Coast Guard OUTLOOK 2020 - 2021 Edition by Faircount Media Group

2020-2021 EDITION

Accelerating Coast Guard Innovation

FEATURES: Combating IUU Fishing Robots on Water Cutter Programs Update

CONTENTS 4 INTERVIEW: Rear Adm. Eric Jones Commander, Coast Guard District 7 By Edward Lundquist

12 Successful Cooperation and Collaboration Come from the Power of Partnerships Joint Interagency Task Force South protects U.S. and partner nations from illicit drugs. By Edward Lundquist

22 Accelerating Coast Guard Innovation Providing mission support at the speed of need By Edward Lundquist

28 In the Maritime Domain, Presence Equals Influence Modern cutters allow U.S. to advance national interests. By Edward Lundquist

38 Robots on Water The Coast Guard completes a pilot demonstration of unmanned surface vehicles for low-cost maritime domain awareness. By Craig Collins

42 Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated In a new strategic document, the Coast Guard outlines a campaign against what it calls the leading global maritime security threat: IUU fishing. By Craig Collins 50 Rescue 21 Much more than a “Mayday!” message By Edward Lundquist

56 Service – and Presence – in the Arctic

2020-2021 EDITION

Published by Faircount Media Group 450 Carillon Parkway, Suite 105 St. Petersburg, FL 33716 Tel: 813.639.1900 www.defensemedianetwork.com www.faircount.com EDITORIAL Editor in Chief: Chuck Oldham Managing Editor: Ana E. Lopez Senior Editor: Rhonda Carpenter DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Art Director: Robin K. McDowall ADVERTISING Account Executives: Steve Chidel, Beth Hamm, Geoffrey Weiss OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION Chief Operating Officer: Lawrence Wayne Roberts VP, Business Development: Robin Jobson Ad Traffic and Website Development: Damion Harte Marketing and Social Media: Damion Harte Sales and Marketing Systems: Damion Harte Accounting Manager: Joe Gonzalez FAIRCOUNT MEDIA GROUP Publisher: Ross Jobson

COVER PHOTO: A Coast Guard 26-foot Over-the-Horizon Interceptor boatcrew from Coast Guard Cutter Aspen deploys a Maritime Object Tracking Technology (MOTT) device in the San Francisco Bay during a MOTT demonstration, Jan. 17, 2018. The tool, which can be used to track contraband thrown from vessels, transmits an Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal that will display a marker on the navigation display of Coast Guard vessels. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS SARAH WILSON

In a year fraught with challenges, the Coast Guard holds steady in the high latitudes. By Craig Collins

64 Rum War The U.S. Coast Guard and Prohibition By Craig Collins

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

©Copyright 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

REAR ADM. ERIC JONES Commander, Coast Guard District 7 BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST

Coast Guard Outlook: I’d like to talk to you about the scope and magnitude of the district you command, the team you lead to manage the activities, and how you approach the Coast Guard missions in your district. Let’s start with your area of responsibility. Rear Adm. Eric Jones: As you know, the Coast Guard is organized with two areas: essentially everything east of the Rockies is Atlantic Area [LANTAREA], and everything west of the Rockies is Pacific Area. There are nine districts, five of which are here in LANTAREA. Our command, the Seventh District – headquartered here in Miami and serving the southeast United States – is a particularly interesting one. It goes from South Carolina through Georgia, down to Florida, and then it also includes Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, which amounts to about 1.8 million square miles, including the exclusive economic zone off of the territories in the Caribbean. It also includes 32 foreign nations and territories, with which we work a lot.

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

Rear Adm. Eric Jones, commander, Coast Guard District 7. trans-shipment point for cargo to the Bahamas, Haiti, and the Caribbean. The Port of Jacksonville serves as the lifeline to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with several Jones Act trade companies that keep those territories supplied from the mainland. With all of that, we obviously have a lot of aids to navigation work to maintain. We’re on the southwest border for the United States, and so we also have a lot of border responsibilities here. It’s definitely the highest operational tempo district. Let’s talk about some of your assets available to you, and some of those missions you just mentioned in more detail. First of all, our cutters are more than ships … they are the right team, the right training, the right partnerships,

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY SEAMAN ERIK VILLA-RODRIGUEZ

Are you responsible for all of the Coast Guard’s missions? We face the same challenges of the other districts, as well as many that are unique to the U.S. southeast border and the nations of the Caribbean. We do all 11 of the Coast Guard’s missions – except icebreaking. Our Maritime Force Protection Unit Kings Bay provides critical transit security to the Navy’s ballistic missile submarines – which are strategic assets for our nation. We’re one of two districts with that mission. We have a well-known counter-narcotics and migrant interdiction responsibility. We have one of the busiest recreational boating areas in the country and it’s year-round here, it’s not seasonal. We have a lot of fisheries in our area of responsibility, as well as a lot of marine safety and prevention that’s driven by the fast-growing ports here in Savannah, Charleston, and Tampa. You also have the three largest cruise ship ports in the world, which obviously are a little quieter right now. Regarding maritime commerce, Florida is a huge

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY SEAMAN ERIK VILLA-RODRIGUEZ

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Eric Jones, Seventh District commander, and Air Force Maj. Gen. Gregory Guillot, director of operations for headquarters, U.S. Northern Command, visit with Royal Bahamas Defense Force and Department of State personnel in Nassau, Bahamas, Sept. 6, 2019. The Coast Guard conducted an overflight assessment of the Bahamas for Jones and the official party to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Dorian. the right authorities, the right technology and frankly, the right force package. They are greater than the sum of their parts. The Coast Guard, empowered through a robust blend of authorities, embodies this “right balance” and possesses the agility essential to meeting both national security and regional demands across the full spectrum of military operations, law enforcement, environmental response, and humanitarian assistance. Our new cutters – the Fast Response [FRC] and National Security Cutters [NSCs], and soon the Offshore Patrol Cutters [OPCs] – have altered the battlespace, allowing us to meet the threat downrange, and change our paradigms from responsive to proactive. The large National Security Cutters and Medium Endurance Cutters [WMECs] come directly under [Atlantic] Area. Under the district, we’ve got six sectors; in Charleston, Jacksonville, Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Key West, and St. Petersburg, Florida, which are our major land commands that do the nearshore operations. Our cutters at the district level get as large as the 225-foot and 175-foot buoy tenders for the aids to navigation

[ATON] mission. We also have the white-hull 154-foot Fast Response Cutters, which have replaced the 110-foot patrol boats. We’ve got six FRCs in Miami and Key West, and seven down in San Juan. And those are really the law enforcement workhorses that we have in the district. The sectors have small boat stations up and down the coast, primarily close-in law enforcement, search and rescue missions, recreational boating safety, and some fisheries. We’ve got ATON teams that manage the myriad aids to navigation on the intercoastal waterway and in the ports. The sectors have the marine safety teams that inspect vessels, conduct investigations of maritime mishaps, and do maritime permitting for events. And then we get major cutters – 210s, 270 WMECs, and 418-foot NSCs that come down from Atlantic Area, and when they get into the area, they shift their operational control to either District 7 or JIATF South, depending on the mission that they’re performing. We’ve got four air stations – including the largest air station in the Coast Guard – that’s Air Station Clearwater, where we fly HH-60s and HC-130s; Air Station Miami, where we fly the smaller helicopters, the MH-65s, and the smaller fixed-wing HC-144s. And then there’s another -65 unit down in Borinquen, on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Finally, we have an air station up in Savannah that also flies the -65s. I mentioned our buoy tenders. We have USCGC Willow, which is a 225-foot ocean-going buoy tender. She’s

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez (WPC 1114) offloaded 55 bales of cocaine weighing 1,375 kilograms at Sector San Juan July 22, 2020. The $38.5 million shipment was seized and recovered from the Caribbean Sea July 16, 2020, following the disruption of a go-fast that led to the smugglers jettisoning the contraband overboard. The interdiction was the result of multi-agency efforts in support of U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counternarcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere, and during Operation Cast Net II, in coordination with Joint Task Force-East.

based in Charleston, and works all the way down into the Caribbean. Our District 7 tactical law enforcement team provides high-end pursuit training for our small boat coxswains and takes care of a lot of our sophisticated law enforcement gear, such as drug detection equipment and non-lethal munitions.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY RICARDO CASTRODAD

That must require a lot of manpower. We’re busy, so we have a fairly good-size workforce with almost 3,700 active-duty personnel, 750 reservists, nearly 200 civilian employees, and we benefit from nearly 4,500 Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers. A couple of years ago the Coast Guard came out with its Western Hemisphere Strategy, which was kind of a first for the Coast Guard in promulgating its strategic vision for a geographic area and the unique challenges in your district. That strategy really does focus a lot on what you’re doing. Absolutely, it is. And we work very closely with U.S. Southern Command in both operations and in capacity building with our partners throughout the Caribbean. As

we can build capacity among the [Royal Bahamas Defense Force], [Jamaica Defense Force], Haitian coast guard, or the Dominican navy, for example, they become partners in tackling the same issues we’re facing. Not only are they helping us to keep migrants and illicit drugs from making it into the United States; when we work together, we can help smuggled cash and weapons from getting into those countries. In April, President [Donald] Trump, Adm. [Karl] Schultz, and U.S. SOUTHCOM Commander Adm. [Craig] Faller were there to announce those operations. Since then we have seen an infusion of additional Coast Guard and Navy assets during 2020. SOUTHCOM’s enhanced presence, incorporating 17 Coast Guard cutters and seven Navy ships with embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments [LEDETs], as well as four allied ships in the Caribbean region, continues to support ongoing wholeof-government and internationally-supported operations, reducing the availability of illicit drugs and saving countless lives in the United States and throughout the region. The intent is to stymie the flow of illicit drugs, degrade transnational criminal organizations, and increase interoperability with our interagency partners and partner nations. This operation directly supports the National Drug Control Strategy. We deal with SOUTHCOM directly, as well as through our daily interactions with the Joint Interagency Task Force South [JIATF South]. We’re very close partners there. JIATF South also covers the Eastern Pacific. Does that come under your district? The Pacific coast comes under District 11 In Alameda. It really just depends on where the operations are

Are you responsible for the Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETs) that go aboard the Navy ships, or any other types of vessels, to provide law enforcement authority? Tactical Law Enforcement Team South [TACLET South] is physically located here in the district, at Opa Locka, co-located at Air Station Miami, and they are also an Atlantic Area unit. We have a Maritime Safety and Security Team here in Miami, an MSST team in Kings Bay, Georgia, as well as the helicopter tactical interdiction squadron out of Cecil Field in Jacksonville – those are the helicopters that conduct the airborne use of force mission to stop drug-running “go-fast” boats. Those three higherend assets are Atlantic Area assets, but we support them along with Base Miami Beach, to take care of the people and their families, and we frequently work with those teams because those helicopters and LEDETs deploy to cutters, U.S. Navy, and allied ships that are operating in our region. All those units are ready to shift to missions as needed. We might have a cutter downrange working for JIATF South, doing detection and monitoring for drug smuggling, and if we suddenly see an uptick of migrants moving off the north shore of Haiti, or across the Mona Passage, we can quickly work to get them re-tasked to cover whatever the mission demand is. And of course, when you have something like a Hurricane Maria or a Dorian happen, they’re in a good position to shift gears and help with a domestic disaster recovery, or an international humanitarian assistance disaster response. This has been an extraordinary hurricane season. We’re constantly keeping an eye on the weather. When we see a storm heading our way, we start doing

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

Petty Officer 2nd Class Sherri Helgoe observes the areas damaged by Hurricane Dorian in Marsh Harbour Sept. 7, 2019. The Coast Guard was supporting the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, who were leading search and rescue efforts in the Bahamas.

a whole lot of preps and a lot of communications and coordination with our local FEMA colleagues, and with the local National Guards and our partner nations, helping them get ready. Once the storm is inbound, we try to get our families and dependents moved to safety, and move our assets out of the way but where they can respond quickly once the storm has passed. This time of year, that’s an ever-present threat that we’ve got to be ready to respond to. With each storm that passes, our aids to navigation cutters – the black-hulled workhorses of the fleet – have the herculean task of ensuring our nation’s constellation of buoys, day boards, and ranges [the street lights and stop signs of our waterways] remains on station to indicate safe passage to and from our ports. These cutters must verify that our 4,300 fixed aids and 860 floating aids are working properly, and service the critical aids that are damaged or dislocated to ensure the Maritime Transportation System quickly recovers. Those storms must create a lot of SAR missions. Search and rescue offshore is our bread and butter. Even there, we work with partners quite a bit. There are rescue coordination centers down in Trinidad and Tobago, and Fort-de-France, Martinique, and we work very closely with them for cases that might even be well out into the Atlantic to help find and help mariners. But even when storms make landfall, we have helicopters that are based year-round in the Bahamas, and they were the first that were on-scene in Great Abaco while Dorian was still

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY SEAMAN ERIK VILLA RODRIGUEZ

centered. My counterpart at District 11 is probably my closest partner. We coordinate closely with District 11 to ensure that when JIATF and the partner nations hand off a case, it’s completely seamless.

Left: Coast Guard personnel of Law Enforcement Detachment 407 (USCG LEDET 407) assigned to the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Detroit (LCS 7) conduct close-quarter combat training aboard the museum ship Coast Guard Cutter Ingham (WHEC 35) in Key West, Florida. Below: Coast Guard watchstanders and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) crew interdicted two Dominican Republic-flagged ships illegally fishing off Diamond Point, Great Bahama Bank, Sept. 17, 2020. Watchstanders from the Coast Guard’s Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos operation center coordinated with RBDF crews to board two commercial fishing vessels, El Ship and Angel Gabriel, which had 83 fishermen aboard.

Human trafficking can also result in SAR cases. The people who [attempt] to emigrate over the seas are undertaking a very dangerous journey, with a real risk for loss of life – that’s not just across the Florida Straits from Cuba and the Bahamas, but they’re also trying to get into Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic or the Virgin Islands from the Windward and Leeward islands. Has COVID changed the way you do business? The Coast Guard has not been immune to the effects of COVID-19. If you have served aboard cutters and ships, you know the tight confines in which sailors live and work on a daily basis. So now we have to keep our people safe

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENCE FORCE

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS ANDERSON W. BRANCH

spinning on Grand Bahama Island, helping to rescue some people at the clinic at Marsh Harbour.

during the coronavirus. We’re following the guidelines, and keeping our people as safe as we can. We’ve just had to impress upon our leadership and our personnel that when they’re looking out for themselves by keeping their faces covered and practicing good hygiene and physical distancing, that they’re not just protecting themselves, but they’re protecting their loved ones and their fellow crew at the unit. One of the key things is we had to make sure that commerce continues to flow – not just into Florida to keep grocery store shelves stocked and gas stations moving – but also keeping commerce for the key supply chains in the southeastern part of the country that’s supplied through Savannah and Charleston. The cruise ship industry initially presented us a real challenge. We received almost 100 cruise ships here and offloaded more than a quarter million passengers in the opening weeks of the COVID crisis, and thank goodness our sector commanders in Miami, in Jacksonville, in Tampa, had such great relationships with their port partners,

A rescue swimmer with Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater talks with and prepares the survivor of a sunken 36-foot sailing vessel to be hoisted, June 29, 2018, approximately 6 miles southwest of Big Sand Cay, Turks and Caicos. The Coast Guard 7th District Command Center received a 406 megahertz emergency position indicating radio beacon alert from the 36-foot sailing vessel Wings with one person aboard and rescued the mariner.

because they were able to work closely to get those folks off in the first two to three weeks. We continue to be a big supporter of the enhanced counter-drug operations that are being led out of U.S. Southern Command. And, of course, any time you’ve got a natural disaster or social unrest – and COVID causes both – you have to deal with the increased risk of a maritime migration. Knowing that your migrants could be infected with COVID creates its own challenges, so we’ve had to push a lot of PPE [personal protective equipment] out to our cutters, and we’ve tried to keep a real strong presence in those hot spots, such as the North coast of Haiti, the Windward Passage, the Mona Passage, and the Florida Straits. Would-be migrants and smugglers alike have taken notice that our ships and aircraft are still on patrol. And in that effort, we’ve been supported well by our sister component, CBP [Customs and Border Protection] Air and Marine Operations. They’ve provided some of the aircraft to help maintain a good presence off of these migration hot spots, because we’ve seen a bit of an uptick.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO COURTESY OF AIR STATION CLEARWATER

