Coast Guard's closest point of approach to maritime Homeland Security, The

Sea Power, Apr 2003 by Collins, Thomas H

Special Report: The Integrated Deepwater System

The Coast Guard passed a historic milestone with its transfer to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on 1 March 2003. Its realignment with 21 other agencies into the new federal department unites the nation's efforts behind the compelling and urgent mission of protecting the American people from another terrorist attack.

This unity of effort, coupled with the department's clear lines of authority and command under DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, will bear rich security dividends for the citizens of our country. There are many other important implications for the Coast Guard itself. As Secretary Ridge testified before Congress during his confirmation hearing on 22 January, "The Coast Guard's fundamental responsibilities-preparedness, protection, response, and recovery-cut across all facets of the department's mission."

The Coast Guard's transition associated with this realignment has gone incredibly well. A central feature of that transition has been, and will remain, our traditional hallmark of operational excellence as a military, maritime, and multimission service.

Critical to the Coast Guard's readiness to perform its expanded homeland-- security tasks while concurrently carrying out its other traditional missions is attaining additional capacity and capability within our force structure.

The Coast Guard's homeland security "build-out" has benefited from a fast start. The unprecedented growth in our operating budget during the past two years has started us down the path we must follow to acquire the resource capacity and new capabilities so desperately needed to meet the growing demand for our services at home and overseas. With the strong support of DHS and the Department of Transportation, and of the U.S. Congress, these funding increases have allowed the Coast Guard to implement the president's strategy for maritime homeland security, sustain our traditional missions near their pre-9/11 levels, and maintain the Coast Guard's always high standards of operational excellence.

The president's fiscal year (FY) 2004 budget request will enable the Coast Guard to continue our multiyear plan to meet the challenges that our operational commanders face in the field. It would provide the Coast Guard with another 10 percent increase ($614 million) over the president's FY 2003 budget request. The service's FY 2004 budget includes $65 million to deploy six new Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Teams to respond to terrorist threats or incidents in domestic ports and waterways. It provides an additional $53 million to buy nine Coast Guard coastal patrol boats to serve as vessel escorts in U.S. ports. It also includes funding for an additional 2,000 new personnel billets.

Looking to the future, our "system of systems" IDS (Integrated Deepwater System) program is central to our ability to build and maintain operational excellence across our full range of missions, especially homeland security. It has solid backing from the administration, with $500 million included in the president's FY 2004 budget request.

The imperative to recapitalize the Coast Guard's aging platforms and systems has never been more evident if we are to achieve needed levels of future readiness. I have said on many occasions that our Deepwater recapitalization program was important before 9/11. In light of today's increased maritime threats to the nation's security, it is not just important-it is urgent.

Strategic Alignment

Before discussing the relevance of IDS to maritime homeland security, it is important to understand the challenges presented by the tasks assigned to us. The current increased focus on maritime homeland security reflects a Coast Guard legacy extending back to the earliest days of our republic. Now-as then-the world's oceans provide the primary trade routes for commercial goods and raw materials entering and leaving the United States. The protection of trade, commerce, and recreation along our shores remains vital to our nation's prosperity.

Today, the Coast Guard serves as: (1) the lead federal agency for maritime homeland security when responses require action by civil authorities; (2) the Federal Maritime Security Coordinator in the U.S. ports designated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002; (3) a supporting agency to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for declared disasters or emergencies under the Federal Response Plan; (4) a supporting agency to the lead federal agency for specific events postulated by the provisions of the current U.S. Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan; and (5) as a supporting or supported commander for military operations under Title 10 U.S. Code.

Mindful of this complex charter and the need for strategic alignment, we have moved aggressively during the past year to protect the U.S. maritime domain and the U.S. Marine Transportation System against terrorist threats. At the same time, we have moved to ensure that our properly heightened priority for maritime security is balanced against the statutory requirements covering such other critical operations as search and rescue, fisheries enforcement, pollution response, and aids to navigation. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 mandates that we meet these requirementsand we will.