in this class: • Polar Star (WAGB 10) Seattle, Washington • Polar Sea (WAGB 11) deactivated, Seattle, Washington

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

Icebreakers, 399-foot Polar class (WAGB) The Polar-class icebreakers, built in the 1970s, were designed for open-water ice breaking and have reinforced hulls, special ice breaking bows, and a system that allows rapid shifting of ballast to increase the effectiveness of their ice breaking. These ships are capable of continuous progress through ice 6 feet thick at a speed of up to 3 knots. The CGCs Polar Sea and Polar Star were built to serve in the Arctic and Antarctic, supporting science and research as well as providing resupply to remote stations, but their capabilities also enable them to perform search and rescue, escort ships, support environmental protection, and enforcement of laws and treaties in places most ships cannot reach. They are fully equipped for helicopter berthing and deck operations, and can carry two H-60 Jayhawks or H-65 Dolphins. Polar Star was reactivated in December 2012 after three years of refurbishment and modernization. Polar Sea remains laid up while its disposition is determined. The Coast Guard is conducting requirements generation and associated preliminary acquisition tasks for a new heavy icebreaker.

Icebreaker, 240-foot Great Lakes class (WLBB)

• Length: 399 feet • Beam: 83.5 feet • Displacement (28-foot draft): 13,194 tons full load • Power plant: Six Alco diesels, 3,000 British horsepower (bhp) each, three gas turbines, 25,000 shp each, electric drive, three shafts, 66,000 shp

• Length: 240 feet • Beam: 58 feet, 6 inches • Draft: 16 feet • Displacement: 3,500 tons full load • Power plant: Three 4,200-bhp ABT diesel generators; two ABT 3,350-kW azipod propulsion units

The CGC Mackinaw (WLBB 30), like its predecessor of the same name, was designed specifically for the Great Lakes, where its mission has been to keep the shipping lanes open through as much of the winter as possible. Like the former Mackinaw (WAGB 83), the new ship is homeported in Cheboygan, Michigan, and remains the only U.S. heavy ice breaking resource assigned to the Great Lakes. The ship performs ice breaking as well as ATON (aids to navigation), search and rescue (SAR), law enforcement, and other missions. It has a crew of nine officers and 46 enlisted members.

The Mackinaw features state-of-the-art navigation, communication, and security systems and is able to carry a smaller crew than its namesake. The vessel also has a 20-ton crane for servicing aids to navigation, and an oil spill recovery system on board. It uses two podded propulsors and a bow thruster to provide excellent maneuverability, and is designed to break through 32 inches of ice at 3 knots.

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• Speed: 15 knots • Range: 4,000 nautical miles Vessel in this class: • Mackinaw (WLBB 30) Cheboygan, Michigan

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS GEORGE DEGENER

CUTTERS The term “cutter” identifies a Coast Guard vessel 65 feet in length or greater, with accommodations for a crew to live aboard. Major cutters, like the national security cutter, are capable of carrying multiple cutterboat types, including the over-the-horizon (CB-OTH-IV) rigid-hull inflatables, and long-range interceptors (CB-LRI-II). Polar-class icebreakers also carry an Arctic survey boat (ASB), a polar variant of the CB-OTH-IV, and landing craft. Most cutters more than 200 feet in length are capable of accommodating helicopters.

National Security Cutters, 418-foot Legend class (WMSL)

CGC Mackinaw

The first major cutter to join the Coast Guard as part of the fleet recapitalization plan, the national security cutter (NSC) is the largest and most technologically advanced of the service’s new cutters. At 418 feet in length, capable of speeds up to 28 knots, with a crew complement of 122 and a displacement of 4,500

NORTHROP GRUMMAN PHOTO BY STEVE BLOUNT

CGC Waesche

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long tons, the Legend-class cutters are capable of better seakeeping and higher sustained speeds as well as greater endurance than legacy cutters. The ships, being acquired by the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate, feature modern command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities and provide interoperability with U.S. Nav y systems and a common operational picture to enhance maritime domain awareness. In addition to a helicopter deck, the class has a stern ramp for launching and recovering two classes of rigid-hull inflatable (RHIB) cutterboats that deploy with the NSC: the 35-foot CB-LRI-II and the 26 -foot CB-OTH-IV. The NSC can carry a total of three boats: one LRI-II and two CB-OTH-IVs. The first cutter, Bertholf, was commissioned Aug. 4, 2008, and completed its first extended operations in 2009. The second cutter, Waesche, was commissioned May 7, 2010. The third, Stratton, was commissioned March 31, 2012. Hamilton, the fourth NSC , was commissioned in December 2014. The fifth, James, was commissioned in August 2015. The sixth NSC , Munro, was commissioned in April 2017. The seventh, Kimball, and eighth, Midgett, are under construction.

The Coast Guard planned construction of eight national security cutters; however, the FY 2016 budget allocated funds for a ninth, yet-to-be-named NSC. The NSC is armed with a 57 mm/Mk. 110 gun, which is also employed by the Navy’s littoral combat ships, and four M2 .50-caliber machine guns. The NSC can accommodate two H-65s, or one H-65 or H-60 and two vertically launched unmanned aerial vehicles, or other combinations.

• Length: 418 feet • Beam: 54 feet • Displacement: 4,500 long tons full load • Power plant: Combined diesel and gas (CODAG); one 30,565 shp gas turbine engine and two 9,655 hp diesel engines • Speed: up to 28 knots • Range: 12,000 nautical miles • Armament: Mk. 110 57 mm gun; Phalanx 20 mm close-in weapon system (CIWS); Mk. 53 decoy launching system (NULKA); and four M2 .50-caliber machine guns Vessels in this class: • Bertholf (WMSL 750) Alameda, California • Waesche (WMSL 751) Alameda, California • Stratton (WMSL 752) Alameda, California • Hamilton (WMSL 753) Charleston, South Carolina • James (WMSL 754) Charleston, South Carolina • Munro (WMSL 755) Alameda, California • Kimball (WMSL 756) under construction, future homeport Honolulu, Hawaii • Midgett (WMSL 757) under construction, future homeport Honolulu, Hawaii • WMSL 758, long-lead-time materials ordered

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High Endurance Cutters, 378-foot Secretary class (WHEC) Highly versatile and capable of performing a variety of missions, these cutters operate throughout the world’s oceans. Because of their high endurance and their capabilities, similar to those of Navy warships, Secretary-class cutters occasionally deploy as part of Navy carrier battle groups. CGC Hamilton (WHEC 715), commissioned in 1967, was first of the class, which formed the mainstay of the Coast Guard from the 1970s into the 2010s.

The Secretary-class cutters are ideally suited for long-range, high-endurance missions, and for fulfilling the maritime security role, which includes drug interdiction, illegal immigrant interception, and fisheries patrol. The ships are powered by diesel engines and gas turbines, in a combined diesel and gas (CODAG) plant, and have controllable pitch propellers.

Equipped with a helicopter flight deck, retractable hangar, and the facilities to support helicopter deployment, these 12 cutters were introduced to the Coast Guard inventory in the 1960s. The entire class was modernized through the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program between 1985 and 1992, modernizing their helicopter flight deck facilities, radars and other sensors, and fire-control systems.

With a crew of 160, each displaces 3,340 tons. Each is capable of accommodating a single HH-65 Dolphin helicopter.

Secretary-class cutters have been given upgraded C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capabilities under the Deepwater project. The Chase and Hamilton were

CGC Midgett

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS LEVI READ

transferred to the Nigerian and Philippine navies, respectively, in 2011. The Dallas and Jarvis were decommissioned in 2012 and transferred to the Philippine and Bangladeshi navies, respectively. Gallatin was decommissioned in March 2014 and has since been transferred to the Nigerian navy.

Rush transferred to the Bangladeshi navy in May 2015 and Boutwell was transferred to the Philippine navy in July 2016.

Morgenthau was transferred to the Vietnamese navy in May 2017. Ships of the class will continue to be retired as national security cutters enter the fleet.