What about living marine resources? We continue to carry out our responsibility to ensure the long-term sustainability of our commercial and sport fisheries, and safeguard protein stocks in the southeastern United States, which supply both food and employment. To that end, we continue to employ our surface assets to enforce commercial and recreational fishing regulations as well as protect against foreign fishing incursions into our exclusive economic zone. Despite the pandemic, District 7 cutters and boats still managed to conduct over 1,700 Living Marine Resource [LMR] boardings since the beginning of the fiscal year, issuing dozens of violations. What’s the most difficult part of the job? The toughest part of the job is that there’s just never quite enough resources for everything that the Coast Guard would like to do. That’s why we leverage partnerships to the best degree we can. Each of the sectors, each of the smallest stations have great relationships with the local Department of Natural Resources. In the case of Florida, the Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation Commission have a lot of sworn officers, boats, and vehicles. We deal with the local sheriff’s offices. We stand closely tied with Customs and Border Protection, whether it’s the customs officer or the air and marine operations agents. We even have

networks between the Coast Guard assets, the local county and municipality assets, so we can decide who’s available to respond to an emergency. So that certainly helps us. The commandant has talked about how hard it is to both recapitalize the Coast Guard’s assets while we keep our legacy platforms and systems performing to meet our mission. It’s great to see the new NSCs in the fleet, the Offshore Patrol Cutters under construction, and the FRCs now assigned to just about all of the districts. But at the same time, a lot of our infrastructure – our stations, our sector buildings, our air station hangars – are old, and some have been damaged by hurricanes in the last few years. It’s been tough to get the resources needed to keep those going. We have these really hardworking young women and men who have decided the Coast Guard is where they want to serve, so we do everything we can to give them the best tools to get the job done. That’s probably the biggest challenge. When it comes to operations, I’ve got a phenomenal team: the captains and the commanders that lead the sectors and the air stations, the lieutenants and lieutenant commanders who command the cutters that are out there – they do a phenomenal job. But it is frustrating getting them the things they need to get the job done. Thank you for your time, admiral. Any last thoughts? The people who stand the watch, listen to the radios, monitor and then head out to sea – whether they’re flying over it or steaming across it – they’re really an incredibly dedicated bunch. The op tempo here just doesn’t slow for anything.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) crewmembers inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible June 19, 2019, in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Coast Guard crews seized more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana, worth a combined estimated $569 million, through 14 separate suspected drug smuggling interdictions and disruptions off the coasts of Mexico, Central America, and South America by three Coast Guard cutters between May and July 2019.

SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION COME FROM THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS Joint Interagency Task Force South protects U.S. and partner nations from illicit drugs.

A unique interagency and international task force is protecting the United States and partner nations from the flow of illicit drugs. Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South), located at Naval Air Station Key West in Florida,Â coordinates and conducts detection and monitoring (D&M) operations to facilitate the interdiction

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

of illicit trafficking in support of national and partnernation security. Enhanced Counter-Narcotics Operations is a United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)-led and JIATF South-supported effort to deny transnational criminal organizations the ability to exploit shipment routes for the movement of narcotics, precursor

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST

chemicals, bulk cash, trafficked humans, and weapons. It is a multinational detection, monitoring, and interdiction operation conducted by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels and aircraft as well as U.S. agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security, and federal law enforcement assets from Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, working in cooperation with military and law enforcement units from various Central and South American nations, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

TEAM OF TEAMS APPROACH Adm. Craig Faller, the commander of SOUTHCOM, said the drug scourge is a national security challenge. However, the United States has friendly nations who share the concern. By working together, the partners strive to keep those illegal drugs as far from their homelands as possible. “We can’t do enough to get after this challenge that erodes communities across the country. Over the past year, we’ve focused on building out partners – to get them more into the game,” Faller said. “Fifty percent of our interdictions last year were partner-enabled in nations like Colombia, that have stepped in to lead their own exercises and operations.” Faller said U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced presence will support ongoing whole-of-government and internationally supported operations to reduce the availability of illicit drugs and save lives in the United States and throughout the region. The intent is to reduce the flow of illicit drugs, degrade transnational criminal organizations, and increase interoperability with partner nations and interagency partners. “Our objectives are to detect, degrade, and dismantle transnational criminal organizations – disrupt their illicit activities – and save lives here in the homeland. Our team is taking steps to stop them in their tracks,” said Faller. “In April, we kicked off our Enhanced Counter Narcotics Operations, currently underway in this hemisphere. We are making progress, thanks to the unwavering commitment and noteworthy contributions of our partner nations in the Caribbean and Latin America. In fact, 60 percent of our illicit trafficking disruptions involve partner-nation collaboration, a testament to how strong partnerships help safeguard our shared neighborhood from these threats.” JIATF South-supported interdictions at sea account for almost four times the cocaine seized by all domestic and border enforcement efforts combined. “In the counterdrug mission, we continue to deliver high returns on modest investment. Last year, the international and interagency ‘team of teams’ at JIATF

South helped keep 280 metric tons of cocaine off U.S. streets,” said Faller, testifying to the House Armed Services Committee in January 2020. “In an operating area that is 11 times larger than the United States, the Coast Guard and JIATF South continue to be among the top 12 best investments in the U.S. government.”

POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS Speaking at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center at Souda Bay, Crete, in September, Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz said most of the U.S. Coast Guard’s successes stem from the power of partnerships and the related cooperation and collaboration found in those partnerships. “We fully recognize that our borders begin well beyond our coastline, and that threats to our national interests and security originate far from our homeland,” said Schultz. “For years, we’ve trained, equipped, and coordinated with dozens of countries across South and Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as with Allied partners such as the French, Dutch, Canadians, and the United Kingdom, to help stop the flow of illicit drugs. These efforts are paying off.” This summer, Schultz said, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter conducted an at-sea boarding of a 75-foot cargo vessel in the Caribbean and turned the vessel over to the Colombian navy for a follow-on dockside boarding spanning a period of more than seven days. “This case resulted in the discovery of over 7,500 kilograms of cocaine concealed within hundreds of bags of fertilizer, and highlights the robust cooperation with partner nations, and the continued advancement of concealment tactics used by transnational criminal organizations.” These Western Hemisphere partner nations now coordinate and lead their own counter-narcotics operations, and participate in approximately 50 percent of all the cases led by JIATF South, he said. Colombialed “Campaign Orion”– a 45-day multinational campaign, with 26 participating nations – is underway in its sixth iteration. In the last, or fifth iteration, partner nations removed 50 metric tons of illicit narcotics. Schultz said the Coast Guard is deployed globally to promote peace, fortify alliances, attract new partners, and challenge threats far from United States soil. “For example, we provide United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) detection, monitoring, and response capability in the Western Hemisphere to combat transnational crime in the transit zone while building the interdiction and crisis response capabilities of our partner nations.” According to Schultz, thanks to the power of partnerships, the U.S. Coast Guard has interdicted more than 1.8 million pounds of cocaine in the last four years.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY ENSIGN ASHLEY HATFIELD

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Diligence flight deck crew conducts helicopter operations in the Western Caribbean Sea. Diligence is a 210foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Pensacola, Florida, with a crew of 75.

“Let’s not forget that each of these interdictions also sparks the process for legal prosecution … we present about 600 smugglers before the U.S. criminal justice system annually.” The 2018-2022 Coast Guard Strategic Plan states that the Coast Guard cooperates in ways that other military services cannot in order to support U.S. national goals of preserving peace through strength and advancing American influence. “Across the full range of operations, our law enforcement capability discourages aggression,

supports stability, and fortifies regional coalitions. At the same time, our military capabilities deter our adversaries, whether nation-states, terrorists, or international criminals,” the document reads. Depending on the location of the interdiction, the United States likely needs to secure a waiver of jurisdiction from the flag state – informing where in the United States the case can be prosecuted and therefore transport the suspects, secure the evidence, and take witness statements. Each of these actions within the

process requires different interagency engagements, and to make it work, they must all work in concert, in real time. “The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea requires unity of effort in all phases, from detection, monitoring, and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. attorneys’ offices in districts across the nation,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area. “The law enforcement phase of countersmuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard 11th District, headquartered in Alameda, California, and the law enforcement phase of operations in the Caribbean is conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard 7th District, headquartered in Miami. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

The Netherlands is responsible for protecting its islands in the Caribbean, but also participates as a key contributor to JIATF South and international countertrafficking operations. Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are independent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba are special Dutch municipalities. Together they form the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands armed forces maintain a permanent military presence in the Caribbean for the performance of military missions and a number of policing tasks. The Royal Netherlands Navy contributes to security in all parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including the Dutch territories in the Caribbean. Commander Netherlands Forces in the Caribbean (COMNLCARIB) is responsible for the activities of Dutch naval units in the area. The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) is a civilian authority with its own cutters, boats, and fixedand rotary-winged aircraft. Dutch military personnel in the Caribbean intercept drug transports and combat illegal fishing and environmental crime, among other things. They also lend support during search-and-rescue operations and provide disaster relief in the event of hurricanes and other natural disasters or serious incidents. While the military and Coast Guard have the same commander, they are different organizations with different authorities. Brig. Gen. Frank Boots of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps commands COMNLCARIB and the DCCG. When activated, he also assumes command of U.S. SOUTHCOM Task Group 4.4. The mission of TF 4.4 is to address counter drug operations, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and other illegal activities.

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

The task group normally includes the West Indies Guard Ship (WIGS), but can also include other ships, such as the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus, which recently came under CTG 4.4 According to COMNLCARIB spokesman Lt. S.H. de Haan of the Royal Netherlands Navy, there is always a permanent guard ship in the region, referred to as the West Indies Guard Ship (WIGS). “We used to rotate the ships every four months, but now we have a fixed ship, the 355-foot, 3,750-ton Holland-class offshore patrol vessel HNLMS Groningen [P 843], with an embarked NH 90 helicopter, and rotating crews.” The 215-foot, 1,150-ton logistics and amphibious support ship HNLMS Pelikaan (A804) is also assigned to COMNLCARIB, de Haan said. Other Dutch ships deploy to the region for exercises and operations. “The Caribbean is vulnerable to drug trafficking by sea, and because of the location of our islands, our navy actively participates in the Joint Inter agency Task Force South, an international organization that conducts operations to counter drug trafficking,” said Boots. In general, nation states do not automatically have law enforcement jurisdiction on the open sea, but it can be created. The Netherlands doesn’t have treaties with each of the countries in the region, but the United States. does. “That’s why we carry U.S. Law Enforcement Detachments [LEDETs] on our guardship,” said Boots. “The U.S. Coast Guard LEDETs have the authority to carry out boardings beyond the territorial

ROYAL NETHERLANDS NAVY PHOTO

DUTCH FORCES DETER DRUG TRAFFICKERS

Above: The Royal Netherlands Navy patrol ship HNLMS Groningen embarks a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) for counternarcotics interdictions in the Caribbean. Opposite page: Contraband seized by HNLMS Groningen and an embarked U.S. Coast Guard LEDET during CTG 4.4 operations in the Caribbean.

ROYAL NETHERLANDS NAVY PHOTO

waters of the Dutch Caribbean islands, and to detain and arrest suspects, collect evidence, and prosecute offenders.” Organized crime uses small boats and go-fasts to bring illegal narcotics, guns, and exotic animals, such as monkeys and parrots, out of places like Venezuela. In October 2020, HNLMS Groningen had five narcotics seizures – four under CTG 4.4 and one under the Dutch Coast Guard. “Five seizures in one month is exceptional,” said Ronald van Vuuren, Groningen’s commanding officer. “We have been successful because of good intelligence

and cooperation with our partners, a well-trained crew, and sometimes a little luck.”

SURVEILLANCE FROM THE AIR While interdictions usually take place on the water, much of the surveillance of targets occurs from the air. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) National Air Security Operations Center-Corpus Christi (NASOC-CC) is one of two centers that provide aircraft and crews to JIATF South (the other

being NASOC-JAX, located in Jacksonville, Florida). AMO has been conducting air surveillance since 1971. “We bring long distance maritime ISR [Intelligence, Surveillence, and Reconnaissance] with seasoned crews with hundreds of thousands of flight hours in this mission set,” said Supervisor Tracy Weddle. “We utilize a highly modified version of the venerable P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft in two separate configurations. The Airborne Early Warning [AEW] is a 360-degree air and surface search radar [APS-145] capable of detecting aircraft-size targets out to 250 nautical miles. Small boats can be detected out to roughly 75 nautical miles. The Long-Range Tracker, or LRT, also uses a SeaVue 360-degree radar, which specializes in maritime searches, which, along with a high-definition EOIR [electro-optical infrared] camera, detects and tracks surface targets of interest. Both aircraft are outfitted with an extremely capable communications suite which covers most radio frequencies, to include satellite communications,” said Weddle. “This makes our aircrew capable of coordinating with everyone from the White House Situation Room down to a local police car on the street.” AMO started flying the four-engine P-3s 35 years ago in 1985. Weddle said the aircrews and support staff are the backbone of AMO operations. “We have been fortunate to be able to hire the aircrews with a tremendous background in aviation operations. Former Navy P-3 pilots and flight engineers fill the majority of our flight station positions. Our sensor operators come from numerous military branches, with a diverse background in aviation specialties.” According to Supervisor John Benn, the majority of the operations are centered around the traditional transit routes of narcotics, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the Eastern Pacific. This vast operating environment of more than 42 million square miles includes all major shipping lanes as well as international fisheries for nearly the entire Western Hemisphere. Finding illicit activity in such a high-density traffic area takes a great amount of knowledge, skill, and experience. Interagency cooperation is critical. Other agencies and nations have vast intelligence- and informationgathering networks. “Our specialty is utilizing their data to result in the reduction of narcotics traffic approaching our borders,” said Benn. “Additionally, we also contribute to those same information-gathering networks for the betterment of the whole counterdrug enterprise.” About a third of JIATF South’s surveillance flight hours take place aboard the AMO P-3s, but they account for half of the seizures. Many of the AMO teams have been doing the job for decades, yet they still get excited about the next sortie. “They’re anxious to go on any deployment,” said NASOC-CC Director Marshall Dillon. “They have a passion for the mission.”

With trained and motivated crews and capable aircraft, Supervisory Air Interdiction Agent Brandon Tucker said “all they need is a little more gas money. We have capacity. Give us the resources and we can do the job.”

