The U.S. Coast Guard today

Naval War College Review, Spring, 2004 by Thomas H. Collins

Near-term improvements to Coast Guard operational capabilities in 2003 include ongoing execution of the contract for our Rescue 21 maritime distress network for coastal waters, seven hundred new maritime security boats (under a $145 million contract, the Coast Guard's largest single acquisition of identical response craft), twelve new hundred-person maritime safety and security teams, and additional sea marshals. Three Juniper-class 225-foot seagoing buoy tenders were delivered to the fleet in 2003, and two more were launched. In addition, contracts were awarded to Bollinger Shipyard for two eighty-seven-foot coastal patrol boats, and negotiations were set in motion for an additional nine to be awarded in fiscal year 2004, for a total of sixty-five boats in the class. We also accepted six C-130J Hercules maritime patrol aircraft in 2003.

Well trained and properly equipped people constitute an all-essential element in our response to today's growing operational tempo. We are poised to add thousands of new billets to our enlisted and officer force structure, which is to grow to an expected authorized end strength of 45,500 personnel during fiscal year 2004. Recruit training at Cape May, New Jersey, is operating at maximum levels to meet this expected growth. Our Coast Guard Reserve component began an incremental growth to nine thousand in 2003, and I expect it will grow to ten thousand during the years ahead. A robust and well trained force of selected reservists is an integral part of our ability to provide critical infrastructure protection, coastal and port security, and defense readiness. Our Coast Guard Auxiliary proved again to be an invaluable resource in today's high-paced operations, and we will continue to rely on the talent and experience of its dedicated volunteers during the years ahead.

Increased capacity will allow the Coast Guard to become as much a "presence" organization as a response organization. In keeping with a central premise underlying our strategy for maritime homeland security, we cannot afford simply to respond to emergencies--we must prevent them. Ongoing modernization and recapitalization programs are critical in this regard, because they will deliver the platforms and systems needed to close the capability gaps found in today's Coast Guard.

In particular, the long-range Integrated Deepwater System will recapitalize our entire inventory of aging cutters and aircraft, as well as systems at sea and ashore for C4ISR ***--all supported with an integrated logistics system. When the transformational Deepwater program is fully implemented (figure 2), the total system will consist of three classes of new cutters and their associated small boats, a new fixed-wing manned aircraft fleet, a combination of new and upgraded helicopters, and both cutter-based and land-based unmanned aerial vehicles.

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Deepwater will provide the means to extend our layered maritime defenses from ports and coastlines many hundreds of miles to sea to increase maritime domain awareness. It is a flexible program, able to meet emerging requirements for maritime security and other missions. When Deepwater is complete, our cutters and aircraft will no longer operate as independent platforms with only limited awareness of what surrounds them in the maritime domain. Instead, they will have the benefit of information from a wide array of mission-capable platforms and sensors--enabling them to share a common operating picture as part of a network-centric force operating in tandem with other cutters, boats, and both manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. ****