• Length: 378 feet • Beam: 43 feet • Displacement: 3,340 tons full load • Power plant: Two diesel engines 3,500 bhp each/two gas turbine engines 18,000 shp each, two shafts 36,000 shp • Speed: 29 knots • Range: 2,400 nautical miles at 29 knots or 9,600 miles at 19 knots (on gas turbines); 12,000 nautical miles at 14 knots (on diesels) • Armament: One Mk. 75 76 mm gun; two Mk. 38 25 mm guns; one Phalanx CIWS; two .50-caliber machine guns; two Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures (SRBOC) launchers Vessels in this class: • Mellon (WHEC 717) Seattle, Washington • Sherman (WHEC 720) San Diego, California • Munro (WHEC 724) Kodiak, Alaska • Midgett (WHEC 726) Seattle, Washington

Offshore Patrol Cutters Offshore patrol cutters (OPCs) will provide the midrange capability in the Coast Guard’s layered defense concept, filling the role between the NSC and fast response cutter (FRC) and replacing the service’s two classes of aging medium endurance cutters. The OPC is to feature increased range and endurance, more powerful weapons, a larger flight deck, and improved C4ISR equipment, and will accommodate aircraft and boat operations in higher sea states. In September 2016, the Coast Guard awarded the Phase II contract to Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc., for production of the lead OPC and options for up to nine OPCs. The first OPC is scheduled for delivery in FY 2021. The Coast Guard is naming the ships after significant cutters in its history. The names of the first 11 ships are: Vessels in this class: • Argus (WMSM 915) • Chase (WMSM 916) • Ingham (WMSM 917) • Rush (WMSM 918) • Pickering (WMSM 919) • Icarus (WMSM 920) • Active (WMSM 921) • Diligence (WMSM 922) • Alert (WMSM 923) • Vigilant (WMSM 924) • Reliance (WMSM 925)

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CGC Eagle

The tall ship Eagle is a three-masted sailing barque with 21,350 square feet of sail, homeported at the Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut. It is the only active (operational) commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. maritime services. Seventh in a line of cutters to bear its name, the CGC Eagle was built in 1936 by Blohm and Voss in Hamburg, Germany, as a training vessel for German naval cadets.

It was taken as a war prize in 1946, commissioned into Coast Guard service as the Eagle, and sailed from Bremerhaven, Germany, to New London, Connecticut. The Eagle serves as a seagoing classroom for approximately 175 cadets and instructors from the academy. On the Eagle, cadets apply the navigation, engineering, and other skills they develop in classes at the academy.

Eagle’s hull is built of steel, four-tenths of an inch thick. It has two full-length steel decks with a platform deck below and a raised forecastle and quarterdeck. The weather decks are 3-inch-thick teak over steel. When homeported, the Eagle is moored at the Fort Trumbull State Park on the Thames River. Eagle began the first phase of a four-year refit and renovation program at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland, in 2014. The work has proceeded in phases so that training periods at sea can continue. The first phase included maintenance of the rudder, hull and rigging, lead ballast replacement, and berthing area renovations. The second phase included hazardous material determination, additional berthing renovations, an upgraded 110-volt electrical panel and wiring, and a mainmast inspection. Phase 3 included hull

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plate renewal, continued lead coating abatement, and more berthing improvements. The fourth and final phase is currently underway.

• Length: 295 feet • Beam: 39 feet • Displacement: 1,824 tons full load • Power plant: Diesel, one shaft, 1,000 bhp, 21,350-square-foot sail area • Speed: 10 knots under power; 16 knots under sail • Range: 5,450 nautical miles under power Vessel in this class: • Eagle (WIX 327) New London, Connecticut (refitting at Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland)

Medium Endurance Cutter, 282-foot Alex Haley class (WMEC) The cutter Alex Haley (WMEC 39) is a one-of-a-kind Coast Guard ship, named for the service’s first chief journalist, who later wrote Roots and won a Pulitzer Prize.

Commissioned in 1971 as the Navy salvage and rescue ship USS Edenton (ATS 1), the vessel was transferred to the Coast Guard in November 1997 for conversion into a medium endurance cutter. The cutter’s primary missions are law enforcement, domestic fisheries enforcement, and SAR in Alaskan waters. With a crew of 99, the ship can accommodate a single H-65 Dolphin or MH-60 Jayhawk.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS PATRICK KELLEY

295-foot Cutter Eagle (WIX)

CGC Alex Haley

• Length: 282 feet • Beam: 50 feet • Displacement: 3,000 tons full load • Power plant: Four Caterpillar diesels, two shafts; bow thruster • Speed: 16 knots • Range: 10,000 nautical miles at 13 knots • Armament: Two Mk. 38 25 mm cannons; two .50-caliber machine guns Vessel in this class: • Alex Haley (WMEC 39) Kodiak, Alaska

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS JESSE KRISTOFFERSON

Medium Endurance Cutters, 270-foot Famous class (WMEC) The first of 13 Famous-class cutters, the Bear (WMEC 901), entered service in 1983, and these ships have become a familiar sight on the world’s oceans ever since.

Together with the 14 Reliance-class vessels, Famous-class cutters are the service’s primary tools for law enforcement, counterdrug, and SAR missions. These ships are the most modern and advanced medium endurance cutters, with a modern weapons and sensor suite. They have long been equipped with a Command, Display, and Control (COMDAC) computerized ship control system that was significantly updated in the 1990s and makes these ships effective with smaller crews. Famous-class ships operate with a crew of 100.

Armament includes a Mk. 75 76 mm fully automatic gun capable of firing up to 80 rounds per minute. The Shipboard

Command and Control System (SCCS) uses radar, LORAN (long range navigation), and GPS (Global Positioning System) technologies. SCCS is an integrated and sophisticated system that brings the ship’s electronic resources together to facilitate operations.

Famous-class cutters are able to land, launch, and service the H-65 Dolphin, and some can also operate the Jayhawk.

A Dolphin and a five-member aviation detachment usually deploy with the ship. The cutter’s active stabilization system extends the operating parameters of the cutter aircraft team by providing a stable platform for flight evolutions during rough sea conditions. This allows the cutters to serve the vital role of search and rescue in almost any storm or location. For law enforcement boardings, these cutters carry a 23-foot over-the-horizon cutterboat and a 19-foot rigidhull inflatable boat.

Under the Mission Effectiveness Project (MEP), Famousclass cutters received capability enhancements, major maintenance, and replacement of obsolete, unsupportable, or maintenance-intensive equipment, which included installing improved C4ISR suites. The Reliance-class ships also underwent MEP. All 270-foot cutters finished their MEP in September 2014, ensuring their operational reliability until their replacement by the offshore patrol cutter.

• Length: 270 feet • Beam: 38 feet • Displacement: 1,820 tons full load • Power plant: Two 3,650-hp V-18 Alco diesel engines, two shafts • Speed: 20 knots

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CGC Thetis

• Range: Just under 3,800 nautical miles at 19.5 knots; 9,900 nautical miles at 12 knots • Armament: One Mk. 75 76 mm gun, two .50-caliber machine guns, two SRBOC launchers Vessels in this class: • Bear (WMEC 901) Portsmouth, Virginia • Tampa (WMEC 902) Portsmouth, Virginia • Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) Portsmouth, Virginia • Northland (WMEC 904) Portsmouth, Virginia • Spencer (WMEC 905) Boston, Massachusetts • Seneca (WMEC 906) Boston, Massachusetts • Escanaba (WMEC 907) Boston, Massachusetts • Tahoma (WMEC 908) Kittery, Maine • Campbell (WMEC 909) Kittery, Maine • Thetis (WMEC 910) Key West, Florida • Forward (WMEC 911) Portsmouth, Virginia • Legare (WMEC 912) Portsmouth, Virginia • Mohawk (WMEC 913) Key West, Florida

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY CHIEF PETTY OFFICER BILL MESTA

Seagoing Buoy Tenders, 225-foot Juniper class (WLB) Juniper-class buoy tenders are seagoing Coast Guard cutters responsible for maintaining short- and long-range ATON such as fixed structures and buoys. They have replaced the aging Balsam class of World War II-era buoy tenders. Buoy tenders provide light ice breaking in ice-laden domestic waters. Buoy tenders are multi-mission vessels, and conduct maritime law enforcement, homeland security, and defense operations, as well as provide search and rescue assistance should the need arise.

The 225-foot Juniper’s twin diesel engine propulsion system supplies the speed and maneuverability necessary to tend coastal and offshore buoys in exposed locations. Perhaps the most important advance is the use of a new Dynamic Positioning System (DPS). DPS uses a differential GPS to fix positions. Using this technology, the crews are able to maintain the vessel’s position within a 10-meter circle in winds of up to 30 knots and waves of up to 8 feet. The Juniper-class cutters are undergoing midlife renovation under the In-Service Vessel Sustainment (ISVS) program.