STRONG RELATIONSHIPS BUILT ON TRUST “Our U.S. and international partners are vital to success in the shared mission to combat illicit drug trafficking that threatens global security and prosperity,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Scott Sciretta, JIATF South deputy commander. “These partnerships – which include 15 U.S. agencies and 21 countries from Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and Europe – are grounded in trust that has developed over JIATF South’s 31-year history.” The Joint Operations Center (JOC) monitors an average of 1,000 targets each day, and selects specific contacts, based on matrix tools, for further examination. This information is then passed along to maritime patrol aircraft that detect and monitor the suspect smugglers. The watchstanders include representatives from a number of nations in the region. There are 25 foreign liaison partners from all of the 21 partner nations, and 15 U.S. agencies represented at JIATF South, and they all play an important role. “The resources provided by the U.S. through JIATF South enlighten our operations,” said Ecuadorean navy Capt. Pedro Costales Cabezas, who just completed his assignment as a foreign liaison officer (FLO) at JIATF South. “They give us intelligence; they are the eyes of the mission for all the countries that participate here, which helps us perform interdictions and stop the people involved in illicit activities.” Costales said the FLOs are an important link in the chain to promptly coordinate with their own countries to find drug traffickers at sea. “We have a relationship of trust and a network of interaction, information, and intelligence.” Jamaican Defense Force Maj. Elon Clarke represented his country as an FLO. “Jamaica views JIATF South as a critical partner. It takes a network to defeat a network. Building strong positive networks is something JIATF South does extremely well.” For Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard FLO Lt. Cmdr. Kele-Ann Bourne, coordination, synchronization, and exchange of best practices help in the fight against traffickers. “We are challenged by common transnational threats of drugs and human trafficking, illegal arms trade, terrorist attacks, and corruption. Joint efforts to counter trafficking tend to strengthen bonds through deepening partnerships between my country and the U.S., for both military and civilian components. We coordinate bilateral

CBP PHOTO

responses on strategic, operational, and tactical levels,” said Bourne. Colombia is also a strong supporter. “We have the best relationships with SOUTHCOM and JIATF South, with whom we communicate and coordinate daily,” said Colombian navy Vice Adm. Andrés Vásquez Villegas, commander of the Caribbean Naval Force. “It has enabled navy ships from other countries, such as Colombia, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom, to cover other mobility corridors, in a combined effort to smother narcotrafficking routes.” “In the Caribbean and Central America, we continue to focus our capacity-building efforts on improving border security, drug interdiction rates, and institutional effectiveness. Jamaica has now integrated its selffunded maritime patrol aircraft into Joint Interagency Task Force South counterdrug operations, enhancing our operational reach and effectiveness,” said SOUTHCOM Commander Faller. “After receiving sustained training by Naval Special Warfare teams, Guatemala’s Fuerzas Especiales Navales is now entirely self-sufficient and responsible for more than 80 percent of Guatemala’s drug seizures. Like Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and El Salvador are applying U.S.-provided training and equipment to regularly interdict drug shipments more than 100 miles from shore, keeping those drugs off the streets of cities across America, from LA to Tulsa and Providence. Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are

A CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft in flight. About a third of JIATF South’s flight hours take place aboard AMO P-3s, but they account for half of drug seizures.

leveraging our civil affairs support and Humanitarian Assistance Program to better address factors driving violence and migration to our doorstep.” Faller and his staff are also fostering innovative solutions like the Multi Mission Support Vessel (MMSV), a commercially available platform that can support surveillance. The MMSV already has supported the disruption of more than 3,000 kilograms of cocaine, nearly 8,000 pounds of marijuana, and the detention of 17 drug traffickers, while also keeping a low-profile vessel from reaching our shores. It also served as a capacity-building platform in the Dominican Republic, a key transit point for cocaine trafficking into major U.S. cities like Washington, D.C., Miami, and Philadelphia. “We are also applying commercially available technology like unmanned aircraft systems to increase the MMSV’s ability to conduct detection and monitoring, and provide information to partner nations who are conducting the interceptions,” Faller said. “In addition to the MMSV, we now have the Littoral Combat Ship [LCS] deployed in the region that will provide needed naval capabilities and technological advantage. We look forward to future U.S. Navy ship deployments – these will be game-changers.”

ACCELERATING COAST GUARD INNOVATION Providing mission support at the speed of need BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST

The U.S. Coast Guard Strategic Plan 2018-2022 states that the service will “strive to lower the barriers to innovation, including programmatic stovepipes, and recognize that smart failures in low-risk venues in the short term often yield lessons-learned that lead to longterm organizational success.” To deliver the support at the “speed of need,” the Strategic Plan calls for the service to “encourage and reward our workforce for developing innovative ways to increase delivery speed and efficiency of mission support functions” noting that “innovation requires smart risk taking.” According to the Strategic Plan, the Coast Guard brings enduring value to the nation and must adapt to the changing character of maritime operations. “To remain at the cutting edge, we will: foster a culture of experimentation and encourage acceptance of warranted risk to affect change; challenge our workforce to evolve and improve long-standing processes and operational constructs; and strengthen service innovation initiatives and accelerate the process of moving the best ideas to service-wide implementation.” Wendy Chaves is the Coast Guard’s chief of RDT&E and Innovation, which stands for research, development, test, and evaluation, as well as the more recent addition: innovation. “The Strategic Plan emphasizes emerging technology and innovation – RDT&E and innovation all work together. They’re all important to the future success of the service,” she said. That’s why the Coast Guard is taking major steps to accelerate innovation, including the establishment of the Blue Technology Center of Expertise (BTCOE); integration with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU); leveraging its Research and Development Center (RDC); and partnering with the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), to include the Science and Technology Innovation Center (STIC) and participation with the Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP).

La Jolla, California, to increase the service’s awareness of emerging technologies. Blue technology includes technology that supports maritime domain awareness (MDA), search and rescue, emergency response, maritime law enforcement, and protection of the marine environment. Chaves said the BTCOE’s job is to educate academia, industry, and nonprofits that make up the innovation ecosystem about what the Coast Guard does and how it does it, and what the Coast Guard’s needs are – the gaps and challenges – so they have a better understanding of how they might be able to help. “We want them to better understand what our needs are, and we want to better understand what technology is out there that we could potentially leverage,” Chaves said. At the same time, the BTCOE is essentially a tech scouting arm for the Coast Guard. “They learn about the technologies that are out there that have potential applicability to the Coast Guard, and educate Coast Guard members on what those are so we might possibly leverage them,” Chaves said. “We foster and facilitate that discussion. We’re one of the conduits to help the tech sector to get their technology out to the Coast Guard,” said Peter Vandeventer, a program manager at the BTCOE. “The BTCOE is an avenue for industry to talk to us to share their information.” “We have a great partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography,” said Jennifer Ibaven, also a program manager at BTCOE. “Scripps has opened the door to their blue tech and academic partners within the Scripps Corporate Alliance. Now we have to let our stakeholders know we’re here, and what we can do for them.” U.S. Coast Guard Vice Commandant Adm. Charles W. Ray recently remarked during the virtual Blue Tech Week that the blue tech community is a “key enabler” and said, “As we look to work smarter, as we work to leverage technology … the blue tech community is a group that allows us to do that.”

BLUE TECHNOLOGY CENTER OF EXPERTISE

DEFENSE INNOVATION UNIT

The Coast Guard recently established the BTCOE at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego in

Chaves said the Coast Guard stood up a detachment this past summer at the DIU, which is a Department of

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS SARAH WILSON

Above: A Coast Guard 26-foot Over-the-Horizon Interceptor boatcrew from the Coast Guard Cutter Aspen deploys a Maritime Object Tracking Technology (MOTT) device in the San Francisco Bay during a MOTT demonstration, Jan. 17, 2018. The tool, which can be used to track contraband thrown from vessels, transmits an Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal that will display a marker on the navigation display of Coast Guard vessels. Right: Lt. j.g. Jonathan Upton, operations officer, Coast Guard Cutter Aspen, receives two MOTT devices from Brian Dolph, Coast Guard Research and Development Center test lead, following a MOTT device demonstration in San Francisco, Jan. 17, 2018.

COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS SARAH WILSON

Defense (DOD) activity in Mountain View, California, that uses nontraditional contracting to access commercial technologies to benefit the military services. The DIU is focused exclusively on fielding and scaling commercial technology across the U.S. military, with six technology areas of primary interest: artificial intelligence (AI); autonomy; cyber; human systems; advanced energy and materials; and space. DIU strengthens national security by accelerating the adoption of commercial technology throughout the military and growing the national security innovation base. “We now have an active-duty Coast Guard representative at the DIU, as well as a team of reservists,” Chaves said. DIU Coast Guard reservists will support the management of projects seeking commercial solutions to emerging capability gaps in the Coast Guard and across the DOD.

COAST GUARD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER The RDC recently conducted a monthlong demonstration of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) off the coast of Hawaii to assess their ability to provide persistent maritime domain awareness. (see related article, p.38) “We currently don’t have USVs in the operational fleet, but we’re evaluating some promising candidates,” said Chaves. “Two of them are participating in response to a request for proposals the Coast Guard issued, and another is an

unmanned/optionally manned asset we acquired for R&D and will retain after the testing.” USVs can provide persistent surveillance in distant and remote areas to monitor possible illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. “That’s our particular use case. We have a need for maritime domain awareness, but we can’t be everywhere all the time. We can extend that awareness through sensors on unmanned platforms, or potentially CubeSats, that can help us make timely decisions,” said Chaves. “The Low-Cost Maritime Domain Awareness project was a great opportunity to work with industry partners to assess the state of the market in USV technology and see how it could be adapted to augment operations, especially employment against IUU fisheries,” said Capt. Dan Keane, RDC commanding officer. “This was an outstanding team effort by the RDC staff to organize and execute a very complex series of exercises and vignettes. In addition to evaluating the capabilities of the three on-scene assets, we were able to successfully demonstrate control of the vehicles from a remote command center at the RDC nearly 5,000 miles away from the operational areas. With knowledge gained from this project, we’ll be able to better inform Coast Guard leadership on strategies for future USV use to optimize coverage of vast areas of ocean while augmenting the Coast Guard’s limited manned resources.”

COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS PATRICK KELLEY

Technical Director of the Air-Sea Interaction Research Laboratory Luc Lenain speaks with Rep. John Garamendi (right) following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, Jan. 24, 2020. The Coast Guard entered into an agreement with Scripps Institution of Oceanography to establish the Blue Technology Center of Expertise, which will provide opportunities for rapid identification and integration of new blue technologies into current Coast Guard capabilities.

There are other missions where this technology could be applied, like port security, or looking for regulation violators. “The Coast Guard would still need to work out the CONOPS [concept of operations], but we want to further explore this technology,” said Chaves. The follow-on to that is artificial intelligence. “When you have all of these additional sensors and start accumulating more data, you need to be able to process that data and make those timely decisions. That’s where AI and data analytics come into play,” Chaves said. “We’re working to make some recommendations on how the Coast Guard might utilize this technology.” RDC recently transitioned a technology – called i911 – that pairs smartphone technology with a web-based interface so Coast Guard command centers can locate distressed mariners. The RDC entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with Callyo of St. Petersburg, Florida, to work together and customize features based on Coast Guard needs. Depending on the cellphone service provider, i911 can locate distress calls from up to 15 to 20 nautical miles offshore. Another way to potentially address MDA is through space-based capability. The RDT&E and Innovation Program partnered with DHS S&T on the “Polar Scout” project, which conducted demonstrations to evaluate technologies that could be leveraged to support the detection and reporting of search and rescue beacons in arctic regions.

Communications are severely limited in the far north, and the area is so vast. “As part of the project, two small CubeSats were evaluated to detect search and rescue radio beacons in extreme latitudes and relay their location back to ground stations on Earth as well as improve communications in the Arctic, and potentially help locate people lost at sea,” Chaves said. “We hope CubeSats can detect distress signals, and get our assets to those locations faster.”

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CENTER The joint DHS S&T and Coast Guard Science and Technology Innovation Center (STIC), located at the RDC in New London, Connecticut, was established in 2016. “We have a successful partnership with DHS S&T, which provides funding for the STIC, supporting the RDC’s technology evaluation efforts,” said Chaves. “We bring applied technology to quick-hitting, practical, unit-specific needs that we can address in about a one-year time frame,” she said. “If it’s an urgent need, and we want to get to it quickly, that’s where we would address it.” Unit-specific isn’t a limitation, however. One of the STIC’s recent projects involved low-cost tethered remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to provide better surveillance capabilities for cutters. “Feedback from STIC evaluations indicated a strong and immediate need for the capability, and following the completion of the effort, the Coast Guard issued policy authorizing low-cost ROVs for purchase, which, in the past, have been prohibitively expensive for unit procurement and sustainment. Now any unit can procure an ROV as long as it meets certain criteria, so it benefits multiple units.” Another priority effort for the STIC team was assembling the first “technology go-kits” for shipment to cutters to address the counternarcotics initiative in the Western Hemisphere. One of the technologies includes

a device for tracking jettisoned objects and hazards to navigation at sea. The STIC combined commercial, off-the-shelf items with additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, to develop initial prototypes of the Maritime Object Tracking Technology (MOTT). The Coast Guard RDT&E and Innovation Program is now working with the DHS Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) to advance the technology by leveraging the commercial start-up community. “Over the years, we have had successful joint projects and a good working relationship with Coast Guard Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation and Innovation,” said Marilyn Rudzinsky, portfolio manager with the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate. “The STIC is a great example of this partnership, and allows our two organizations to work closely together to leverage, adapt, and transform technologies into operational capabilities for the Coast Guard.”

SILICON VALLEY INNOVATION PROGRAM The partnership with DHS S&T SVIP is another way the Coast Guard is reaching out to innovators. SVIP invests in start-up companies with viable technologies suitable for rapid prototyping that meet the needs of DHS operational components and programs. SVIP has taken on two big challenges for the Coast Guard. The first expands on MOTT work done by the STIC. Tactical teams in pursuit of a fleeing vessel often witness evidence being tossed over the side into the water. As the pursuits can last for hours, the contraband can drift for miles, making it very difficult to find. Also, the Coast Guard

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

spends significant time and resources reacting to reports of derelict objects and vessels adrift at sea. That’s why DHS SVIP is soliciting reliable MOTT systems to mark and monitor objects in the water for recovery, according to Minh-Thu Phan, the Coast Guard SVIP program manager. “If you’re in the middle of a mission, you don’t always have time to stop, but you would want to go back later and find it, because you might need it for evidence, or it could be a hazard floating around on the water.” The second effort addresses quick and accurate language translation for Coast Guard boarding teams, whose operations often involve non-English speakers. SVIP has issued a solicitation for a universal handheld translator to facilitate language translations, even when there is no connectivity to the Internet or the cloud. “We’re going through SVIP because it is geared toward those companies that are start-ups and leading-edge tech developers,” said Phan. SVIP has solicited start-ups to develop or adapt a language translator that functions in a maritime operational environment to rapidly and effectively communicate in real time with non-English speakers and those who are unable to communicate verbally. “In a variety of rescue and investigation missions, accurate and swift translation of orders and directions are critical to the safety and security of the boarding team and the vessel occupants,” the solicitation stated. “Off-line capability is necessary because many USCG interactions where translation devices are required are far out at sea, in extreme environmental conditions and in locations without cell service or Internet connections.” “A language translation technology that is fast, accurate, and easy to understand and operate would enhance USCG mission capabilities,” said Chaves. “Once deployed, this device would automatically identify numerous languages, translate, and display conversations in real time so USCG

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPACEX

Left: A rocket carrying two 6U CubeSats, dubbed Yukon and Kodiak, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Dec. 3, 2018, as part of the Polar Scout Project. Above: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC), launched the U.S. Coast Guard Ready for Rescue Challenge, a prize competition that seeks boater safety solutions that will help make it easier to find people in the water.

From left to right, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle McGann, a marine science technician, Petty Officer 2nd Class Bill Glenn, an electronics technician, and Chief Petty Officer Michael Perrault, a machinery technician, all members of the military dive team aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, inspect a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) prior to launch in the Ross Sea, Jan. 11, 2015. Dive team members use ROVs to inspect vessels for underwater damage.

staff and the public they serve can understand each other more quickly and accurately.” Phan sees SVIP as serving as a liaison, helping to connect people: “We’re always looking for partnerships to address our Coast Guard needs, and to figure out what technology may be out there to meet those needs.”

PRIZE COMPETITIONS The Coast Guard is known for finding people lost at sea, but it’s a capability it wants to improve. The service has partnered with DHS S&T to develop multiple prize competitions to leverage the power of ideas and the competitive spirit to solve problems. For example, DHS S&T and the RDC conducted a “U.S. Coast Guard Ready for Rescue Challenge” prize competition to gather ideas for improving the ability to find people floating in the ocean needing rescue. The ideas are intended to be affordable solutions that everyone from professional mariners to pleasure-boaters can use. A panel of experts judged the submissions, and five ideas were awarded prize funding to develop prototypes for at-sea field testing.

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

CG_IDEAS@WORK Chaves said the Coast Guard uses a “crowd-sourcing” tool to facilitate the flow of information and easily share ideas, best practices, and lessons learned. “We have an open forum called CG_Ideas@Work to collect workforce-generated solutions and courses of action for focused challenges such as hurricane lessons learned, or the Coast Guard response to COVID-19. Coast Guard service members, civilian employees, and Auxiliarists can propose ideas for innovation, and anyone can respond with their comments. CG_Ideas@Work enables fleet-wide input on how we can address our greatest challenges.” CG_Ideas@Work also hosts innovation challenges where the Coast Guard seeks input from the entire service on potential solutions to large problems that it is facing, such as how to increase life jacket usage rates, reduce the power consumption of moored ships, and better use mobile computing. The Coast Guard’s “Idea Frenzy” takes idea-generation to a higher level. “We hold pitch-style events where a few innovative finalists have the opportunity to present their great ideas or inventions to Coast Guard leadership. We

have a panel that listens to and reviews the presentations, including flag officers and other experts from the academic and technology community. Sometimes all an idea needs is visibility at the flag level,” said Chaves. And the strategy seems to be working. “As our service’s greatest asset, I have always valued and appreciated the feedback and contributions of our people,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area commander, who recently served as an Idea Frenzy judge. “While the concept of sharing our ideas and innovations isn’t new, the Idea Frenzy created a unique, entertaining and interesting way to engage our people. Innovation is creative process, and I think the Idea Frenzy helped foster that creative energy from our people.” The U.S. Coast Guard Strategic Plan 2018-2022 calls for the service to innovate for better organizational performance: “Our bias for action and propensity to exercise on-scene initiative are ingrained in our Service’s character, extending into our mission support enterprise. We will shape our Service based on a logical understanding of operational commitments, current and predictive budget realities, and potential long-term mission demands. We will strengthen our capability to assess enterprise risk in fulfilling our statutory missions during steady-state operations and when responding to crises.” “We support all the Coast Guard’s missions,” said Chaves. “Our focus is on the strategic priorities of the Coast Guard, and that’s where we align our efforts. Whether it’s a region, like the Arctic, or a mission like counternarcotics or search and rescue, we will find new and better solutions to make the Coast Guard, and the men and women who serve in it, more effective.”