• Length: 225 feet • Beam: 46 feet • Displacement: 2,000 tons • Buoy deck area: 2,875 square feet • Power plant: Two Caterpillar 3608 diesels, one shaft, 6,200 bhp • Speed: 15 knots • Range: 6,000 nautical miles at 12 knots • Armament: Two .50-caliber machine guns Vessels in this class: • Juniper (WLB 201) Newport, Rhode Island • Willow (WLB 202) Newport, Rhode Island • Kukui (WLB 203) Honolulu, Hawaii • Elm (WLB 204) Atlantic Beach, North Carolina • Walnut (WLB 205) Honolulu, Hawaii • Spar (WLB 206) Kodiak, Alaska • Maple (WLB 207) Sitka, Alaska • Aspen (WLB 208) San Francisco, California

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• Length: 210 feet • Beam: 34 feet • Displacement: 1,000 tons • Power plant: Two Alco 16V-251 diesel engines, two shafts, 5,000 bhp • Speed: 18 knots • Range: 6,100 nautical miles at 12 knots • Armament: One Mk. 38 25 mm cannon and two .50-caliber machine guns

• Sycamore (WLB 209) Cordova, Alaska • Cypress (WLB 210) Pensacola, Florida • Oak (WLB 211) Newport, Rhode Island • Hickory (WLB 212) Homer, Alaska • Fir (WLB 213) Astoria, Oregon • Hollyhock (WLB 214) Port Huron, Michigan • Sequoia (WLB 215) Apra Harbor, Guam • Alder (WLB 216) Duluth, Minnesota

Medium Endurance Cutters, 210-foot Reliance class (WMEC) The 14 Reliance-class cutters work alongside the Famousclass ships, carrying out primarily law enforcement and search and rescue missions. The 210-foot ships were the first true post-World War II Coast Guard cutters. Outwardly, these ships reflect evolving Coast Guard operations during the latter part of the 20th century – sleek lines, flight decks, and a high pilothouse giving the bridge crew excellent allaround visibility. They do not have a helicopter hangar but can operate a single H-65 Dolphin on deck. It has a crew complement of 77.

Although lightly armed, these cutters were designed to carry additional armament including a 3-inch gun, a total of six .50-caliber machine guns, an SQS-17 sonar (later suggestions included using an SQS-36), an anti-submarine projector (Hedgehog), and/or two torpedo launchers. None of this additional armament was ever actually installed.

From 1986 to 1996, ships of this class underwent a midlife maintenance availability to upgrade machinery and equipment. There were 16 Reliance-class cutters, but budget cuts prompted the decommissioning of the Courageous (WMEC 622) and the Durable (WMEC 628) in 2001.

To prolong the longevity of the remaining cutters, the Coast Guard began the MEP in 2005 to increase operational availability by installing capability enhancements, performing major maintenance, and replacing obsolete, unsupportable, or maintenance-intensive equipment. The successful conclusion of the MEP in September 2014 ensures the operational reliability of these cutters until replacement by the offshore patrol cutter.

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Coastal Buoy Tenders, 175-foot Keeper class (WLM) The 175-foot Keeper-class coastal buoy tenders are a new era in buoy tending, equipped with Z-drive propulsion units instead of the standard propeller and rudder configuration. The propulsion units are designed to independently rotate 360 degrees. Combined with a thruster in the bow, they give the Keeper-class cutters unmatched maneuverability.

With state-of-the-art electronics and navigation systems including DPS, which uses differential GPS and electronic chart displays, it is possible to maneuver and position navigation aids with a smaller crew. Carrying a crew of 24, ships in this class are named for well-known lighthouse keepers.

Although not classified as icebreakers, these ships can move through 9 inches of ice at 3 knots.

CGC Diligence

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTOGRAPHS

CGC Spar

Vessels in this class: • Reliance (WMEC 615) Kittery, Maine • Diligence (WMEC 616) Wilmington, North Carolina • Vigilant (WMEC 617) Patrick Air Force Base, Florida • Active (WMEC 618) Port Angeles, Washington • Confidence (WMEC 619) Port Canaveral, Florida • Resolute (WMEC 620) St. Petersburg, Florida • Valiant (WMEC 621) Miami Beach, Florida • Steadfast (WMEC 623) Warrenton, Oregon • Dauntless (WMEC 624) Galveston, Texas • Venturous (WMEC 625) St. Petersburg, Florida • Dependable (WMEC 626) Little Creek, Virginia • Vigorous (WMEC 627) Little Creek, Virginia • Decisive (WMEC 629) Pascagoula, Mississippi • Alert (WMEC 630) Warrenton, Oregon

CGC George Cobb

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS TOM ATKESON

• Length: 175 feet • Beam: 36 feet • Displacement: 845 tons • Power plant: Two Caterpillar 3508TA diesels, two Ulstein Z-drive, 2,040 bhp • Speed: 12 knots • Range: 2,000 nautical miles at 10 knots Vessels in this class: • Ida Lewis (WLM 551) Newport, Rhode Island • Katherine Walker (WLM 552) Bayonne, New Jersey • Abbie Burgess (WLM 553) Rockland, Maine • Marcus Hanna (WLM 554) South Portland, Maine • James Rankin (WLM 555) Baltimore, Maryland • Joshua Appleby (WLM 556) St. Petersburg, Florida • Frank Drew (WLM 557) Portsmouth, Virginia • Anthony Petit (WLM 558) Ketchikan, Alaska • Barbara Mabrity (WLM 559) Mobile, Alabama • William Tate (WLM 560) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Harry Claiborne (WLM 561) Galveston, Texas • Maria Bray (WLM 562) Atlantic Beach, Florida • Henry Blake (WLM 563) Everett, Washington • George Cobb (WLM 564) San Pedro, California

Inland Construction Tenders (WLIC) The Coast Guard’s inland construction tenders are broken into three classes, all designed for the construction, repair,

and maintenance of fixed ATON and all operating on inland waters. The 160-foot WLICs are single units without barges.

The 75-foot WLICs push either a 68- or 84-foot construction barge. The one 100-foot WLIC pushes a 70-foot construction barge. The barges are equipped with cranes and other ATON equipment to drive piles and work the smaller-sized buoys.

The earliest of these tenders date to the 1940s and have crews of 13 to 15. The Coast Guard is looking to select a design for a new standardized vessel to replace the aging tender.

160-FOOT WLIC CLASS: • Length: 160 feet • Beam: 30 feet • Displacement: 411 tons • Power plant: Two Caterpillar D379 diesels, two shafts, 1,000 bhp • Speed: 11 knots • Range: 1,205 nautical miles at 6.5 knots Vessels in the 160-foot WLIC class: • Pamlico (WLIC 800) New Orleans, Louisiana • Hudson (WLIC 801) Miami Beach, Florida • Kennebec (WLIC 802) Portsmouth, Virginia • Saginaw (WLIC 803) Mobile, Alabama 100-FOOT WLIC CLASS: • Length: 100 feet • Beam: 24 feet

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• Length: 140 feet • Beam: 37.5 feet • Displacement: 662 tons full load • Power plant: Two Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, electric drive, one shaft, 2,500 shp • Speed: 14.7 knots • Range: 1,500 nautical miles at 14.7 knots; 4,000 nautical miles at 12 knots

• Displacement: 178 tons • Power plant: Two Caterpillar 3412, two shafts, 1,250 bhp • Speed: 10 knots • Range: 1,200 nautical miles at 7 knots Vessel in the 100-foot WLIC class: • Smilax (WLIC 315, oldest commissioned cutter) Atlantic Beach, North Carolina 75-FOOT WLIC CLASS: • Length: 75 feet • Beam: 22 feet • Displacement: 145 tons • Power plant: Two Caterpillar D353, two shafts, 750 hp; or two Caterpillar 3412 or V1312TI, two shafts, 1,250-1,350 hp • Speed: 10 knots • Range: 1,050-1,300 nautical miles at 9 knots; 2,400-2,500 nautical miles at 5 knots

Vessels in this class: • Katmai Bay (WTGB 101) Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan • Bristol Bay (WTGB 102) Detroit, Michigan • Mobile Bay (WTGB 103) Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin • Biscayne Bay (WTGB 104) St. Ignace, Michigan • Neah Bay (WTGB 105) Cleveland, Ohio • Morro Bay (WTGB 106) New London, Connecticut • Penobscot Bay (WTGB 107) Bayonne, New Jersey • Thunder Bay (WTGB 108) Rockland, Maine • Sturgeon Bay (WTGB 109) Bayonne, New Jersey

River Buoy Tenders (WLR) The Coast Guard operates 18 tenders of 75-foot and 65-foot lengths on rivers in the western United States, deploying ATON buoys and day boards to mark river channels and to ease the efficient flow of commerce. WLRs push barges equipped with cranes that work ATON. Some WLRs are equipped with “jetting” devices that are used to set and anchor buoys in rivers with sandy or muddy bottoms.

The barges are an integral part of the ATON mission. Barge lengths vary: 90 feet, 99 feet, and 130 feet.

Vessels in the 75-foot WLIC class: • Anvil (WLIC 75301) Charleston, South Carolina • Hammer (WLIC 75302) Mayport, Florida • Sledge (WLIC 75303) Baltimore, Maryland • Mallet (WLIC 75304) Corpus Christi, Texas • Vise (WLIC 75305) St. Petersburg, Florida • Clamp (WLIC 75306) Galveston, Texas • Hatchet (WLIC 75309) Galveston, Texas • Axe (WLIC 75310) Morgan City, Louisiana

Ice Breaking Tugs, 140-foot Bay class (WTGB) The 140-foot Bay-class cutters are single-screw tugs used primarily for domestic ice breaking duties. They are named after American bays and are stationed mainly in the northeastern United States and the Great Lakes. They use a low-pressureair hull lubrication or bubbler system that forces air and water between the hull and ice. This system improves ice breaking capabilities by reducing resistance against the hull, thereby reducing horsepower requirements. A 120-foot ATON barge augments

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CGC Penobscot Bay

COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS SETH JOHNSON

CGC Pamlico

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

the cutters Bristol Bay and Mobile Bay. The Bay-class cutters are undergoing a midlife renovation project under the ISVS program to renew the most elderly or vulnerable components. Six of the nine Bay class have undergone ISVS.

USCGAUX PHOTO BY LEN SCHULTE

CGC Greenbrier

75-FOOT KANKAKEE-CLASS RIVER BUOY TENDERS: • Length: 75 feet • Beam: 22 feet • Displacement: 175 tons • Power plant: Two Caterpillar 3412 diesels, two shafts, 1,024 bhp • Speed: 10 knots • Range: 600 nautical miles at 10 knots

• Muskingum (WLR 75402) Sallislaw, Oklahoma • Wyaconda (WLR 75403) Dubuque, Iowa • Chippewa (WLR 75404) Buchanan, Tennessee • Cheyenne (WLR 75405) St. Louis, Missouri • Kickapoo (WLR 75406) Vicksburg, Mississippi • Kanawha (WLR 75407) Pine Bluff, Arkansas • Patoka (WLR 75408) Greenville, Mississippi • Chena (WLR 75409) Hickman, Kentucky

Vessels in this class: • Kankakee (WLR 75500) Memphis, Tennessee • Greenbrier (WLR 75501) Natchez, Mississippi

65-FOOT CLASS RIVER BUOY TENDERS: • Length: 65 feet • Beam: 21 feet • Displacement: 145 tons • Power plant: Two Caterpillar D353 diesels, two shafts, 660-725 hp • Speed: 10 knots • Range: 3,500 nautical miles at 6 knots

75-FOOT GASCONADE-CLASS RIVER BUOY TENDERS: • Length: 75 feet • Beam: 22 feet • Displacement: 140 tons • Power plant: Two Caterpillar D353 diesels, two shafts, 660-750 hp; or two Caterpillar 3412, two shafts, 1,250 hp • Speed: 10 knots • Range: 3,100 nautical miles at 6.5 knots Vessels in this class: • Wedge (WLR 75307) Demopolis, Alabama • Gasconade (WLR 75401) Omaha, Nebraska

Vessels in this class: • Ouachita (WLR 65501) Chattanooga, Tennessee • Cimarron (WLR 65502) Buchanan, Tennessee • Obion (WLR 65503) Owensboro, Kentucky • Scioto (WLR 65504) Keokuk, Iowa • Osage (WLR 65505) Sewickley, Pennsylvania • Sangamon (WLR 65506) East Peoria, Illinois

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SOME VACATIONS HAVE ALL THE FUN.

All of those beach-hopping, tropical island vacations wouldn’t be possible without you. Thank you to the United States Coast Guard for your support and for keeping our oceans safe.

© 2017 Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. Ships’ Registry: The Bahamas, Panama and Malta.

The United States Coast Guard did not select or approve this advertiser and does not endorse and is not responsible for the views or statements contained in this advertisement.

65-FOOT INLAND BUOY TENDERS: • Length: 65 feet • Beam: 17 feet • Displacement: 71 tons • Power plant: Two GM diesels, two shafts, 400 hp (WLI 65401) • Speed: 11.3 knots (WLI 65401) • Range: 1,700 nautical miles at 6 knots Vessels in this class: • Bayberry (WLI 65400) Long Beach, North Carolina • Elderberry (WLI 65401) Petersburg, Alaska

PATROL BOATS CGC Sangamon

USCG PHOTO

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY SEAMAN PAUL JIRASEK

Inland Buoy Tenders, large-small (WLI) 100-FOOT INLAND BUOY TENDERS: • Length: 100 feet • Beam: 24 feet • Displacement: 174 tons full load • Power plant: Two diesels, two shafts, 600-660 bhp • Speed: 10.5 knots • Range: 2,000-2,700 nautical miles at 7 knots Vessels in this class: • Bluebell (WLI 313) Portland, Oregon • Buckthorn (WLI 642) Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

The diverse range of Coast Guard duties is reflected dramatically by the number and variety of its patrol boats, which are assigned to most of the service’s missions. Islandclass cutters are high-speed vessels that offer an operating radius of almost 1,000 nautical miles, making them highly effective for illegal immigrant interdiction operations and a range of other duties. However, the Island class are aging, and are being replaced by the fast response cutter. Eightyseven-foot Marine Protector-class vessels have an IEBS (integrated electronic bridge system) and a stern-launched rigidhull inflatable boat useful for various duties including carrying boarding crews.

Fast Response Cutters, 154-foot Sentinel class (WPC) The Sentinel class is a key component of the Coast Guard’s recapitalized fleet and is critically needed to replace the

CGC Elderberry

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aging 110-foot Island-class patrol boat fleet. The first cutter in this class, Bernard C. Webber, was delivered in February 2012. To honor past Coast Guard members, each fast response cutter (FRC) in this class will be named for one of the service’s many enlisted heroes.

These cutters will be able to deploy independently to conduct the service’s missions, such as ports, waterways, and coastal security; fishery patrols; drug and migrant interdiction; law enforcement; SAR; and national defense operations. The cutters’ C4ISR suites will be completely interoperable with U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security assets.

The 154-foot cutters have a speed of more than 28 knots, and are based on an existing patrol boat design from Damen Shipyards. This vessel class is planned for a total of 58 patrol boats.

• Manufacturer: Bollinger Shipyards Inc. • Parent craft designer: Damen • Length: 154 feet • Beam: 25 feet • Displacement: 353 metric tons • Power plant: Two 4,300-kW MTU diesel engines • Speed: 28-plus knots • Endurance: five days • Crew: 24 (four officers, 20 enlisted) • Armament: One stabilized 25 mm machine gun mount and four non-stabilized crew-served .50-caliber machine guns

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Vessels in this class: • Bernard C. Webber (WPC 1101) Miami Beach, Florida • Richard Etheridge (WPC 1102) Miami Beach, Florida • William Flores (WPC 1103) Miami Beach, Florida • Robert Yered (WPC 1104) Miami Beach, Florida • Margaret Norvell (WPC 1105) Miami Beach, Florida • Paul Clark (WPC 1106), Miami Beach, Florida • Charles David Jr. (WPC 1107) Key West, Florida • Charles Sexton (WPC 1108) Key West, Florida • Kathleen Moore (WPC 1109) Key West, Florida • Raymond Evans (WPC 1110) Key West, Florida • William Trump (WPC 1111) Key West, Florida • Isaac Mayo (WPC 1112) Key West, Florida • Richard Dixon (WPC 113) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Heriberto Hernandez (WPC 1114) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Joseph Napier (WPC 1115) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Winslow Griesser (WPC 1116) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Donald Horsley (WPC 1117) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Joseph Tezanos (WPC 1118) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Rollin Fritch (WPC 1119) Cape May, New Jersey • Lawrence Lawson (1120) Cape May, New Jersey • John McCormick (1121) Ketchikan, Alaska • Bailey Barco (1122) Ketchikan, Alaska • Benjamin Dailey (1123) Pascagoula, Mississippi • Oliver Berry (1124) Honolulu, Hawaii

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS MARK BARNEY

CGC Isaac Mayo

Under Construction: • Jacob Poroo (1125) accepted delivery, Pascagoula, Mississippi • Joseph Gerczak (1126) accepted delivery, Honolulu, Hawaii

5,820 bhp; WPB 1349: Caterpillar 3516 diesel engines, 5,460 bhp • Speed: 28 to 30 knots • Range: 3,380 nautical miles at 8 knots • Armament: One Mk. 38 25 mm cannon; two .50-caliber machine guns

Patrol Boats, 110-foot Island class (WPB)

Vessels in this class: • Maui (WPB 1304) Manama, Bahrain • Ocracoke (WPB 1307) South Portland, Maine • Aquidneck (WPB 1309) Manama, Bahrain • Mustang (WPB 1310) Seward, Alaska • Naushon (WPB 1311) Homer, Alaska • Sanibel (WPB 1312) Woods Hole, Massachusetts • Edisto (WPB 1313) San Diego, California • Baranof (WPB 1318) Manama, Bahrain • Chandeleur (WPB 1319) Valdez, Alaska • Cuttyhunk (WPB 1322) Port Angeles, Washington • Key Largo (WPB 1324) Gloucester, Massachusetts • Monomoy (WPB 1326) Manama, Bahrain • Orcas (WPB 1327) Coos Bay, Oregon • Sitkinak (WPB 1329) Bayonne, New Jersey • Tybee (WPB 1330) Woods Hole, Massachusetts • Washington (WPB 1331) Apra Harbor, Guam • Wrangell (WPB 1332) Manama, Bahrain

The Coast Guard 110-foot Island-class patrol boats are modified versions of a well-regarded British-designed patrol boat.