Modern cutters allow U.S. to advance national interests. BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST

From patrols in the tropics to icebreaking in polar waters to fixing channel markers in the heart of America, the U.S. Coast Guard has a vital job to do. The

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS MATTHEW WEST

IN THE MARITIME DOMAIN, PRESENCE EQUALS INFLUENCE

cutter with the blazing orange stripe on her hull that arrives at the scene of a crisis signals that everything is under control. Originally, the term “cutter” referred to the traditional small sailing vessel. Today it refers to a vessel that has a permanently assigned crew and the accommodations for their extended support, and measures 65 feet long or greater. Those under 65 feet are called boats. Coast Guard cutters are multimission ships. Those cutters used primarily for multimission patrols are white; those primarily engaged in icebreaking are red; and those involved in servicing aids to navigation or maintaining the navigation of harbors or waterways are black. The Coast Guard is currently building new cutters to replace its aging legacy fleet, including the National Security Cutter (NSC), Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), Fast Response Cutter (FRC), Polar Security Cutter (PSC), and Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC). “Across the board, every one of the new classes of cutters are a significant step-function better than the ones they are replacing,” said Jay Boyd, NSC program manager for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), which builds the NSC at Ingalls Shipbuilding, its Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard. While new cutters are being built as replacements for legacy cutters, the service is also sustaining and lengthening the service lives of cutters through its In-Service Vessel Sustainment (ISVS) program.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTOS BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS MATTHEW WEST

The crews of the Coast Guard Cutters Kimball (WMSL 756) and Midgett (WMSL 757) transit off Honolulu, Aug. 16, 2019. The cutters are two of the newest to join the Coast Guard fleet and are both homeported in Hawaii.

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS MADYSSON ANNE RITTER

Above: U.S. Coast Guard personnel assigned to U.S. Coast Guard Legend-class cutter Munro (WMSL 755) conduct a helicopter in-flight refuel (HIFR) with a U.S. Navy MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter. Left: Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) plies the Pacific Ocean after launching a small boat from its stern ramp near Hawaii during its final pre-commissioning sea trials Aug. 11, 2019. The ship, the seventh National Security Cutter to be acquired by the Coast Guard, entered service in a dual-commissioning ceremony with Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757), the eighth NSC, at their new homeport in Honolulu Aug. 24, 2019.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY CHIEF PETTY OFFICER JOHN MASSON

NATIONAL SECURITY CUTTER The largest of the new “white hull” ships are the multimission patrol vessels of the “Legend class” of National Security Cutters (NSCs), replacing the 12 Hamilton-class high endurance cutters (WHECs). The service’s original program of record called for eight NSCs to replace the Hamilton-class cutters, which have been in service since the 1960s. However, in response to recent plus-ups, the program has ordered 11 NSCs to date. All NSCs have been or are planned to be built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The NSC has made exceptional contributions to the Coast Guard’s missions. Last year, National Security Cutter Stratton patrolled in the Western Pacific in support of the United Nations Security Council resolution enforcement against illicit ship-to-ship transfers that violate sanctions against the DPRK, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This year, National Security Cutter Munro participated in the

Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), the largest global naval exercise, with nine other nations to foster and sustain cooperative relationships critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and the security of the world’s oceans. These deployments conducting maritime defense and security operations with the United States Indo-Pacific Command promote regional security cooperation, maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance security. U.S. Coast Guard crews patrol known drug transit zones to interdict drugs as the smugglers head toward the United States. New cutters, like the NSCs, enable crews to operate in the region longer to stem the flow of narcotics smuggled by cartels. In addition to stopping these drugs from getting to our streets, the information we gather and share with our partners in the intelligence community facilitates deeper understanding of transnational criminal organizations and ultimately helps our unified efforts to dismantle them. “Since the implementation of our Western Hemisphere Strategy four years ago, the men and women of the

EASTERN SHIPBUILDING GROUP IMAGE

An artist’s conception of the Offshore Patrol Cutter class now under contruction, which will replace the Famous-class and Reliance-class medium endurance cutters.

Coast Guard have interdicted 2 million pounds of pure cocaine worth $26 billion. This vitally important work is the most effective way to help thwart cartels from trafficking their illicit products,” said Adm. Karl Schultz, U.S. Coast Guard commandant. “These modern cutters allow our nation to advance all of our national interests.” There are currently eight Legend-class NSCs in service. The Coast Guard Cutters Bertholf, Waesche, Stratton, and Munro are stationed in Alameda, California; Hamilton and James are in Charleston, South Carolina; and Kimball and Midgett are homeported in Honolulu; Hawaii. The ninth cutter, Stone, was delivered in November 2020 and will be commissioned in February of 2021. The first three were built under the Deepwater Program Integrated Coast Guard Systems joint venture construct. Starting with NSC 4, the service moved the NSC into its own program of record. That program authorized eight ships, although the funding for all eight was not assured. “NSC 4 was very successful,” said Boyd, “on time and below target cost. We’ve improved on that ever since. We have developed a strong learning curve that is the envy of a lot of shipbuilding programs. Quality has improved, based on our INSURV scores [the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) supports the Coast Guard by assessing the material readiness of its new ships], builder’s and acceptance sea trials performance, and outstanding deficiencies.”

The keel is being laid for the 10th NSC next year as the company also begins ordering the long-lead-time materials for the 11th ship under contract. According to Boyd, a “white hull” NSC out in the Western Pacific brings a lot of capability without ruffling feathers. “Our Coast Guard capabilities are closer to what smaller nations, particularly the island nations, are looking for,” Boyd said. “A big Navy surface combatant may be less relevant to what they need to maintain their own sovereignty. When we show the flag and call at some of the countries, they’re happy to see a white Coast Guard cutter show up. The cross-training they will get is more pertinent to their own missions.”

OFFSHORE PATROL CUTTER The 360-foot Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) will replace the aging medium endurance cutters (WMECs) and is one of the service’s highest acquisition priorities. The Coast Guard currently operates the 210foot Reliance-class and 270-foot Famous-class WMECs (as well as a converted salvage ship that was transferred from the U.S. Navy). Designed to complement the capabilities of the 4,500ton, 418-foot NSC, the 25-ship class of OPCs will be the backbone of the Coast Guard’s strategy to project and maintain offshore presence. The OPC is expected to be about 360 feet long, and will have a flight deck, hangar, and aviation facilities for helicopters and unmanned aircraft. It will have much better seakeeping, range, and endurance than the WMECs. The OPC program of record is set to deliver 25 hulls, which eventually will comprise more than 70 percent of the Coast Guard’s offshore presence. Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) won the competition to do the detailed design and construction of up to the

FAST RESPONSE CUTTER The 154-foot Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter (FRC) is a key component of the Coast Guard’s offshore fleet that is capable of deploying independently to conduct missions that include port, waterways, and

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez salutes for a photo off the coast of Key West, Florida, Sep. 10, 2015. Heriberto Hernandez was a Coast Guardsman killed in action during the Vietnam War on Dec. 5, 1968.

coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The initial FRCs were assigned to District 7 homeports of Miami and Key West in Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they immediately became successful in conducting patrol missions. The Coast Guard established dedicated maintenance and support teams at each of these ports to deal with casualties, repairs, and scheduled maintenance. Since then, FRCs have been assigned at various homeports, from the continental U.S. to Alaska and Hawaii, with the latest cutters going to Guam and Bahrain. The Coast Guard selected Bollinger Shipyard’s offering, which was based on the existing Damen Stan Patrol 4708 “parent-craft” design, for the Sentinel-class cutters to ensure that the operating force was able to receive new vessels capable of performing the required missions as quickly as possible. They are being built at the Bollinger Shipyards facility in Lockport, Louisiana.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS MARK BARNEY

first nine ships; however, the yard received heavy damage from Hurricane Michael in October 2018, disrupting production. The yard requested, and the Department of Homeland Security granted, “limited extraordinary relief” to recover from that event. The Coast Guard awarded eight industry design studies in March 2020 to inform potential strategies and approaches for the follow-on detail design and construction (DD&C) of the remaining OPCs. Those studies are still underway. The first ship, USCGC Argus (WMSM 915), is under construction at ESG in Panama City, Florida, where her keel was “authenticated” on April 28, 2020. Initial steel was cut for the second OPC, USCGC Chase (WMSM 916), at about the same time. The company has also begun procuring material for the third OPC, USCGC Ingham (WMSM 917). ESG’s current contract calls for the production of up to four vessels.

VT HALTER MARINE IMAGE

The Coast Guard’s new Polar Security Cutters will replace the service’s heavy icebreakers, but will be true multimission ships. “From a design perspective, the FRC is being used for the broadest spectrum of missions possible. It needs to be as capable as a 210, and able to accommodate a mixed-gender crew, but fitted into a much smaller platform,” said Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. In October, the U.S. Coast Guard took delivery of the USCGC Charles Moulthrope, the first of six FRCs to be homeported in Manama, Bahrain, that will replace the aging 110-foot Island-class patrol boats built by Bollinger Shipyards 30 years ago. In September, the U.S. Coast Guard notified Bollinger of their plans to continue the Sentinel-class FRC program, allowing Bollinger to build four more FRCs – bringing the total number of funded FRCs to 60. “All four FRCs will be built at our Lockport facility, and are scheduled for delivery to the Coast Guard in 2022 and 2023,” said Bordelon. “We’re currently working with Congress to ensure FY 21 provides appropriations to build FRCs 61-64.” The FRCs – designated as WPCs – are much more capable than the boats they are replacing, with improved C4ISR capability and interoperability; stern launch and recovery (up through sea state 4) for a 40-knot Overthe-Horizon, 7-meter cutter boat instead of the WPB’s 17-foot RHIB boat; a remote-operated, fully stabilized MK.38 Mod 2 25mm main gun; improved seakeeping; and enhanced crew habitability. In fact, the FRCs are able to do missions previously assigned to larger cutters. Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Adm. Daniel Able told a congressional committee that the U.S. Coast Guard is demonstrating its enduring commitment to the region by homeporting three of the newest FRCs in Guam over the next three years. “Recently, FRCs and a U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender conducted port visits to the Pacific Islands and discussed partner nation capacity building opportunities in an effort to strengthen operational

partnerships. We anticipate these cutters will significantly increase U.S. Coast Guard operational presence throughout the region, and protect our EEZ [exclusive economic zone] from threats of IUU [illegal, unreported, and unregulated] fishing and transnational crime.” According to the Coast Guard’s 2020 “Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Strategic Outlook,” IUU fishing is a collection of dishonest fishing practices, both on the high seas and in areas within national jurisdiction. Whether the activity is in contravention of existing laws and regulations; improperly reported or misreported; conducted by vessels without nationality and/or conducted in areas where the flag state is not a party to international agreements or in areas where fishery management measures do not exist, IUU fishing is a pervasive security threat to U.S. national interests, and has replaced piracy as the leading global maritime security threat. “Bottom line: In the maritime domain, presence equals influence,” said Schultz. Monitoring commercial fishing fleets for IUU activities requires presence, and the new NSC and FRC (as well as the future OPC) have the range, endurance, seakeeping, and mission capability to make a huge difference.

BREAKING ICE The long-awaited replacement for the Coast Guard’s heavy polar icebreakers is moving forward. The Polar Security Cutter (PSC) is a program to acquire three new multimission icebreakers to replace the two aging heavy polar icebreakers, followed by the acquisition of up to three new medium polar icebreakers. The first PSC is now fully funded and the second PSC has received initial funding. The Coast Guard estimates the total procurement costs of the three PSCs will be about $2.6 billion. The Coast Guard and Navy established an Integrated Program Office for the PSC program, which awarded a $745.9 million fixed-price, incentive-firm contract for the DD&C of the first PSC to a team led by VT Halter

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTOGRAPH / PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS TOM ATKESON

The Coast Guard Cutter Pamlico, a 160-foot inland construction tender homeported in New Orleans, transits Baptiste Collette Bayou while working aids to navigation in the Mississippi River Delta near Venice, Louisiana, April 29, 2009. The Coast Guard’s oldest ships, the inland and river construction tenders, will be replaced by the planned Waterways Commerce Cutter.

Marine of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a shipyard owned by Singapore Technologies (ST) Engineering. The first PSC is expected to begin construction next year and be delivered in 2024 (there are financial incentives for delivering ahead of schedule). The new heavy icebreaker can’t come soon enough. The Coast Guard’s polar icebreaking fleet consists of one heavy polar icebreaker, USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10), and one medium polar icebreaker, USCGC Healy (WAGB 20). Polar Star’s sister ship, USCGC Polar Sea (WAGB 11), has been laid up since she suffered a major engine casualty in June 2010. Polar Sea has been out of service since then, serving as a source of spare parts to keep Polar Star running. The two Polar-class icebreakers can break ice up to 6 feet (72 inches) thick at a continuous speed of 3 knots, and were commissioned in 1976 and 1978. They are now far older than their 30-year expected service lives. Polar Star has been a single-mission ship, used almost exclusively to support the annual resupply mission to the National Science Foundation base at McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. But the Coast Guard needs ships that can do more. That’s why the new heavy icebreaker is called the Polar Security Cutter, to signify its multimission capability. At 460 feet in length and a full load displacement of about 33,000 long tons, the PSC will be substantially larger than Polar Star (399 feet, 13,000 tons) or Healy (420 feet, 16,000 tons). The Coast Guard will provide a service life extension for Polar Star under the In-Service Vessel Sustainment program (see below) that will take place progressively

over a five-year period, with her being available for maintenance between her annual missions to McMurdo Sound during the Antarctic summer. The Coast Guard plans to keep Polar Star operational until the delivery of at least the second PSC. Commissioned in 1999, Healy is larger than the Polar class but less powerful, and is primarily is a research ship that is also a medium icebreaker. Healy is designed to break 4.5 feet of ice continuously at 3 knots, or ice 10 feet (3.0 m) thick when backing and ramming. During the 2020 summer Arctic season, Healy suffered an electrical fire in one of her main propulsion motors while transiting from her homeport of Seattle to the Arctic to conduct her science mission. The ship had to turn around and come home for inspection and repairs. The Coast Guard also has a red hull on the Great Lakes; the multimission USCGC Mackinaw (WLBB 30), commissioned in 2006 and homeported at Cheboygan, Michigan. The 240-foot heavy icebreaker is the largest Coast Guard vessel on the Great Lakes and can break ice up to 32 inches thick at a continuous speed of 3 knots. The nine 140-foot Bay-class icebreaking tugboats (WTGBs) may have black hulls, but they can move through freshwater ice up to 20 inches (51 cm) thick and break ice up to 3 feet (0.91 m) thick by ramming. They can also ram pressure ridges of up to eight feet in thickness, which can relieve ice dams that can cause flooding upstream. The ships were built between 1977 and 1987 and are assigned to the northeast and Great Lakes regions of the country. The Coast Guard’s 11 black-hulled 65-foot small harbor tugs also break ice, up to 18 inches (0.46 m) thick underway and 21 inches (0.53 m) thick by backing and ramming. The tugs also carry out aids to navigation duties, as well as law enforcement and search and rescue.

Notional Coast Guard designs for, from top to bottom, river buoy tender, inland construction tender, and inland buoy tender variants of the Waterways Commerce Cutter.