These ships have excellent range and seakeeping capabilities, but are wearing out rapidly and are to be replaced by the FRC. Seventeen 110-foot WPBs were renovated under the MEP to ensure the 110-foot WPB fleet remains a reliable entity until the arrival of the FRC. The MEP was completed in 2012.

Built in the late 1980s, they are equipped with advanced electronics and navigation equipment. WPBs are being decommissioned as more FRCs join the fleet, and this list of commissioned Island class is drawn from information available at time of writing.

• Length: 110 feet • Beam: 21 feet • Displacement: 154-165 tons • Power plant: Two Alco-Paxman Valenta diesel engines,

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO/PA3 ROB SIMPSON

CGC Liberty

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• Adak (WPB 1333) Manama, Bahrain • Liberty (WPB 1334) Auke Bay, Alaska • Anacapa (WPB 1335) Petersburg, Alaska • Kiska (WPB 1336) Hilo, Hawaii • Galveston Island (WPB 1349) Honolulu, Hawaii

Coastal Patrol Boats, 87-foot Marine Protector class (WPB) The Marine Protector is an innovative, multi-mission class of vessel capable of performing search and rescue, law enforcement, fishery patrols, drug interdiction, illegal immigrant interdiction, and homeland security duties up to 200 miles offshore.

The 73 cutters in this class each carry an 11-person crew and

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are capable of achieving a maximum continuous speed of 25 knots. The class offers numerous improvements over the former 82-foot Point-class vessels, including improved seakeeping abilities (up to sea state 5), enhanced habitability, and compliance with current and projected environmental protection laws. The Marine Protector class also employs an innovative stern launchand-recovery system using aluminum-hulled cutterboats propelled by inboard diesel-powered waterjets. The vastly larger pilothouse is equipped with an integrated bridge system, including an ECDIS (electronic chart display system), which interfaces with surface search radars used by U.S. warships. Four were built specifically to protect Navy ballistic missile submarines while they are in transit in and out of Kings Bay, Georgia, and Bangor, Washington. Production was completed in 2009.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO/PA3 ROB SIMPSON

CGC Crocodile

• Length: 87 feet • Beam: 19.4 feet • Displacement: 91 tons full load • Power plant: Two MTU 8V diesel engines • Speed: 25 knots • Range: 900 nautical miles Vessels in this class: • Barracuda (WPB 87301) Eureka, California • Hammerhead (WPB 87302) Woods Hole, Massachusetts • Mako (WPB 87303) Cape May, New Jersey • Marlin (WPB 87304) Fort Myers Beach, Florida • Stingray (WPB 87305) Mobile, Alabama • Dorado (WPB 87306) Crescent City, California

• Osprey (WPB 87307) Port Townsend, Washington • Chinook (WPB 87308) New London, Connecticut • Albacore (WPB 87309) Little Creek, Virginia • Tarpon (WPB 87310) Tybee Island, Georgia • Cobia (WPB 87311) Mobile, Alabama • Hawksbill (WPB 87312) Monterey, California • Cormorant (WPB 87313) Fort Pierce, Florida • Finback (WPB 87314) Cape May, New Jersey • Amberjack (WPB 87315) Port Isabel, Texas • Kittiwake (WPB 87316) Honolulu, Hawaii • Blackfin (WPB 87317) Santa Barbara, California • Bluefin (WPB 87318) Fort Pierce, Florida • Yellowfin (WPB 87319) Charleston, South Carolina • Manta (WPB 87320) Freeport, Texas • Coho (WPB 87321) Panama City, Florida • Kingfisher (WPB 87322) Mayport, Florida • Seahawk (WPB 87323) Carrabelle, Florida • Steelhead (WPB 87324) Port Aransas, Texas • Beluga (WPB 87325) Little Creek, Virginia • Blacktip (WPB 87326) Oxnard, California • Pelican (WPB 87327) Abbeville, Louisiana • Ridley (WPB 87328) Montauk, New York • Cochito (WPB 87329) Little Creek, Virginia • Manowar (WPB 87330) Galveston, Texas • Moray (WPB 87331) Jonesport, Maine • Razorbill (WPB 87332) Gulfport, Mississippi • Adelie (WPB 87333) Port Angeles, Washington • Gannet (WPB 87334) Dania, Florida • Narwhal (WPB 87335) Corona Del Mar, California • Sturgeon (WPB 87336) Grand Isle, Louisiana • Sockeye (WPB 87337) Bodega Bay, California • Ibis (WPB 87338) Cape May, New Jersey • Pompano (WPB 87339) Gulfport, Mississippi • Halibut (WPB 87340) Marina Del Rey, California • Bonito (WPB 87341) Pensacola, Florida • Shrike (WPB 87342) Port Canaveral, Florida • Tern (WPB 87343) San Francisco, California • Heron (WPB 87344) Sabine, Texas • Wahoo (WPB 87345) Port Angeles, Washington • Flyingfish (WPB 87346) Boston, Massachusetts • Haddock (WPB 87347) San Diego, California • Brant (WPB 87348) Corpus Christi, Texas • Shearwater (WPB 87349) Portsmouth, Virginia • Petrel (WPB 87350) San Diego, California • Sea Lion (WPB 87352) Bellingham, Washington • Skipjack (WPB 87353) Galveston, Texas • Dolphin (WPB 87354) Miami, Florida • Hawk (WPB 87355) St. Petersburg, Florida • Sailfish (WPB 87356) Sandy Hook, New Jersey • Sawfish (WPB 87357) Key West, Florida • Swordfish (WPB 87358) Port Angeles, Washington • Tiger Shark (WPB 87359) Newport, Rhode Island • Blue Shark (WPB 87360) Everett, Washington • Sea Horse (WPB 87361) Portsmouth, Virginia • Sea Otter (WPB 87362) San Diego, California • Manatee (WPB 87363) Corpus Christi, Texas • Ahi (WPB 87364) Honolulu, Hawaii • Pike (WPB 87365) San Francisco, California

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CARE FOR OUR OCEANS

U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat - Small

Built for the World’s Most Demanding Operators WORLD LEADER WITHIN BWTS SINCE 1994

Telephone: 337.364.0777 • email: sales@metalsharkboats.com

CGC Hawser

• Terrapin (WPB 87366) Bellingham, Washington • Sea Dragon (WPB 87367) Kings Bay, Georgia (Navy owned) • Sea Devil (WPB 87368) Bangor, Washington (Navy owned) • Crocodile (WPB 87369) St. Petersburg, Florida • Diamondback (WPB 87370) Miami Beach, Florida • Reef Shark (WPB 87371) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Alligator (WPB 87372) St. Petersburg, Florida • Sea Dog (WPB 87373) Kings Bay, Georgia (Navy owned) • Sea Fox (WPB 87374) Bangor, Washington (Navy owned)

Vessels in this class: • Capstan (WYTL 65601) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Chock (WYTL 65602) Baltimore, Maryland • Tackle (WYTL 65604) Rockland, Maine • Bridle (WYTL 65607) Southwest Harbor, Maine • Pendant (WYTL 65608) Boston, Massachusetts • Shackle (WYTL 65609) South Portland, Maine • Hawser (WYTL 65610) Bayonne, New Jersey • Line (WYTL 65611) Bayonne, New Jersey • Wire (WYTL 65612) Saugerties, New York • Bollard (WYTL 65614) New Haven, Connecticut • Cleat (WYTL 65615) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

65-foot Small Harbor Tugs (WYTL)

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PA3 ANNIE R. BERLIN

Built between 1962 and 1967, the small, 65-foot harbor tugs are multi-mission cutters that have the distinction of being used only on the East Coast, from Maine to Virginia.

With a crew of six, their primary missions are domestic ice breaking, port security, search and rescue, and law enforcement operations on rivers and in littoral areas. They are capable of breaking ice up to 12 inches thick.

• Length: 65 feet • Beam: 16 feet • Displacement: 72 tons full load • Power plant: One diesel, one shaft, 500 bhp • Speed: 10 knots • Range: 850 nautical miles at 9.8 knots; 2,700 nautical miles at 5.8 knots

BOATS Coast Guard vessels under 65 feet in length are classified as boats and usually operate near shore, on inland waterways, or attached to cutters. The service has about 1,689 altogether, although the number fluctuates. These craft include heavy-weather response boats, special purpose craft, ATON boats, and cutter-based boats. Sizes range from 64 feet in length down to 12 feet. The new emphasis on homeland security has produced a corresponding emphasis on smaller, fast boats such as the Response Boat-Small and Response Boat-Medium. An added capability for the ATON forces is the procurement of new work boats that replaced those that have exceeded their economic service life and are no longer cost effective to maintain. The new boats brought into service are ATON Boat-Small (AB-S), a

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47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) The 47-foot MLB is primarily designed as a fast-response rescue vessel in high seas, surf, and heavy weather environments. But the unique feature of this boat is that it can selfright in only 30 seconds if knocked over by waves or surf.

With state-of-the-art electronically controlled engines, fuel management systems, and integrated electronics suite, the 47-foot MLB has become the ideal platform for operations in extreme sea and weather conditions. The 47-foot MLBs are planned to undergo refit and renovation under the ISVS project. There are currently 107 MLBs in inventory.

45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) The 45-foot RB-M is being procured to replace the 41-foot Utility Boat (UTB). It is an all-aluminum boat that

has a wireless crew communication system and is powered by twin diesel engines and water jet propulsion. Unlike the 41-foot UTB, the RB-M has the ability to self-right if it should ever capsize. This feature allows the RB-M to operate in higher seas, ensuring the crew (and rescued survivors) comes home safely. For example, RB-Ms are an offshore asset and the survivability parameters are 12-foot seas and 50 knots of wind, whereas the UTB’s limits are 8-foot seas and 30 knots of wind. The RB-M has a top speed in excess of 40 knots and cruises at 30 knots, compared to the 41-foot UTB’s top speed of 26 knots. All 174 RB-Ms have been delivered.

25-foot Response Boat-Small (RB-S) Brought into service in 2003 to replace shore-based nonstandard boats, the RB-S features a reinforced bow, full shock-mitigating seating, and a large cabin. It can tow up to 10 tons, operate in winds up to 25 knots and seas of up to 6 feet, and has a range of 150 nautical miles. The secondgeneration boats (RB-S II) are now in production and will replace the original RB-S classes. The RB-S IIs are 29 feet long and have a range of 220 nautical miles. Approximately 140

47-foot Motor Lifeboat

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U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY CHIEF PETTY OFFICER DAVID MOSLEY

20-foot aluminum hull with a range of 70 nautical miles, and ATON Boat-Skiff (AB-SKF), a 16-foot aluminum hull with a range of 50 nautical miles. Both boats are outfitted with standard electrical systems and ample working deck space.

Coast Guard boats include:

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS TARA MOLLE

25-foot Response Boat-Small

RB-S boats are still in service, all of which will be replaced by 2019. The first 274 of 279 RB-S II boats have been delivered.

The program may include up to 470 total boats.

that serves as the workhorse for ATON teams; 20-foot ATON Boat-Small; and 16-foot ATON Boat-Skiff.

18- to 64-foot Special Purpose Craft 32-foot Transportable Port Security Boat (TPSB) Operated by Port Security Units (PSUs), which are composed of Reserve and active-duty personnel, the TPSB provides for defense readiness operations in the United States and when PSUs are deployed overseas. It travels at 43-plus knots and carries a .50-caliber machine gun and two M60 machine guns. There are 52 in operation.

The special purpose craft are designed to meet specific mission requirements or provide a capable and safe asset in a unique operating environment. A few of these boats are: 64-foot Screening Vessel; 52-foot Heavy Weather; 42-foot Near Shore Lifeboat; 36-foot Boarding Team Delivery; 33-foot Law Enforcement; 24-foot Shallow Water; skiffs that can be used to support natural disaster response; and ice boats that are used for conducting ice rescues.

16- to 64-foot Aids to Navigation Boats These boats assist in maintaining the nearly 50,000 navigation aids on the marine transportation system. They include the 64-foot Self-Propelled Barge that primarily operates on protected rivers and protected waters; 55-foot aluminum hull that can operate in moderately rough weather in coastal and inland waters; 49-foot Stern Loading Buoy boat that supports the short-range ATON mission; 26-foot Trailerable ATON boat

14- to 38-foot Cutter-based Boats The cutterboats provide fast and effective surface capabilities that, in most cases, enable cutters to interdict boats on the high seas and conduct boardings. Included in this asset base are: 38-foot Arctic Survey Boat; 36-foot Long Range Interceptor; 24-foot Cutter Boat-Large; 24-foot ATON-Large; 24-foot and 26-foot Over-the-Horizon; 18-foot

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33-foot Special Purpose Craft

27-foot Utility Boat-Medium With a closed cabin, these aluminum-hulled boats are used for law enforcement, search and rescue, or ATON missions.

They are being replaced by standard boats.

17- to 28-foot Utility Boat-Light (UTL) With generally an open cabin, these boats are either fiberglass or aluminum hulled and are assigned to ATON cutters and shore units.

AIRCRAFT The Coast Guard operates approximately 200 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft – airplanes and helicopters – to support its work as a law enforcement arm, a military service branch, and a seafaring service. Nearly all Coast Guard

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aircraft have some role in homeland security operations, and some are now armed.

The Coast Guard operates its aviation fleet on the principle that it cannot afford a fleet of aircraft intended solely for specialized missions, and has concentrated on aircraft that can carry out a wide range of diversified missions.

HC-144A Ocean Sentry, Medium Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) A medium-range maritime patrol version of the EADS CASA CN 235-300M cargo aircraft, the HC-144A is performing missions previously carried out by the HU-25 fleet as well as surveillance, search and rescue, and transport roles performed by the HC-130Hs. The HC-144A – equipped with a new C4ISR suite, radar and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor mission systems pallet – is designed to serve as an on-scene command platform for SAR and homeland security operations and perform transport missions.

The aircraft employ Mission System Pallets (MSP), a rollon, roll-off suite of electronic equipment that enables Ocean Sentry aircrews to compile data from the aircraft’s

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS BRANDYN HILL

ATON-Medium; 18-foot Cutter Boat-Medium; and 13-foot Cutter Boat-Small, just to name a few.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY DAVE SILVA

HC-144A Ocean Sentry

multiple integrated sensors and transmit and receive classified and unclassified information with other aircraft, surface vessels, and shore facilities. With multiple voice and data communications capabilities as well as satellite communications, the MSP contributes to the common tactical and operating pictures.

The HC-144A provides extended on-scene loitering capabilities while also being capable of performing maritime patrol, law enforcement, SAR, disaster response, and cargo and personnel transport missions. The Ocean Sentry also is capable of maintaining secure communications with the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and allied forces.

The Coast Guard completed planned work under this project with the delivery of its 18th HC-144A in September 2014.

Ocean Sentries are currently operating from Coast Guard air stations Mobile, Alabama; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Miami, Florida; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Procurement has ended in light of the acquisition of 14 C-27J Spartans.

• Power plant: Two 1,750 shp (1,305 kW) General Electric CT7-9C3 turboprop engines • Maximum cruising speed: 236 knots

• Range: up to 2,000 nautical miles (depending on configuration) • Range with payload: (6,000 pounds) 1,000 nautical miles (cargo configured) • Max endurance: 11.0 hours • Maximum takeoff weight: 36,380 pounds • Dimensions: Length, 70 feet, 2 inches; wingspan, 84 feet, 7 inches HC-144 Air Stations: • CG Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama • CGAS Miami, Florida • CGAS Cape Cod, Massachusetts • CGAS Mobile, Alabama • CGAS Corpus Christi, Texas

HC-27J Medium Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft The Coast Guard is integrating 14 ex-U.S. Air Force C-27J Spartan aircraft into its medium-range surveillance aircraft fleet to work alongside the Ocean Sentry. The C-27Js are already outfitted with weather radar and military communications equipment capable of supporting transport and

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“There is Posidonia, Nor-Shipping and CMA Shipping”

SAVE THE DATE!!