Every member of the Coast Guard understands hard work, but the real heavy lifting is accomplished by the “black hull” fleet of buoy tenders and construction cutters. One of the Coast Guard’s most important, if unheralded, missions is maintaining the system of aids to navigation (ATON) to permit safe and efficient movement of vessels and prevent collisions, allisions, and groundings at sea, along the coast, and along the nation’s intracoastal and inland waterways, performed by the service’s black hull fleet. The black hull fleet includes 16 Juniper-class, 225foot seagoing buoy tenders used to maintain aids to navigation and also assist with law enforcement and search and rescue. The first entered service in 1996 and the 16th joined the fleet in 2005. Two of them are stationed on the Great Lakes. There are 14 coastal buoy tenders of the Keeper class used to maintain coastal aids to navigation. They entered service between 1996 and 2000, and one of them is based on the Great lakes. The inland and river construction tenders are the oldest cutters in the Coast Guard inventory, with an average age of 55 years, and the oldest being more than 75 years old. There are three classes – inland buoy tenders (WLI); river buoy tenders (WLR); and inland construction tenders (WLIC) – in various versions from 65 to 160 feet (20-49 meters) in length, and along with their respective work barges can reach up to 190 feet (58 meters). Together, these vessels and their associated work barges place and maintain buoys, conduct tower construction, pile driving

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

LEGACY CUTTERS CONTINUE TO SERVE, AT HOME AND ABROAD With new ocean-going cutters joining the Coast Guard fleet, some of the ships being replaced will continue to serve elsewhere around the world. The new 418-foot NSC is taking the place of the long-serving 378-foot Hamilton-class high endurance cutters, which served for five decades. Only one of the 12 Hamilton-class cutters is still in service with the Coast Guard: USCGC Douglas Munro (WHEC 724) at Kodiak, Alaska. USCGC John Midgett (WHEC 726) passed into “in-commissionspecial” status and is awaiting decommissioning and transfer to a friendly navy. The other 10 have been (or will be) transferred and now serve in the Philippine navy, Nigerian navy, Bangladeshi navy, Vietnamese coast guard, and Sri Lankan navy. All 13 vessels of the Famous class and 14 of the 16 Reliance-class vessels are still in active U.S. service. The other two Reliance-class cutters now serve the Sri Lankan navy and Colombian coast guard. Like the Hamilton class, the Famous-class and Reliance-class medium endurance cutters will be retired as the OPCs enter service.

U.S. COAST GUARD IMAGE

BLACK HULLS DO THE HEAVY LIFTING

and extraction, and generally support maintenance of the 28,200 navigation aids along America’s 12,000-mile Marine Transportation System (MTS) of rivers, canals, and intracoastal waterways. The inland tenders will be replaced under the Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program, which is under an “accelerated program schedule” to reach initial operational capability by 2025 and full operational capability by 2030. The program released draft specifications for the river buoy and inland construction tenders in October 2019 and top-level requirements for the inland buoy tenders in November 2019. The Coast Guard released a draft RFP July 29, 2020, for DD&C of the river buoy and inland construction tenders.

The Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for the 140-foot icebreaking tugs (WTGB) of the Coast Guard fleet marked the beginning of the In-Service Vessel Sustainment (ISVS) program.

USCGC Alex Haley (WMEC 39) was originally commissioned in naval service in 1971 as a towing, rescue and salvage ship, and was later transferred to the Coast Guard and modified to serve as a medium endurance cutter. The only ship of its class, Alex Haley is still active and is homeported at Kodiak, Alaska.

U.S COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PA3 BILL BARRY

IN-SERVICE VESSEL SUSTAINMENT PROGRAM The ISVS program is part of the Coast Guard’s longterm recapitalization and sustainment strategy for the in-service fleet of cutters. ISVS is the strategic class-byclass evaluation of its vessels to determine what major maintenance and replacement of outdated systems with similar ones are needed to reach or extend their service lives. Strategic major maintenance and recapitalization can improve reliability of vessels, better manage maintenance costs, and make more time available for the ships to do their missions. If necessary, additional work can be completed to allow vessels to operate efficiently past their notional end of service life until replacements arrive and enter the fleet. Ken King is the ISVS program manager within the acquisition directorate in Coast Guard headquarters. “The projects we’re doing are long term. When we start one, there’s a couple year ramp-up until we actually start the shipyard availabilities to do either a Service Life Extension Program [SLEP] or Major Maintenance Availability [MMA],” said King. “Right now, we have six active projects.” The ISVS program began in 2012, with the 140foot SLEP program for the Coast Guard’s fleet of nine icebreaking tugs (WTGBs) that serve in the Northeast and Great Lakes as its ‘lead’ project. That effort just wrapped up as the ninth and final WTGB left the shipyard to return to its homeport. King said the big difference between an MMA and a SLEP is whether or not you gain service life. “For the

MMAs, we don’t have a gain in service life, where for a Service Life Extension Program, the naval engineers say ‘we gain X number of years of service life.’” “MMAs were originally mid-life maintenance availabilities – so for a ship with a 30-year service life, theoretically at year 15, we would bring the ship into the shipyard to do an MMA. But the Coast Guard can’t always plan to bring the ship in at the midpoint to do an MMA. So that’s why we changed it to Major Maintenance Availability. We didn’t bring the first 225-foot seagoing buoy tender in for an MMA until the 20-year point. But the goal of the MMA is, in simple terms, is to perform the identified worklist and replace those problematic systems that will enable the ship to serve until its end of service life – 30 years, generally – in an economical and reliable manner.” For both MMAs and SLEPs, the Coast Guard isn’t adding any new capability, just fixing or replacing existing systems. “We’re keeping the existing ship operational in a reliable and cost-effective manner to reach its end of service life. However, as we approach the end of service life, the Coast Guard may decide to keep the ship longer, so that would most likely initiate a SLEP.” The majority of the SLEPs and MMAs are done at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay in Baltimore. In the past, the yard has built new boats and cutters for the Coast Guard, including the first five 210-foot medium endurance cutters and four of the service’s 160foot construction tenders. Currently, the yard is solely engaged in sustainment work. King has a unit of 25 people stationed at the ISVS Project Resident Office (PRO) at Curtis Bay to coordinate all the work at the yard. “I’ve sent all nine 140-foot icebreaking tugs, am in the process of sending the sixteen 225-foot seagoing buoy tenders, and in the summer of 2021, we will begin the eight 270-foot Medium Endurance Cutters. They’re also doing some overhaul of the Navy yard patrol craft [YPs] from the Naval Academy. They periodically do some work for the Corps of Engineers and NOAA. But they’re my ISVS shipyard of choice: We speak the same language, we ‘wear the same uniform,’ so to speak. The Coast Guard Yard really excels at the repeatable ISVS work.” Besides the aforementioned programs being conducted at the Coast Guard Yard, King said a future 175-foot coastal buoy tender MMA is under consideration. King also said a SLEP of the Coast Guard’s only heavy icebreaker, USCGC Polar Star, and an MMA of USCGC Healy, the Coast Guard’s medium icebreaker, are planned.

ROBOTS ON WATER The Coast Guard completes a pilot demonstration of unmanned surface vehicles for low-cost maritime domain awareness. BY CRAIG COLLINS

The Coast Guard’s operational use of unmanned systems, begun in the air a few years ago, is accelerating. Six of its National Security Cutters (NSCs) – a number that will include all eight operational NSCs by spring of 2021 – are outfitted with unmanned fixedwing aircraft that can be launched from their decks to expand maritime domain awareness (MDA) and provide actionable intelligence on hazards and threats. In 2018, the service’s Office of Aviation Forces began a pilot project to evaluate short-range aerial systems – remotecontrolled rotary-wing vehicles – to assist with routine survey and inspection work. The service did not get to the point of employing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operationally overnight. The Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center (RDC) began evaluating UAS nearly two decades ago, starting in 2001 with testing of advanced catapult launch and recovery technologies onboard CGC Harriet Lane. Beginning in October 2020, the service took a decisive step toward introducing unmanned watercraft to its surface fleet. A 30-day pilot study was devised in response to a congressional mandate, issued in 2018, for the Coast Guard to evaluate low-cost, commercially available technologies that could enhance MDA in remote Pacific regions. The Coast Guard continues to face challenges with respect to conducting maritime surveillance necessary to support its statutory missions related to marine safety, security, and protection in the Pacific Ocean. According to Cmdr. Blair Sweigart, PhD, chief of the Modeling, Simulation and Analysis Branch at the RDC and Pilot Demonstration Director, Congress didn’t specify the platform to be used in the pilot; the Coast Guard’s choice of systems was guided by the focus on IUU fishing. “It’s a global issue,” said Sweigart, “and we stand alongside a lot of partner nations in trying to combat this threat. The choice to explore unmanned surface vessels was driven by the desire to keep the costs low and accessible for our partner agencies and potentially partner nations.” The Coast Guard’s request for proposal included several requirements: the unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to be evaluated must be able to operate for 30 consecutive days without refueling; to detect other vessels within a minimum of one nautical mile; to provide notification of this detection within 6 hours; to operate within a defined area of 20 square nautical miles off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii;

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

to operate solely by beyond-line-of-sight communications; and other requirements. In February of 2020, the service awarded two contracts for operation and support of USVs during the 30-day pilot: to Saildrone, a manufacturer of wind- and solar-powered USVs; and to Spatial Integrated Systems, Inc. (SIS), a developer of robotic control systems. The evaluations were conducted as part of the Low Cost Maritime Domain Awareness Pilot project under the RDC Surface Branch and began on Oct. 7, off the south shore of Oahu, as Sweigart and four colleagues from the RDC ran the USVs through a series of simulated exercises. Five other members, including Project Manager Scot Tripp, remained at the RDC in New London, Connecticut, to perform remote monitoring.

THE SAILDRONE The Saildrone is a remotely operated surface vehicle, about 23 feet long, propelled by wind acting on a 15-foottall rigid sail. Its sensors and other equipment are powered by solar cells. Because they are powered by sunlight and wind, Saildrones can operate for months at a time, traveling programmed routes that can be modified by remote operators. They have an established record of conducting scientific missions in remote and often rough environments: At least one Saildrone has circumnavigated Antarctica, and from May to August, 2020, four Saildrones, at speeds of 2-3 knots, sailed from company headquarters in Alameda, California, to Point Hope, Alaska, to conduct hydrographic surveys off the North Slope for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The six Saildrones used for the Coast Guard’s MDA pilot conducted simulated patrols over Penguin Bank, a coral reef 25 miles southeast of Honolulu. The drones were equipped with two mechanisms for identifying vessels: optical cameras for visual sightings, mounted atop each drone’s sail; and Automatic Identification System (AIS), the digital tracking system used by vessel traffic services. Saildrone cameras captured images every five seconds and completed onboard analysis of every image, using the company’s proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) software, and then sent confirmed vessel images to Saildrone command centers. All were controlled via an internet web portal that provided imagery and tracking data for each detection – and also

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COAST GUARD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Left: A Coast Guard Saildrone prototype unmanned surface vehicle performs a test off Oahu, Hawaii, Oct. 20, 2020. The focus of the test was to explore how current and emerging technologies might be used to enhance maritime domain awareness in remote regions. Below: “The Watcher,” a Coast Guard prototype unmanned surface vehicle, performs a test off Oahu, Hawaii, Oct. 7, 2020. The vessel is based on the Coast Guard’s cutter boat-large.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COAST GUARD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER

provided a means of re-tasking the Saildrones as they conducted several MDA activities. According to Sweigart, the Saildrones were positioned in a variety of formations throughout the demonstration to simulate patrol missions, including a picket-line formation to detect vessels moving from one area to another, and simulated closed-area monitoring formations to identify vessels moving into a restricted area. “We also looked at port security vignettes, positioning the Saildrones as if they were in a port,” he said, “and then looked at what contacts and what information we could glean about vessels that were coming into the formation of Saildrones. We also had the drones run different search patterns just to see what that might look like as we consider how we could employ this technology across our mission set.”

communications provided out of a command-and-control trailer at a Honolulu shipyard. The Watcher’s radar detected other vessels up to five miles away and its camera recorded images every 10 seconds. The Watcher also conducted simulated patrol scenarios to demonstrate patrol and search pattern execution as well as target detections and investigation activities. The Saildrone has much greater endurance than The Watcher, which is powered by internal combustion, but the Saildrone is also significantly slower and less maneuverable; The Watcher, Sweigart said, “has a much more capable top speed in terms of investigating a contact and getting additional imagery or sensor data if it detects something.”

29RDC: COAST GUARD-OWNED AND OPERATED THE WATCHER For the 30-day pilot, SIS put together a customized vehicle, “The Watcher,” based on the Coast Guard’s cutter boat-large platform, a 7-meter interceptor-style boat powered by an inboard diesel engine capable of 30 knots. To meet the pilot’s endurance requirements, the boat was equipped with an auxiliary fuel bladder. Onboard systems were powered by a battery bank, which was itself charged by a solar array panel. Equipped with commercial radar and an electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) camera, The Watcher patrolled an area 15 miles southwest of Honolulu, remaining within its 20-square-mile boundary and providing alerts every hour when another vessel had been detected. The boat was operated primarily out of SIS headquarters in Virginia Beach, Virginia, via satellite, with support and additional

The Saildrone and SIS systems evaluated during the 30-day pilot were contractor-owned, contractor-operated USVs – which is one way of doing things, and can be the most cost-effective alternative when dealing with complex emerging technologies. But the demonstration included a third USV, purchased by the RDC to evaluate the efficiency of government-owned and operated systems: 29RDC, a 29-foot autonomous boat built by Metal Shark of Jeanerette, Louisiana, with robotics and control systems supplied by Sea Machines of Boston. 29RDC’s autonomy suite is a self-driving system that allows the vessel’s wheel and throttle to remain functional while still allowing manual operation if a crew member is aboard and wants to take control. “It could be run without a crew,” said Sweigart – but crew members were aboard at all times during the demonstrations for safety. “It opens

29RDC was purchased by the Coast Guard Research and Development Center to evaluate government-owned and -operated autonomous systems.

up the interesting possibility of a hybrid model where the vessel can drive itself, even with the crew on board, and you can free the crew up to do other things and keep their attention focused outside of the vessel, as opposed to on the inner workings of the boat,” Sweigart said. “We looked at this one a lot in terms of a search-and-rescue platform, but that’s not to say it’s any less capable of performing some of those other mission sets.” The Coast Guard’s experimental USV accomplished dozens of missions during the pilot including navigation, search patterns, collision avoidance, and remote control. 29RDC was operated multiple times by the RDC team in New London, 5,000 miles away, using cellular service.

METAL SHARK PHOTO

FINDING THE EDGE Shortly after the pilot’s operations ended on Nov. 5, 2020, the RDC team composed a brief “quick look report” (https:// www.dcms.uscg.mil/Portals/10/CG-9/Acquisition%20 PDFs/LCMDA_QuickLook_NOV2020.pdf?ver=CkydXfLO-ouAfjVwjjFDA%3D%3D#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20 Congress%20directed%20the,and%20Unregulated%20 (IUU)%20fishing) offering an overview of operations and some preliminary conclusions. A more detailed report will follow in 2021. The demonstrations revealed strengths and shortcomings, both for different kinds of systems and for the service-provider and government-owned model of deployment. Commercially available USVs are clearly capable of performing some level of daytime MDA missions, and can operate independently for up to 30 days. But each system evaluated in the pilot has some limitations, Sweigart said – which were meant to be discovered as his team designed the exercises. “Both companies were willing to work with us to push the boundaries and see what the assets were and weren’t capable of,” he said. “I thought that was hugely important … Within the first couple of days, we can see what the assets can do. We need to then push the envelope to see: What is the edge? Where do we start to maybe lose that ability?” Given the strengths of the different systems, the team foresees a “layered” use of USVs in the Coast Guard’s future, one that combines the endurance and autonomy

of USVs such as Saildrones with The Watcher’s ability to pursue and collect more information. Future solutions may also combine the advantages of the service-provider model with other modes of acquisitions, such as governmentowned/contractor-operated, and government-owned/ government-operated – depending on how the asset is used. As these automated pieces fall into place, the Coast Guard may determine the need for a manned asset, or a human watch stander aboard an autonomous asset, to be added to a mission. Another key lesson from the pilot is that artificial intelligence and machine learning may well prove indispensable to future deployments of USV technology. While all three systems collected a wealth of MDA data, only one was capable of conducting on-board processing of this data – speeding up processing and limiting bandwidth consumption by limiting the transmitted data to actionable images. As the Coast Guard continues to explore USV technologies, said Sweigart, it will look for this capability, and also the potential for a system to identify the additional data that might be useful to provide Coast Guard watch standers – or even the ability to act on data itself, approaching a target of interest to try to get better data. “I think there’s a much longer-term potential for an overarching AI system to help understand the data that’s coming back and additional action that may be needed,” Sweigart said. “And if an additional asset is needed, maybe that AI system can provide that data in a more actionable format to the Coast Guard watch stander, and prompt them to say, ‘Hey, here’s what’s going on,’ and make the best use of the humans in the loop.” One of the most important things the 30-day pilot has revealed to the Coast Guard that its intense interest in USV technology is shared by a multitude of government partners. As news of the upcoming evaluations circulated, several federal partners engaged; the pilot partnership eventually included the participation of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP Air and Marine Operations, the Navy Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, NOAA, Scientific Advisors for the U.S. Navy, The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, and Congress. This strong coalition is certain to spur further investigations and interest in USVs. “I think we understand the edge for the capabilities that we examined in the demonstration,” Sweigart said. “But the technology is continually evolving. There’s certainly room for continual assessments, and hopefully we can start to make those assessments through employment. There’s a lot of interest in looking at how we can transition this into an operational reality to augment Coast Guard missions.”

ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, UNREGULATED In a new strategic document, the Coast Guard outlines a campaign against what it calls the leading global maritime security threat: IUU fishing. BY CRAIG COLLINS

In late July of 2020, when the Ecuadorian Navy discovered a fleet of more than 200 Chinese-flagged fishing vessels in the waters just outside the Galápagos Marine Reserve, it was the beginning of a puzzling episode on the high seas – but it was also the escalation of a trend, as the size and reach of the world’s distantwater fishing (DWF) fleets have increased dramatically over the past several years. In 2015, there were virtually no Chinese fishing vessels inside or near the 200-mile boundary of the archipelago’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). In 2017, when a Chinese-flagged vessel was caught inside the Galápagos EEZ with an illegal catch of about 3,000 tons of rare, endangered, or near-extinct species, the number of Chinese vessels in the area peaked at 263. For four months in 2020, there were more than 200 Chinese vessels fishing in the area, with a peak of 364 in August. Simply keeping track of these vessels, in an area larger than Texas, 600 miles off the South American coast, proved such a challenge that Ecuador requested assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard. The National Security Cutter Bertholf, which was in the Eastern Pacific conducting counter-drug patrols for the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), was redeployed to the Galápagos. From Aug. 25 to 29, Bertholf joined an Ecuadorian naval vessel in patrolling more than 3,000 square miles of Ecuadorian and international waters. There is nothing inherently illegal about distant-water fishing – fishing outside a vessel’s territorial waters, either on the high seas or, under permit, within another nation’s EEZ. High-seas fishing is managed internationally by signatories to 17 treaty organizations known as Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, or RFMOs, some of which overlap – and each of which has its own set of agreed-upon regulations for protecting commercially valuable species. The Galápagos Marine Reserve is one of the world’s most heavily protected nature reserves, with strict limits on fishing within its waters. Ocean fishing beyond its 200mile boundary is regulated by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO), of which

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

the United States, China, and Ecuador are members. According to Capt. Tim Brown, chief of the Coast Guard’s Office of Law Enforcement, the lack of at-sea boarding authorities in SPRFMO limited the Coast Guard and Ecuadorian navy’s ability to get onboard to determine exactly what activities the vessels were engaged in. “There unfortunately isn’t a high-seas boarding and inspection scheme in that part of the Eastern Pacific, so we didn’t have the authority to board any of the vessels that we sighted,” he said. “We didn’t find any smoking guns while on patrol in those few days off Ecuador. But I think our presence made a difference, in terms of sending the message that we’re going to work closely with our partners to ensure mutual protection of those natural resources.” After further investigation, it was later determined that six of the vessels encountered on the patrol – both active fishing vessels and others that support fishing operations – not all of them Chineseflagged – were not permitted in SPRFMO-regulated waters. The government of Ecuador has recommended these six vessels be added to the organization’s list of ships conducting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. IUU fishing is a term that’s been used for years to describe a collection of dishonest fishing practices, both on the high seas and within national jurisdictions. Distantwater vessels often buy permits to fish within the EEZs of small, sometimes cash-strapped coastal nations. Many permitting nations have few resources to monitor and enforce compliance, which is one of many loopholes that exist in the global fight against IUU fishing. The Chinese vessel interdicted in 2017, the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, was a smoking gun that provided clear evidence of illegal fishing: Trespassing inside the Galápagos Marine Reserve, it wasn’t a fishing boat; it was a refrigerated cargo vessel carrying, among other things, 300 tons of shark, including at least one protected species. It had clearly been engaged in transshipment, or the transfer of catch at sea, a practice that may be authorized under certain RFMOs to allow fishing vessels to remain at sea

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

The Ecuadorian naval vessel LAE Isla San Cristobal (LG 30) sails toward the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) while conducting a joint patrol to detect and deter potential illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the vicinity of the Galápagos Islands, Aug. 28, 2020. From Aug. 25-29, Bertholf patrolled more than 3,000 square nautical miles of Ecuadorian and international waters and conducted joint operations with the Isla San Cristobal, providing persistent presence and surveillance of fishing activity throughout the region.

Monitoring and enforcing IUU fishing requires the ability to track vessels and follow the catch, and while there was no smoking gun outside the Galápagos Marine Reserve in August, there was plenty of smoke – and that may have been the point of having so many fishing vessels there at once. Several groups, including the nonprofits Global Fishing Watch, Oceana, and the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC), have taken a deep dive into the available data, including trade and catch numbers and tracking data from Automatic Identification System (AIS) signatures of vessels in the area.

The Chinese fleet is not permitted to fish inside Ecuador’s EEZ, and throughout the summer, each of the hundreds of Chinese-flagged vessels appeared to be operating outside the Galápagos Marine Reserve. At the peak of the fishing season, however, between midJuly and mid-August, Chinese vessels near the Galápagos deactivated their AIS on 43 separate occasions, going “dark” – an illegal practice, if done intentionally – for an average of two days at a time. One vessel went dark for

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

– but may also be used to obscure the source of the catch and to mix legal and illegal fish. The Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 wasn’t authorized to transship, and it was unclear where its illegal cargo had been caught, or by whom.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY LT. JERRY WONG

Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley’s boarding team stands atop a 5.6-mile-long driftnet found aboard the fishing vessel Run Da in the North Pacific Ocean, June 16, 2018. The Alex Haley crew detained the Run Da after it was suspected of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activity in international waters 860 miles east of Hokkaido, Japan.

17 days. Identifying data sent by ships throughout the summer seemed designed to create confusion about their intent and activity, with vessels changing their registered lengths and drafts apparently at random. Some of the vessels had known histories of illegal fishing. Of the 1,135 vessels registered to operate in the SPRFMO convention area, 62 percent are flagged to China. The next largest fleet, from Panama, has 127 registered vessels – several of which are owned and operated by Chinese companies. Many commercial vessels fly “flags of convenience” such as this, in order to avoid the stricter marine regulations imposed by their own countries. The CIMSEC report concluded that while it was still impossible to say for sure what these Chinese vessels were doing, the fact that they accounted for as many as 364 vessels in a total of 554 in the area was suspicious. “By concentrating so many vessels outside the exclusive economic zone, with AIS on,” the report said, “the approach may be to distract from any ‘dark’ incursions into the Galápagos’ waters or to hide the transshipments with other vessels in plain sight.” After being caught red-handed in 2017, in other words, illegal operators in China’s distant-water fleet may have been adapting to muddy the waters and conceal their activities from view. “Every nation has the right to fish,” said Vice Adm. Scott Buschman, the Coast Guard’s deputy commandant for operations, “and we want to encourage the free flow of legal commerce. However, IUU fishing operations often take advantage of corruption, hide behind front companies, and mask their beneficial ownership. The

overwhelming challenge with IUU fishing is finding the illegal operators amongst the legal fishers.”

THE PROBLEM WITH IUU FISHING The Galápagos incident is a good illustration of this overwhelming challenge – but it’s just one example in a growing global competition for ocean resources amid record demand for seafood. It’s easy to single out China: It is the world’s largest fishing nation by far, with a distant-water fleet estimated to be up to 17,000 vessels (compared to 250-300 for both the European Union and the United States). China accounts for about 40 percent of global fishing, and it is, according to the IUU Fishing Index compiled by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, the world’s worst IUU fishing offender. But it’s important to note that a large number of fishing vessels alone is not an indication of illegal activity. Additionally, the Coast Guard has for decades operated jointly with the Chinese government to curb IUU fishing. Operation North Pacific Guard, an annual joint enforcement effort by Pacific Rim nations that targets illegal fishing in an area encompassing more than 3 million square miles, has successfully diminished the threat of high seas driftnet fishing in the North Pacific Ocean. “China does have the largest distant-water fleet in the world,” Brown said. “We know that. That’s a fact. So because of that, there is going to be some illegal fishing within their fleet.” IUU fishing, for years considered in terms of threats to natural resources, is now a problem much bigger than China, and when the Coast Guard released, in September of 2020, a new Strategic Outlook document outlining an approach to combat IUU fishing, it sent the clear signal that it considered it a problem much bigger than fishing itself. At a public forum hosted by the Center for

Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C in mid-September, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz discussed the new Strategic Outlook. “This is about sovereign nations,” Schultz said, “and protecting their GDP; protecting their livelihoods.” IUU fishing, said Schultz, had replaced piracy as the leading threat to global maritime security. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, 93 percent of the world’s major ocean fish stocks are fully exploited, over-exploited, or significantly depleted. Up to 27 million tons of fish – 20 to 30 percent of the total global catch – are caught illegally every year, distorting markets and leading to losses estimated at more than $20 billion per year. “As a nation, and a global community, we are recognizing that IUU fishing presents much more than a threat to natural resource conservation,” said Buschman. “IUU fishing challenges a nation’s ability to achieve its own domestic food security, threatens global geopolitical security, erodes U.S. competitiveness in global markets, and ultimately undermines our collective maritime governance.”

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

THE IUU STRATEGIC OUTLOOK AND THE FUTURE OF MULTILATERAL ENFORCEMENT The 40-page IUU Strategic Outlook is a broad outline of how the Coast Guard envisions leveraging its existing authorities, capabilities, and working relationships to become a global leader in the fight against IUU fishing. It aims for a vigorous pursuit of three “lines of effort,” each of which the Coast Guard and its partners are already pursuing, but the Strategic Outlook looks to expand these efforts to become global in scope: 1. Promoting Targeted, Effective, Intelligence-Driven Enforcement Operations. A fuller picture of what happened in Galápagosadjacent waters in 2020 was developed after the fishing season was over, when Global Fishing Watch and other organizations fed the available data into algorithms. Obviously, knowing more about these vessels in advance would have enabled Ecuador and its partners to identify and monitor vessels of interest. As an example of what the Coast Guard hopes to achieve in a global fight against IUU fishing, Buschman offers the analogy of Operation North Pacific Guard, which was established 25 years ago with an initial focus on countering the destructive and indiscriminate practice of high seas driftnet fishing. The annual patrol is actually a proactive year-round effort at upholding international maritime governance – by knowing as much as possible about who’s in the North Pacific, what they’re doing, with whom they’re interacting, and where they’re headed. For Operation North

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CGC OLIVER BERRY

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry boards a fishing vessel during a round-trip patrol from Sept. 12 to Oct. 27, 2020, from Hawaii to Guam, covering a distance of approximately 9,300 miles during the journey. The crew sought to combat illegal fishing and other maritime threats across the Pacific to protect United States and partner nations’ resource security and sovereignty.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENCE FORCES U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY USCGC MIDGETT

Pacific Guard 2020, the United States and its Pacific Rim partners relied in part on intelligence gathered by Global Fishing Watch, which provided information on suspicious seafood transshipments and vessel tracking systems that appeared to be “spoofed” – intentionally manipulated to report false information. Investigations of these reports helped to identify numerous vessels of interest. Using intelligence provided by multilateral partners, the Coast Guard cutter Douglas Munro conducted at-sea boarding of 11 fishing vessels from four different nations. A similar approach has worked well in the Joint Interagency Task Forces (JIATFs) that combat drugrelated transnational organized crime. Both JIATF-West, part of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and JIATF-South, in the U.S. Southern Command, are military task forces, commanded by Coast Guard flag officers, that include both federal and international partners. “I can tell you from many years of experience,” said Buschman, “the JIATF model is highly effective in bringing together a wide variety of agencies, experts, and foreign partners to analyze and share intelligence, and coordinate detection and monitoring that directly supports interdiction operations. With the increasing U.S. Government focus on IUU fishing, and the large number of agencies expending resources to understand and combat the threat, I envision that a coordinating body to ensure our efforts are synchronized and efficient would be useful. Such a body would likely be virtual, certainly in the beginning; however, one of the lessons learned throughout the COVID pandemic is how to better plan and execute global operations in a virtual posture.” As Buschman points out, there is already a considerable amount of information being gathered around the world by both government agencies and private organizations such as Global Fishing Watch. “Through the execution of this Strategic Outlook and the partnerships we will build,” he said, “we will raise our collective awareness of not just the threats in the maritime domain, but also all of the complementary efforts to stop it.”

Left: Part of the illegal catch discovered after Coast Guard watchstanders and Royal Bahamas Defense Force crew interdicted two Dominican Republic-flagged ships illegally fishing off Diamond Point, Great Bahama Bank, Sept. 17, 2020. The two commercial fishing vessels, El Ship and Angel Gabriel, had 83 fishermen aboard. Above: The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757) boards a fishing vessel to ensure compliance with international fisheries regulations and counter illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing in the Pacific Ocean, April 27, 2020. Midgett’s crew protected U.S. fisheries by patrolling the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) surrounding Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll.

2. Countering Predatory and Irresponsible State Behavior. In October of 2020, White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien announced that the Coast Guard would be increasing its presence in the Western Pacific, sending two Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) to Apra Harbor, Guam, in support of Operation Aiga, an effort to strengthen maritime domain awareness and sovereignty for island nations in Oceania. The move was also announced as a means of countering Chinese IUU fishing and the harassment of other vessels fishing in their own Indo-Pacific EEZs – territorial seas that, particularly in the South China Sea, are disputed. The past few years have seen several confrontations in the region, including, in the spring of last year, a swarm of at least 275 Chinese fishing boats gathering around Thitu Island, which is claimed by the Philippines. Few IUU fishing violations are as dramatic. Most often, an illegal fisher is trying not to be noticed – which may be why so few outside the fisheries enforcement community appreciate the scope of the problem. “When we begin to analyze these incidences in aggregate,” Buschman said, “we see patterns of blatant disregard for conservation and management regulations, we see flag states failing to hold their vessels accountable for complying with maritime governance structures, and we see vulnerable coastal states being robbed of vital economic resources.” On-the-water presence and collaboration with sovereign partners is one approach to countering predatory and irresponsible behavior, but Brown believes the Coast Guard also has a big-picture role to play, in

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS SCOTT SABATINI

fact-finding and publicizing behaviors that adhere to the letter, but not the spirit, of an international rules-based scheme for preserving natural resources. “I think when we go to some spots around the world and highlight what’s really going on,” he said, “the reality is that it’s not what people thought was going on. … How does a distantwater fleet get to fish off West Africa? Well, it’s buying fishing rights to another nation’s EEZ – Ghana or Senegal or some other nation that might sell its fishing rights. And what are they really selling? What are they getting out of that? And does it turn out exactly as they planned?” In areas where subsistence fishermen have been operating for generations, the depletion of these resources can lead to crime, piracy, or other threats to the national security of vulnerable nations. “If we can at least go to these places and show some enforcement presence, and bring our partners along and teach them or empower them to do their own enforcement when we leave, we’ll be shining a light on those activities to reveal problems – and that could lead to solutions.” 3. Expanding Multilateral Fisheries Enforcement Cooperation. As Buschman points out, the effectiveness of efforts such as Operation North Pacific Guard and the Joint Interagency Task Forces is largely due to the fact that they involve sharing information, intelligence, capabilities, and assets of both federal and international partners. To get the U.S. government to speak with one voice on the subject of IUU fishing, Congress enacted the Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement (SAFE) Act in December of 2019 to assemble a 21-agency working group to integrate the U.S. response to IUU fishing globally. The working group recently established a sub-working group, led by the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office, to assess current intelligence, detection, and monitoring efforts across the U.S. government and make recommendations for how to better align these efforts. The JIATFs and Operation North Pacific Guard share another distinguishing factor: They have teeth. Vessels

A boat crew from USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126), along with NOAA Fisheries and American Samoa Marine Police members, approaches a fishing vessel in the American Samoa exclusive economic zone to conduct a boarding to ensure compliance with safety and fishing regulations, Aug. 9, 2019. The Central and Western Pacific is home to more than 60 percent of the world’s commercially harvested tuna, and the United States works cooperatively in the Pacific to protect living marine resources.

suspected of lawbreaking can be boarded and inspected, and violators can be arrested and prosecuted. This isn’t really the purpose of an RFMO, Brown pointed out; as their names imply, they are focused on managing commercially valuable marine resources, they are not solely focused on enforcement. It’s unlikely, said Brown, that enforcement authorities are going to arise from within RFMOs – but they may well be instrumental in helping to inform whatever enforcement agreements ultimately result from the Coast Guard’s Strategic Outlook. “I think in the future,” Brown said, “those highseas boarding and inspection procedures will be in place, and we – and Ecuador and other like-minded nations – will be able to go out and confirm that the activity we know to be authorized in the high seas is really what’s going on in the high seas.” The Coast Guard’s new IUU Strategic Outlook contains several references to transparency and “shining light” on illegal practices, revealing a focus on openness and honesty – agreeing on how certain parts of the world are going to be fished, and being honest about what is caught and how it’s brought to shore and made sustainable. “Our ideal end state,” said Buschman, “is one where sovereign nations – developing nations in particular – are able to benefit from their own economic resources; where honest, law-abiding fishers do not have to compete in the marketplace with others who have not borne the cost of compliance; and fishing nations act responsibly to exercise appropriate control over their fleets and require them to uphold international norms.”

RESCUE 21 Much more than a “Mayday!” message BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST

The 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue called for the development of a global search and rescue (SAR) plan and a Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) to provide the space-based and terrestrial communications needed to support the worldwide search and rescue plan. The Coast Guard’s National Distress and Response System (NDRS), which was established in the 1970s, required faster and improved direction-finding and reduction of coverage gaps. In 2001, the Coast Guard began upgrading its existing radiotelephone coverage with the National Distress and Response System Modernization Program with a Phase 1 contract. Rescue 21 Coastal (R21-C) is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Coast Guard system designed to deliver the primary mission of SAR. The system comprises an advanced command and control, digital and analog VHF and UHF communications system that uses directionfinding (DF) technology to accurately locate the source of maritime distress calls through the use of multiple simultaneous communications channels. Today, in compliance with the 1974 SOLAS, the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 system provides reliable, secure, nationwide communications coverage for “Sea Area A1,” an area within the radiotelephone coverage of at least one VHF coast station in which DSC (digital selective calling – Channel 70) alerting and radiotelephony services are available, as defined by the International Maritime Organization. The Coast Guard’s Sea Area A1 coverage represents more than 90 percent of the area within 20 nautical miles seaward of the territorial baseline along the East, West, Great Lakes and Gulf coasts of the United States, excluding Alaska, and including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Northern Mariana Islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. That’s more than 296,000 square nautical miles of U.S. coastline. The Coast Guard selected General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) to provide a turnkey solution. GDMS has been responsible for system design, manufacture,

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

pre-installation planning, installation, lifecycle maintenance, and training. The GDMS system includes 258 unmanned remote coastline communication tower sites linked through backhaul networks to 34 sector command centers (SCCs) and 160 Coast Guard Watch Stations. The system requirement is to receive VHF signals up to 20 nautical miles from the coast. Each unmanned remote coastline communication tower site consists of an electronics shelter containing up to six Land Marine Radio (LMR) base stations with UHF, VHF, and DF antennas on the tower. At least one of the LMR base stations is always tuned to monitor the international distress Channel 16, while a second LMR base station is always tuned to monitor the internal distress data Channel 70. The remaining LMR base stations are used by the Coast Guard to support its command and control communications with its marine and air assets. The first SAR case using Rescue 21’s advanced capabilities took place on Nov. 13, 2005, in Coast Guard Sector Baltimore, one of the first sectors to receive the system. By 2015, the Rescue 21 system was installed on both coasts and the Great Lakes of the contiguous United States and three island regions: Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Guam. Deployment in the Alaska and the Western Rivers region of the United States was completed in June 2017.

MORE THAN A “MAYDAY!” While you can still hear someone calling for help on the radio, Rescue 21 is much more than a “Mayday!” alert system. After getting a DSC-enabled marine radio, boaters can register their transceivers and get a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number, a unique ninedigit number that is assigned to a DSC radio or an AIS (Automated Identification System) unit on larger commercial ships. Similar to a cell phone number, an MMSI number is a unique calling number for DSC radios or an AIS unit. Boaters can obtain their MMSI from organizations like BoatUS or the United States Power Squadrons. Radio

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

Above: Capt. Matthew Sibley, commander of Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, acts as master of ceremonies during a ceremony marking Sector Lake Michigan’s acceptance of Rescue 21, April 20, 2012. The first Rescue 21 contracts were awarded in January 2001, and the final tower was accepted in October 2017. Left: The 30-foot sailing vessel Divided Soul floats capsized near the Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter Robert Ward Feb. 10, 2019, 10 miles west of Torrey Pines, California. The crew of the Robert Ward rescued three people who had been aboard the sailing vessel when it capsized.

owners can provide contact information about both themselves and their boats. Thanks to the MMSI number embedded in any messaging, the Coast Guard can access the information in the national distress database for use in emergency situations, and when boaters connect their device to their GPS system, any call automatically includes a GPS location. The MMSI is specific to a vessel and user. If a boater sells either the boat or the radio, the MMSI registration must be cancelled and a new one established for the new owner. This is necessary to ensure that the Coast Guard is able to contact the right persons if a distress situation were ever to occur. According to the Coast Guard Navigation Center, “Take the time to interconnect your GPS and DSC-equipped radio. Doing so may save your life in a distress situation! Before interconnecting your radio and GPS, consult the owner’s manuals.” When a mariner communicates over VHF Channel 16, the tower receives the voice transmission, such as the familiar “Mayday, Mayday.” The DF antenna on the tower also picks up the direction from which the transmission came, producing a line of bearing (LOB). The voice and data are then processed within the

electronics shelter and the information is sent across the Coast Guard network to the SCC, where the voice and data are presented to the watchstanders. The remote shelters are placed strategically, so that there is overlap in coverage. Multiple remote shelter sites may pick up the voice and distress data transmission, and the Rescue 21 software calculates a “fix,” telling the watchstander the latitude and longitude location of the source of the transmission in the water. With this information, the SCC can then perform a SAR mission using its marine and air assets. The system can pick up a 1-second Channel 16 voice distress channel signal sent from a 1-watt transmitter located 2 meters above sea level and up to 20 nautical miles out, and provide a precise location to a watchstander at a Coast Guard SCC. With most calls, there are at least two remote towers that pick up the call, so there are at least two LOBs that can be triangulated to generate a “fix” out in the water. DSC radios automatically retransmit any emergency signals, so other boats with a VHF-DSC radio could help relay a distress call without operator intervention. The position is encoded information within the DSC call, converted into internet data and sent via data lines.

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

Above: The operations specialists on duty listen intently to a radio call in Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England’s command center on Aug. 12, 2016. At the push of a button, a DSC distress call immediately and automatically transmits an exact GPS position and vital vessel information to the Coast Guard sector command centers, like this one in Massachusetts, and other DSC-equipped vessels. The system has playback capabilities for all communications, which can be important during rescue operations or follow-up investigations. Left: A Rescue 21 RFF tower. The Rescue 21 system includes 258 unmanned communication tower sites.

Distress calls are received at the SCC, which has visibility of all of the towers within the sector’s area of responsibility (AOR). “The magic happens in the command center,” said Lt. Shawn Antonelli, an operations center watchstander at Coast Guard District 7 in Miami. Each sector has a communications unit specialist on watch in the SCC with a suite of radios and visibility to any activity detected at any of the towers within their AOR. For example, Sector St. Petersburg, near Tampa on Florida’s west coast, monitors eight towers. Any distress call within the sector would presumably be picked up by several of these towers, providing a precise location. Every watch relief does tower-to-tower checks to make sure the system is working as a network and correctly relaying any signals or traffic. Since the towers are in known positions, the system can calibrate itself to make sure it’s accurate. “If anything is off, we contact the GDMS support team, and they immediately check both hardware and software,

and correct any errors or restore any equipment,” Antonelli said. Some of the Rescue 21 towers have 360-degree coverage, while some have coverage areas blanked out by the tower, although there is usually complete coverage to seaward. If the Rescue 21 tower receives an analog message but an LOB is not produced, the SCC can perform rangering analysis to determine a general search area for where the call may have originated. “Range ring analysis is used when the DF equipment is unable to produce an LOB. If an LOB is produced, our SAR assets will search the entire line of bearing within 2 degrees of each side,” said Antonelli. Sadly, much of time, the general boating public does not register their information, so much of the benefit of having the DSC-capable radios is not available to the user. But, even if a distress call is sent by radio as a voice-only message, it can be triangulated by several towers. “If we receive a distress call, we’ll try to contact the mariner first,” Antonelli said. “Then we’ll let everyone in the area know we have somebody in distress by transmitting an urgent marine information broadcast [UMIB]. We’ll provide the location of where the distress call came from, and ask others in the area to assist. In the meantime, we’ll get a rescue helicopter ready, and if necessary, it can launch within 30 minutes of the initial distress call.”

Antonelli said the playback capability can provide a lot of clues. “We can manipulate the audio to slow it down, or filter out interference or static. We can publish the audio on our intranet so other sectors can listen to the audio, as well.”

GENERAL DYNAMICS MISSION SYSTEMS GRAPHIC

HOAX CALLS HURT EVERYONE The Rescue 21 plotting capability can show if a fake mayday call is coming from land, even to the exact location of the boat parked in the driveway of the hoax caller. It can even be used as evidence in the felony prosecution of hoax callers. Some ghost hoaxers become well known, and see it as a game of hide-and-seek, or catch-me-if-you-can. “We have an entire file of a ghost hoaxer, sending the same message with the same voice. Others go to great lengths to stage their calls and fool the Coast Guard. One case in New York involved a theatrical actor who called in a yacht on fire with bodies in the water, complete with screaming voices and sound effects.” The Coast Guard spent millions of dollars for the unsuccessful search, and months investigating the case. Four months later, the ghost hoaxer did it again. The FCC, which owns the frequencies, gets involved. It’s a federal offense with significant fines and serious jail time involved.

AUTOMATED CORRELATION “Before Rescue 21, the Coast Guard relied on the SCC operators to discern where the distress call was coming from based on what they could hear from the voice audio

A graphic depicting Rescue 21 coverage around the United States and its territories. itself and manually plotting this information on physical maps. There was no automated correlation of voice and LOB information to calculate a fix,” said Forrest Holemon, technical manager, General Dynamics Mission Systems. “Today, Rescue 21 is a state-of-the-art capability and the only system that integrates the radio dispatch functionality with the DF LOB correlation function to automate the geolocation of distressed mariners. Correlating the voice transmissions with precise DF LOB locations takes the ‘search’ out of search and rescue,” Holemon said. “Technology has made this happen.” Rescue 21 not only supports the Coast Guard’s command, control, and communications needs, but also seamlessly integrates with other government agencies at the federal, state, and local level. According to Jeannie Zehring, program manager, General Dynamics Mission Systems has been able to keep the system technologically refreshed through numerous IT upgrades over the past 15 years, as well as meeting and exceeding the constantly changing cybersecurity requirements. “Working shoulder to shoulder, General Dynamics and the Coast Guard have accomplished all of the changes and updates without interrupting the service, so Rescue 21 can be constantly vigilant to perform its lifesaving mission,” Zehring said. According to a Coast Guard statement, “Rescue 21 has played a vital role in prosecuting more than 75,000 search and rescue cases, and has been credited with saving thousands of lives in the process.”

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) transits the waters of Puget Sound near Seattle on Dec. 4, 2020. The crew was deploying on a rare wintertime mission to the Arctic Circle.

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

CREDIT

SERVICE – AND PRESENCE – IN THE ARCTIC In a year fraught with challenges, the Coast Guard holds steady in the high latitudes.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER STEVE STROHMAIER

BY CRAIG COLLINS

For as long as the United States has been an Arctic nation, the U.S. Coast Guard and its predecessors have been there to fulfill the service’s statutory missions. Some of the service’s most storied rescues and exploits were carried out above the Arctic Circle, the latitudes just north of the Bering Strait, and the names of those Arctic heroes – Healy, Bertholf, Jarvis, Call, and Bear, among others – have been etched into everyday life in the Coast Guard. It’s been more than 150 years since the United States purchased Alaska from Russia, and for more than 140 of those years, the vast majority of the Coast Guard’s Alaska work has been carried out below the Strait, in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, for the simple reason that there hasn’t been much navigable water in the American Arctic, other than the ice leads plied by Alaska natives in search of food. In 2009, a year after sea ice retreated enough to create navigable waters around the northern ice pack for the first time in recorded history, the service’s Arctic workload increased: Coast Guard District 17, headquartered in Juneau, began conducting a seasonal surge of personnel and assets northward – Operation Arctic Shield – to conduct maritime domain awareness patrols, outreach, safety inspections, and enforcement operations in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of the Bering Strait. Arctic Shield is aimed at projecting Coast Guard presence into remote areas that remain icebound for around half the year, and that are known for their harsh climate and lack of infrastructure. There are no Coast Guard bases above the Arctic Circle, and Utqiagvik, the northernmost city in the

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

Air Station Kodiak aircrews work to demobilize Forward Operating Location Kotzebue, Alaska, Nov. 1, 2018. Aircrews continue to be deployed to Kotzebue during Alaska’s summer months in support of Operation Arctic Shield each year.

said, the service was forced to re-evaluate its plans for engagement. “Anything that wasn’t mission-critical – a lot of those outreach and engagement opportunities – we tried to scale back,” said Hayes. The participation of Coast Guard prevention personnel in recreational boating safety and Kids Don’t Float, a statewide program that provided safety training for more than 3,900 schoolchildren in 24 Alaska villages last year, was called off for 2020 to limit the risk of introducing COVID-19 to these communities. With COVID-19 precautions in place, District 17 was able to maintain its on-the-water presence: the medium icebreaker Healy, the National Security Cutter Munro, and the cutter Alex Haley patrolled waters in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, in support of maritime domain awareness, search and rescue, community relations, and scientific research. Healy and Munro helped recertify MH-60 aircrews in shipboard landings that serve to extend the Coast Guard’s operational reach. Cutter Kukui and Pacific Area’s deployable specialized forces (Maritime Safety Security Team San Francisco) exercised the Coast Guard’s expeditionary law enforcement capability, conducting commercial fishing vessel safety on-water enforcement in Bristol Bay during the state’s most significant commercial salmon fishery. One of the busiest units during Arctic Shield 2020 was the Marine Safety Task Force, which was formed by Coast Guard Sector Anchorage last year to ensure the safety of far-flung facilities in Western and Northern Alaska that aren’t reachable by road but are critical to the survival

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

United States, is nearly 1,300 nautical miles – a five-day sail – from the nearest deep-water port at Dutch Harbor. The nearest Coast Guard Air Station, on Kodiak Island, is a 940-mile flight from Utqiagvik. Despite the extreme distances and obstacles, Arctic Shield operations have been overwhelmingly successful – and these successes are due largely to the relationships the Coast Guard has built and nurtured with the communities it serves in the region. “Fostering relationships among federal, state, tribal, and local partners is huge for us,” said Cmdr. Molly Hayes, Arctic Shield Operational Planner for District 17. “That’s how we’re able to do all that we’re able to do in the Arctic – being able respond to incidents and complete our statutory missions depends on these close working relationships with people who know the region, and their communities, better than anyone.” 2020 was far from a normal year in the Coast Guard’s least-normal operating environment. In the spring, as District 17 began mobilizing for Arctic Shield, it became clear that the global COVID-19 pandemic would compel operational adjustments – including a rethinking of service members’ interactions with remote communities that maintained a degree of geographic protection from the pandemic. Operation Arctic Shield was formally launched on July 1, with the deployment of aircrews and two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters from Kodiak to their forward operating location (FOL): a National Guard hangar in Kotzebue Sound. But most of the district’s annual outreach and engagement activities – in many ways the backbone of the Coast Guard’s Arctic work – began much sooner. In February, for example, the service provided ice rescue training to first responders in Kotzebue and Point Hope. As the viral pandemic escalated, Hayes

Despite COVID-19 precautions, the Coast Guard was able to conduct safety inspections of the Alaskan salmon fishing fleet.

outstanding job coordinating that effort,” Hayes said. “They’ve been streamlining that and becoming more efficient in reaching these remote facilities.”