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U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

C-37A Gulfstream V

HC-27J Spartan

ALENIA AERMACCHI GRAPHIC

other Coast Guard missions. All 14 aircraft are planned to be modified with a standard Coast Guard fixed-wing Mission Systems Pallet, an integrated surface-search radar, EO/IR sensors, and night vision goggle capability. Six C-27Js are operating out of Air Station Sacramento, California. Seven aircraft are stationed at the HC-27J APO (Asset Project Office) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The service received approval in November to proceed with C-27J mission systems integration. One C-27J was transferred to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, as a missionization prototype in September 2017.

• Length: 74 feet, 5 inches • Wingspan: 94 feet, 2 inches • Height: 31 feet, 8 inches • Weight: 70,000 pounds • Speed: 290 knots

• Range: Up to 2,674 nautical miles • Endurance: 12 hours • Ceiling: 30,000 feet

C-37A Gulfstream V Command and Control Aircraft The service operates two Gulfstream V aircraft as its principal command and control transport for senior Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security officials. On long flights, the C-37A can carry 12 passengers and a crew of four with a range of 6,500 nautical miles, all with considerable fuel efficiency. The C-37A enjoys commonality of parts and supplies with more than a dozen C-37As operated by the other military branches.

• Power plant: Two 14,750-pound thrust BMW/Rolls-Royce BR710-48 turbofan engines

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• Max cruising speed: Mach 0.885/459 knots • Certified ceiling: 51,000 feet • Range: 5,500 nautical miles • Gross weight: 90,900 pounds • Dimensions: Wingspan, 93 feet, 6 inches; length, 96 feet, 5 inches; height, 25 feet, 10 inches C-37A Air Station: • CGAS Washington, D.C. (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport)

HC-130H Hercules and HC-130J Super Hercules, Long Range Surveillance (LRS) Aircraft The Coast Guard currently operates a long-range turboprop aircraft fleet consisting of 18 HC-130H Hercules and nine HC-130J Super Hercules. However, the HC-130H Hercules aircraft are reaching the end of their useful service lives. The Coast Guard conducted a limited sustainment and enhancement project to modernize systems on its HC-130Hs and is continuing with the acquisition of the more capable and cost-effective HC-130J. The remaining HC-130Hs will be systematically retired as the HC-130Js are accepted into service.

The HC-130 provides a versatile platform capable of serving as an on-scene command-and-control platform with extended loitering capabilities as well as performing various missions, including maritime patrol, law enforcement, search and rescue, disaster response, and cargo and personnel transport. As a surveillance platform, it provides the critical means to detect, classify, and identify targets. For each of these missions, the information is shared with operational forces capable of interdicting drugs or migrants, protecting living marine resources, and enforcing economic, safety, and security zones.

The HC-130 uses a powerful multimode surface-search radar and a nose-mounted EO/IR device combined with an Airborne Tactical Workstation and military satellite communications capability to improve mission effectiveness.

In 2001, the Coast Guard received funding for the acquisition of six HC-130Js. Full operational capability with missionization was completed in mid-2010. In recent years, the service has received additional funding for five more aircraft, three of which were ordered through the U.S. Air Force in September 2012. The service received its seventh missionized HC-130J in May 2016. The Air Force contracted for another Coast Guard HC-130J in April 2016. The Coast Guard’s 13th Super Hercules is expected to be delivered in March 2019, and plans are for a total of 22 HC-130Js. • Power plant: Four 4,910-hp Allison T56-A15 turboprop engines (HC-130H); four 5,600-hp Rolls-Royce AE2100D turboprop engines driving six-bladed propellers (HC-130J) • Performance: Cruising speed, 280 knots/max 320 knots; service ceiling, 33,000 feet; range, up to 4,300 nautical miles (HC-130H); cruising speed, 280 knots/

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK

max 362 knots; service ceiling, 39,000 feet; range, up to 5,200 nautical miles (HC-130J) • Weight: Maximum gross weight at takeoff, 155,000 pounds; normal max 175,000 pounds (EWP-Emergency War Planning) • Dimensions: Wingspan, 132.6 feet; length, 99.6 feet; height, 38.6 feet; wing area, 1,734 square feet HC-130 Air Stations: • CGAS Sacramento, California • CGAS Clearwater, Florida • CGAS Elizabeth City, North Carolina • CGAS Kodiak, Alaska • CGAS Barbers Point, Hawaii

HC-130H Hercules, HC-130J Super Hercules

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY DAVE SILVA

MH-60T Jayhawk Medium Range Recovery Helicopter An all-weather, medium range recovery helicopter similar to the Navy MH-60R and MH-60S Sea Hawk, with roots going back to the Army’s basic H-60 Black Hawk transport, the Coast Guard MH-60 is a medium range recovery helicopter that is capable of a variety of missions. The service began to operate the aircraft in 1990 as a replacement to the nowretired HH-3F Pelican. The Coast Guard has 44 MH-60Ts. Jayhawks are crewed by two pilots, a flight mechanic, and a rescue swimmer, and can carry up to six seated survivors.

It is capable of limited shipboard operations as well as landbased operations out to 300 nautical miles, with a 45-minute on-scene time.

The MH-60T employs full night-vision-device capability.

Primary tactical navigation is accomplished through blended GPS and inertial navigation system receivers. In addition to a rescue hoist – rated for 600 pounds – the Jayhawk is equipped with a heavy-lift external sling with a capacity of 6,000 pounds.

The MH-60 carries sensors and equipment for SAR missions, law enforcement, and homeland security missions. Upgrades completed in 2008 providing armed response capability precipitated an airframe designation from HH-60J to MH-60J. The MH-60T is an upgrade of the MH-60J with “glass” cockpit, new EO/IR sensors, new radar, and upgrades to the engines. All MH-60Ts are equipped with Airborne Use of Force (AUF) capabilities. These upgraded MH-60Ts are expected to serve until 2027. The final

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• Power plant: Two 1,560-shp General Electric T700-GE-401C turboshaft engines • Dimensions: Rotor diameter: 53 feet, 8 inches; length, 64 feet, 8 inches; height, 17 feet; main rotor disc area, 2,261 square feet • Performance: Maximum speed, 180 knots; service ceiling, 13,000 feet DA; range, 700 nautical miles • Weights: Empty, 14,500 pounds; gross weight, 21,884 pounds • MH-60 Armament: .50-caliber precision fire weapon, M240 7.62 mm machine gun MH-60T Units: • CGAS/CG Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama • CGAS Kodiak, Alaska • CGAS Sitka, Alaska • CGAS San Diego, California • CGAS Clearwater, Florida • CGAS Cape Cod, Massachusetts • CGAS Elizabeth City, North Carolina • CGAS Astoria, Oregon

MH-60T Jayhawk

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK

MH-65 Dolphin Short Range Recovery Helicopter The H-65 Dolphin is the Coast Guard’s oldest and most numerous current helicopter, dating to the 1980s when it was selected for the short range rescue mission, and one of the service’s first helicopters without the capability to perform water landings.

The H-65 is a short range recovery aircraft. This twinengine, single-rotor helicopter is certified for all weather and nighttime operations, but it is prohibited from flying under known icing conditions. The strengths of this aircraft include its speed, flexibility, and integrated electronics package. The H-65 is the Coast Guard’s standard shipboard deployable aircraft and operates from all flight deckequipped cutters. Navigation inputs are processed through a central mission computer unit, which can generate search patterns from pilot-provided input. This minimizes the attention needed to navigate the aircraft and maximizes search effectiveness. Endurance of the H-65 is limited, with a maximum endurance profile at 75 knots of 3.5 hours. The aircraft can sprint at speeds up to 165 knots for short periods and sustain speeds of more than 140 knots.

An AUF capability was added to all H-65s, resulting in their redesignation as MH-65C. The MH-65C also obtained SATCOM capability, an integrated EO/IR system, and a night-vision goggles (NVG) heads up display (HUD)

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS ANN MARIE GORDEN

MH-60T conversion was delivered in February 2014. The service completed the Block 2 software upgrade in August 2016.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS JENNIFER A. NEASE

MH-65D Dolphin

to help pilots maintain situational awareness during nighttime operations. The MH-65Cs used by Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) Jacksonville, Florida, for counterdrug operations carry an M240 machine gun and an M107 .50-caliber precision fire weapon for disabling fire.

The MH-65D is the result of the latest incremental modernization project, Segment 4 of a six-segment modernization plan, which commenced in August 2010, was completed in December 2015, and will extend the aircraft’s service life through 2027. It addresses immediate critical mission degraders as well as replacing additional obsolete subsystems, including the aircraft’s navigation system and gyros, with digital GPS and inertial navigation. It adds a new digital Automatic Flight Control System, integrated flight deck with sensor display screens, and a robust, effective C4ISR suite. The service’s final MH-65D upgrade was completed in December 2015. Segment 5 will add a secure shipboard handling, securing, and traversing system. Segment 6, which brings the fleet to MH-65E standard, will replace the analog automatic flight control with digital systems, and install digital weather radar and digital glass cockpit instruments, among other modernization upgrades.

Data applies to MH-65C/D. • Power plant: HH-65C – two 853-shp Turbomeca Arriel 2C2-CG turboshaft engines • Performance: Maximum speed, 175 knots; cruising

speed, 120 knots; operational ceiling, approximately 10,000 feet; range, 375 nautical miles • Weights: Empty weight, 6,200 pounds; max gross weight, 9,480 pounds • Dimensions: Main rotor diameter, 39 feet, 2 inches; main rotor disc area, 1,204 square feet; length, 44 feet, 4 inches; height, 13 feet, 4 inches • MH-65C Armament: .50-caliber precision fire weapon, M240B 7.62 mm machine gun H-65 Air Stations: • CGAS Traverse City, Michigan • CGAS Barbers Point, Hawaii • CGAS Borinquen, Puerto Rico • CGAS Atlantic City, New Jersey • CGAS Corpus Christi, Texas • CGAS Detroit, Michigan • CGAS Houston, Texas • CGAS Humboldt Bay, California • CGAS Los Angeles, California • CGAS Miami, Florida • CGAS/CG Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama • CGAS New Orleans, Louisiana • CGAS North Bend, Oregon • CGAS San Francisco, California • CGAS Port Angeles, Washington • CGAS Savannah, Georgia • CGAS Kodiak, Alaska • HITRON Jacksonville, Florida

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK 2016-2017 Edition

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Coast Guard OUTLOOK

WORKFORCE Total Active Duty 40,992

Total Reserve

7,000

Part-Time Workforce

Total Civilian

8,577

Total Auxiliary Total Workforce 31,000 87,569

All-Volunteer Workforce

U.S. COAST GUARD UNITS HEADQUARTERS ORGANIZATION FORCE READINESS COMMAND ATLANTIC AREA (LANTAREA) • 1st DISTRICT – Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, a portion of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island • 5th DISTRICT – North Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, and part of Pennsylvania • 7th DISTRICT – South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands • 8th DISTRICT – North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama • 9th DISTRICT – Michigan and portions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota

PACIFIC AREA (PACAREA) • 11th DISTRICT – California, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona • 13th DISTRICT – Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho • 14th DISTRICT – Western Pacific: Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa • 17th DISTRICT – Alaska, Northern Pacific, and Bering Strait

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Admirals

FLAG LEADERSHIP PAUL F. ZUKUNFT

CHARLES D. MICHEL

Commandant

Vice Commandant

MARSHALL B. LYTLE III

Vice Admirals

KARL L. SCHULTZ Commander, Atlantic Area

FRED M. MIDGETTE

SANDRA L. STOSZ

CHARLES W. RAY

Commander, Pacific Area

Deputy Commandant, Mission Support

Deputy Commandant, Operations

Director, C4 / Cyber & CI0

VINCENT B. ATKINS

Rear Admirals (Upper Half)

MICHAEL F. McALLISTER

Commander, 17th Coast Guard District

JOSEPH VOJVODICH Deputy, Mission Support

SCOTT A. BUSCHMAN Deputy Commander, Atlantic Area

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PETER J. BROWN Commander, 7th Coast Guard District

MICHAEL J. HAYCOCK

LINDA L. FAGAN

PAUL F. THOMAS

STEVEN D. POULIN

Commander, 14th Coast Guard District

Deputy, Operations Policy & Capabilities

Commander, 8th Coast Guard District

Commander, 1st Coast Guard District

JAMES E. RENDON

DANIEL B. ABEL

CHRISTOPHER J. TOMNEY

PETER W. GAUTIER

Assistant Commandant, Acquisition & Chief Acquisition Officer

Superintendent, Coast Guard Academy

MEREDITH L. AUSTIN

JAMES M. HEINZ

Commander, 5th Coast Guard District

Director, Operational Logistics

Director, Operations, SOUTHCOM

KEVIN E. LUNDAY Assistant Commandant, C4IT & Commander, CG CYBERCOM

Director, Joint Interagency Task Force South

Director, Governmental & Public Affairs

Rear Admirals (Lower Half)

WILLIAM G. KELLY

MELVIN W. BOUBOULIS

Assistant Commandant, Human Resources

Assistant Commandant, Engineering & Logistics

DAVID M. DERMANELIAN

MELISSA BERT

USCYBERCOM Director, Exercises & Training

KEITH M. SMITH Commander, Force Readiness Command

ROBERT P. HAYES Assistant Commandant, Intelligence

PAT DeQUATTRO

Director, Acquisition Programs & Program Executive Officer

DONNA L. COTTRELL

MICHAEL P. RYAN

ERIC C. JONES

Deputy Director, Operations, NORTHCOM

Assistant Commandant, Capability

Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security

STEVEN J. ANDERSEN

TODD A. SOKALZUK

ANTHONY J. VOGT

Judge Advocate General & Chief Counsel

Commander, 11th Coast Guard District

Assistant Commandant, Response Policy

Senior Reserve Rear Admirals

DAVID G. THROOP Commander, 13th Coast Guard District

ANDREW S. McKINLEY (LOWER HALF) Acting Director, Reserve & Military Personnel Policy

MICHAEL J. JOHNSTON

Deputy Commander, Pacific Area

FRANCIS S. PELKOWSKI (UPPER HALF) Senior Reserve Officer, Deputy Commandant, Operations

MATTHEW T. BELL JR. Commander, Personnel Service Center

ANDREW J. TIONGSON

Director, Joint Interagency Task Force West

Assistant Commandant, Resources, Chief Financial Officer

JOANNA NUNAN

JOHN P. NADEAU

Commander, 9th Coast Guard District

Assistant Commandant, Prevention Policy

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

Chaplain

STEVEN W. CANTRELL

CAPT. GREGORY N. TODD

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

Chaplain of the Coast Guard

Public Health Service

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Reserve Forces

Commodore of the Coast Guard Auxiliary

ERICA G. SCHWARTZ, M.D.

ERIC L. JOHNSON

RICK WASHBURN

Master Chief, Coast Guard Reserve Force Master Chief

National Commodore, Coast Guard Auxiliary

Director, Health, Safety & Work-Life

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Senior Executive Service

CRAIG A. BENNETT

MICHAEL BERKOW

Acting Strategic Advisor to the Assistant Commandant, Intelligence

Deputy Assistant Commandant, Resources

Director, Coast Guard Investigative Services

ELLEN ENGLEMAN CONNORS

ALBERT CURRY

MICHAEL W. DERRIOS

TERRI A. DICKERSON

WILLIAM R. GRAWE

JEFFREY G. LANTZ

Director, National Pollution Funds Center

Director, Commercial Regulations & Standards

MICHAEL D. EMERSON

MARK A. ROSE

DANA S. TULIS

Director, Incident Management & Preparedness Policy

WALTER J. BRUDZINSKI Chief Administrative Law Judge

Director, Marine Transportation Systems Management

Current as of Nov. 4, 2017

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BRIAN P. BURNS Deputy Chief Information Officer

Deputy Director, Governmental & Public AffairsÂ

Director, Financial Operations/Comptroller

ERIC J. BERNHOLZ

Deputy Assistant Commandant, Engineering & Logistics

Senior Procurement Executive & Head of Contracting Activity

Director, Civil Rights Staff

CALVIN LEDERER

THOMAS P. MICHELLI

ERIC J. NESTOR

Deputy Judge Advocate General & Deputy Chief Counsel

Deputy Assistant Commandant, C4IT & Chief Information Officer

Assistant Judge Advocate General, Acquisition & Litigation

KELLI SEYBOLT

MICHAEL G. POTTS

Director, International Affairs & Foreign Policy Advisor

Deputy Assistant Commandant, Intelligence

DR. GLADYS BRIGNONI Deputy Commander, Force Readiness Command

JAMES L. KNIGHT Deputy Assistant Commandant, Acquisition & Director, Acquisition Services

GARY C. RASICOT Deputy Assistant Commandant, Human Resources & Acting Director, Civilian Human Resources, Diversity and Leadership