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

THE SHRINKING ICE-CAPABLE FLEET of communities – especially fuel storage facilities that must carry residents through the sub-freezing winter months. “Once we were able to put into place our COVID precautions,” Hayes said, “we were to do many of our facilities inspections under our prevention mission. We did these using a risk-based approach.” These inspections, Hayes said, required a lot of planning and communication. “What would be routine in the lower 48 states is not routine up here,” she said. “It could take days to travel up to these little communities to do a facility inspection, and without a good-weather window, you could get stuck.” Sector Anchorage implemented a hub-and-spoke system, centering clusters of operations from communities that offer easier access to several other (relatively) nearby communities. Despite the distances and other challenges, the Marine Safety Task Force conducted 172 inspections of regulated storage facilities, 405 commercial fishing vessel examinations, six Port State Control examinations, and numerous other inspections and exercises. “Sector Anchorage has done an

As Hayes pointed out, Arctic Shield, while an impressive surge in resources and activity, accounts for only part of the Coast Guard’s work above the Bering Strait. “Our planning is year-round, and we’re doing things in the Arctic all year, but we really come through in the summer months when we’re able to travel up there. We’re able to bring in reservists and active-duty personnel who can assist Sector Anchorage with these missions that, yes, are in their back yard, but wouldn’t be possible without the increased support.” Year-round presence in the Arctic requires icebreakers – ships capable of maneuvering through ice-covered waters by means of strengthened hulls and engines powerful enough to ram through sea ice. The Coast Guard operates the only U.S. icebreaking fleet capable of establishing a persistent influence in the polar regions, and by the outset of Arctic Shield 2020, that fleet was down to two operational ships: the 21-year-old, 420-foot Healy, a medium icebreaker capable of breaking through a maximum of about 10 feet of ice, and the Polar Star, a 399-foot heavy icebreaker capable of breaking through

According to Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Dennelly, polar operations program manager for the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area, the effort to repair Healy has been a gargantuan undertaking: The icebreaker managed to limp into the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, to be dry-docked and have its ruined 106ton motor removed. Because the ship was literally built around its power plant, removal required cutting through the heavy ice-capable hull. Meanwhile, a 23-year-old replacement motor was hauled out of storage – it was so large that the structure around it had to be taken apart – at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland; loaded onto a barge; and shipped through the Panama Canal to Mare Island, where it arrived in mid-November.

Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Para Upchurch (right), a marine inspector with Sector Anchorage, inspects a survival suit as part of a commercial fishing vessel safety exam for the Miss Avena in Levelock, Alaska, June 16, 2020. Coast Guard inspectors with Sector Anchorage’s Marine Safety Task Force conducted inspections throughout the Bristol Bay region June 9-26 to prepare the salmon fishing fleet for a safe season.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS NATE LITTLEJOHN

21 feet of ice. As it enters its 45th year of service, Polar Star is performing well but living on borrowed time – and borrowed parts, scavenged from its decommissioned sister ship, Polar Sea, which has been out of service and berthed at its Seattle homeport since 2010. Polar Star spends half of every year dry-docked in Seattle, where it undergoes intensive maintenance and refurbishment. Healy, outfitted primarily as a platform for research and hydrographic surveying, plays a crucial role in fulfilling Coast Guard missions in the Arctic. In August 2020, this fleet was temporarily reduced to one operational icebreaker. Healy, after completing the Arctic Shield component of its summer deployment, was on its way to Seward, Alaska, to pick up a science team from the Office of Naval Research when an electrical fire broke out, disabling its starboard propulsion motor and shaft. The remainder of its voyage was canceled, and one of its primary tasks – to retrieve a set of scientific instruments with a year’s worth of important temperature data, moored as far north as 82 degrees latitude in the Beaufort Sea – was later conducted when the Norwegian Coast Guard and its icebreaker Svalbard came to the rescue.

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

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

The heads of the eight Arctic nations’ coast guards take part in the Arctic Coast Guard Forum Academic Roundtable at Coast Guard Base Boston, June 9, 2016. The group signed a joint statement that establishes the frameworks that detail the development of a multi-year strategic plan, avenues to share information, highlights best practices, and identifies training exercises and on-the-water combined operations to achieve safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic.

“They have the failed motor pulled out,” Dennelly said in an early December interview, “and the new one is actually inside the skin of the ship right now.” He expected the rest of the work – testing, certifying, welding, painting, and then sailing for Healy’s homeport of Seattle – to be completed by the end of the calendar year. “All in all,” he said, “we’ve definitely had our hands full repairing Healy.” As Healy’s repairs began at Mare Island, Polar Star was gearing up for its scheduled departure from Seattle to the Antarctic, where it is typically the mainstay of the annual interagency Operation Deep Freeze: breaking out a sea route for the resupply of McMurdo Station, the U.S. research facility in Antarctica. The Healy incident, which left the United States without an ice-capable cutter in the Arctic for the first time in years, underscores how limited American resources are in the polar regions. The Arctic is no longer an unfrequented maritime wilderness; it’s an arena of increasing economic and geopolitical engagement, which makes U.S. presence there critical to national security. In his State of the Coast Guard address in February, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz declared that having essentially one U.S. icebreaker assigned to cover each of the polar regions was “a woefully unacceptable level of presence in an area where we must be a leading force. Presence equals influence.”

MAINTAINING ARCTIC PRESENCE AND INFLUENCE, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE In a year full of surprises, the Coast Guard received a rare opportunity to project influence into the Arctic as fall turned to winter – and, in the southern polar region, spring turned to summer. Unseasonably warm weather, along with concerns about confining Polar Star’s crew

for a long voyage during the COVID-19 pandemic, led to the cancellation of the icebreaking component of Operation Deep Freeze. Supplies would be airlifted to McMurdo during the summer months. With Polar Star suddenly available and ready for deployment, it sailed north instead, departing Seattle on Dec. 4 for its first non-scientific mission to the Arctic in 26 years. The express purpose of the voyage, which was scheduled to last until February, was “to help protect the nation’s maritime sovereignty and security in the region.” Why does the Coast Guard need to assert U.S. sovereignty in a region at a time when that region is mostly frozen over? The answer is simple: because vessels from other nations increasingly are found there, sometimes inside the U.S. exclusive economic zone. Around the time of the Healy fire, several U.S. fishing vessels were driven out of their fishery by Russian naval vessels conducting a military exercise. In addition to its fleet of about 50 icebreakers, Russia is building new military bases in the Arctic. China, despite having no Arctic-adjacent territory, has asserted a presence in the region also; it operates two medium icebreakers and is designing its first heavy icebreaker. As a member of the Arctic Coast Guard Forum, the Coast Guard engages in high-level efforts to increase stability and cooperation in the region, and enjoys close working relationships with its counterparts from the seven other Arctic nations. Russia’s 50-icebreaker fleet is huge compared to every other Arctic nation’s, but so is its Arctic coast: At about 15,000 miles, it accounts for more than half the coastline above the Arctic Circle. There’s no reason to expect confrontation or conflict, and compared to other parts of the world, tensions in the Arctic are fairly low. But at a time when nations such as Russia and China are stepping up their presence there, the loss of the Healy left the United States essentially blind to what was happening in the Arctic maritime domain. The dispatch of Polar Star was a commonsense acknowledgment of the emerging Arctic reality. “U.S. waters are in the Arctic, and we had an asset available,” said Dennelly. “There’s a need to project U.S. sovereign power at will on a year-round basis in the Arctic.” The Coast Guard has been leading the charge to recognize this changing environment. In 2012, it

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTOS

Above: Healy in drydock at Mare Island to have the ruined propulsion motor replaced. The hull section cut out to enable the motor to be removed and replaced sits on the drydock floor behind the starboard propeller. Right: A closer look at the hole cut through the Healy’s thick ice-reinforced double hull to make way for the motor replacement.

established a joint program with the U.S. Navy to begin an acquisition program for heavy polar icebreakers. Five years ago, the service determined, through its own strategic analysis, that it would need three medium and three heavy icebreakers to meet its mission requirements in the polar regions. Last April, the Coast Guard and the Navy awarded shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a $745 million design and construction contract for the first of three Polar Security Cutters: 460-foot heavy diesel-electric icebreakers configured to provide as much icebreaking power as the current Polar class. The Coast Guard’s 2021 budget proposal includes an additional $555 million to fully fund the construction of a second Polar Security Cutter. The Coast Guard expects to keep the Polar Security Cutter, the nation’s first new heavy icebreaker in 40 years, on a tight production schedule that will see the first enter service in 2024, with a goal of having the entire icebreaker fleet sailing by 2029 (plans for the medium icebreaker are still under internal review). In form, the new Polar Security Cutter, modeled after a canceled German icebreaker, Polarstern II, will have the look of a slightly sleeker Polar Star, but its function, said Dennelly, will be more analogous to the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter, and it will reap the benefit of 45 years’ worth of technological innovation. “It’s going to be a floating Coast Guard sector,” he said, “with command-and-control upgrades on par with

the National Security Cutter. It will have an enhanced seakeeping ability, to enable it to navigate through rougher open water, and its technological upgrades will facilitate maritime domain awareness through sophisticated command-and-control and other sensors that Polar Star doesn’t have. Additionally, it’s going to have the ability to embark two MH-60 helicopters, and it will be able to field and employ unmanned aircraft.” In what has been one of the most logistically challenging years in the service’s history, after the temporary loss of half of its icebreaking fleet, the Coast Guard somehow has managed to project American presence into the Arctic for all of 2020. With its new fleet of icebreakers at last beginning to take shape, it may require less creativity to remain Semper Paratus in the region – but regardless of what the future brings, the Coast Guard will find a way to be there. “The United States is an Arctic nation,” said Dennelly. “We’re ready to provide that year-round presence – and we’re excited and looking forward for the future delivery of the Polar Security Cutter, to continue providing this presence and projecting U.S. sovereignty.”

RUM WAR The U.S. Coast Guard and Prohibition BY CRAIG COLLINS

American coasts, particularly off the Eastern Seaboard. A pioneer bootlegger in these early days was the yachtbuilder Bill McCoy, who helped establish the practice of taking cargo onto schooners at ports in either Nassau, Bahamas, or Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the French islands off the coast of Newfoundland, and then anchoring in international waters to operate a floating liquor store that sold to smaller, faster launches known as “contact boats.” A regular line of rum ships gathered in perpetuity off the shores of metropolitan New York, known as “Rum Row,” with several other areas – including the Virginia

The rum-runner Linwood afire. With capture and arrest imminent, the fire was set by the crew of bootleggers trying to destroy the evidence and sink the ship.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

On Jan. 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, banning the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages, became enforceable by law, launching the strange 13-year hiccup in American history known as Prohibition. The Volstead Act, the law that operationalized Prohibition, assigned enforcement authority to the Treasury Department – specifically to its new Prohibition Bureau. Anticipating that a few smugglers would try to bring illegal alcohol into the country by sea, the new bureau established a marine division with a small fleet of intercepting boats. Given the severe penalties imposed by the law, the bureau expected few violations. The bureau was mistaken. Smuggling alcohol immediately proved profitable, and prevalent, along

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

Above: A rum-running “mother ship” at anchor in international waters, filled with alcohol that would be smuggled in by smaller, faster “contact boats,” the Prohibition equivalent to today’s “go-fasts.” Left: Rum-runner William S. “Bill” McCoy and other small-time rum-runners were soon superseded by powerful criminal syndicates.

Capes, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Houston/ Galveston – served by their own rum rows. Customs and prohibition agents were overwhelmed by the rum fleet. In their fight against maritime smuggling, they focused on seizing contraband as it landed at wharves and, in some cases, on intercepting small craft inshore. It was a losing battle, and the Treasury Department turned to the agency responsible for protecting revenues and preventing smuggling at sea: the Coast Guard.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

PLAYING OFFENSE At the outset of Prohibition, the modern Coast Guard was just 5 years old, and had only recently been transferred back to its peacetime home in the Treasury Department by the U.S. Navy, where more than 9,000 Coast Guard personnel had served during World War I. The reconstituted service had neither the manpower, training, nor resources to carry out a vast coastal interdiction program. By 1924 it was clear to Adm. William Reynolds, Coast Guard commandant, that the service was overmatched against more than 150 rum fleet vessels and an inshore swarm of contact boats, many of them outfitted with 400-horsepower airplane engines the U.S. government sold for $100 apiece after the war.

NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND PHOTO NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND PHOTO

What followed over the next few years was an unprecedented expansion of the Coast Guard: The service grew from 4,000 to 10,000 personnel, and a fleet of new cutters, specially designed to intercept and catch rumrunners, was rolled out over the next few years, to be aided in their efforts by 25 refurbished Navy destroyers that had been mothballed after the war.

Top: USCGC Porter (CG 7) circa 1924-30, formerly the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Porter (DD 59), one of 25 ex-Navy destroyers turned over to the Coast Guard to enforce Prohibition and battle rum-runners. Above: A flotilla of “six-bitters.” More than 200 of the wooden-hulled 75-footers, capable of 15 knots and armed with a 1-pounder cannon forward and various small arms, were built between 1924 and 1925.

Some 203 wooden-hulled 75-footers, also known as “six-bitters,” with a top speed of 15 knots and deckmounted 1-pound cannons, entered service between 1924 and 1925. Beginning in 1927, they were joined by the first of 33 125-footers, the well-armed diesel “Buckand-a-Quarters” designed to trail mother ships along the outer line of defense. The fastest ships in the Coast Guard fleet were now the destroyers, which had an obvious limitation: They were too big to be of much use inshore. The service’s small boat fleet underwent a rapid expansion. More than 100 36-foot picket boats were built, with a top speed of around 22 knots. A new round of 78-foot fast patrol cutters began entering service in 1931, and between 1931 and 1932, more than 500 new 38-foot picket boats, faster and capable of longer patrols than the 36-footers, were built. By 1925, a group of forward-thinking Coast Guard officers had convinced their superiors that aerial patrols would provide much wider awareness than surface ships, and a temporary Coast Guard airfield was established in Massachusetts. The service’s first aerial interdiction was in June of that year, and Congress responded by authorizing the purchase of five

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

amphibious planes, to be based at a small air station in Gloucester Harbor. This overhaul of the Coast Guard created a service that looked and operated nothing like it had just a few years earlier: It was a large, well-equipped and welltrained fighting force, prepared for battle in the Rum War. Its adversaries, however, had adapted as well: The plucky Bill McCoys, and the low-rent pirates who tried to rip them off, were quickly absorbed or driven out of business by sophisticated crime organizations. Eventually the entire New York liquor racket was handled by five syndicates. This was one of the great ironies of Prohibition: It created a vast criminal underworld and set off a crime wave unparalleled in U.S. history. The strategy against these syndicates was simple: With regular cutters and destroyers, the Coast Guard would attempt to break the link between mother ships and contact boats, often circling the larger ships to make their presence known and deter transactions. A second line of defense, led by six-bitters and picket boats, was aimed inshore, at the comings and goings of contact boats. Within this strategic sphere, tactics and countermeasures became increasingly intricate. To avoid detection, smugglers would sometimes try to bait a Coast Guard vessel into chasing a slower decoy boat while other contact boats loaded their consignments; sometimes they merely sent out a radio distress signal to lure the cutter in another direction. Submerged loads of contraband were sometimes towed behind the rumrunner, to be cut loose if capture seemed imminent. Liquor was hidden beneath false bottoms, behind false bulkheads, or under layers of legal cargo. Rather than try to offload smuggled liquor at landings, some “blacks” (the Coast Guard term for many smugglers’ vessels, which were often painted dark colors and ran without lights to avoid nighttime detection) would sink them at assigned drops, tethered to submerged buoys. If they were detected in spite of these measures, smugglers practiced several evasive maneuvers: If caught out by a destroyer, a contact boat might ignite a trail of diesel or oil in its wake, creating a smoke screen to obscure its escape; the boat could then double back at high speed, knowing the destroyer could never turn in time to catch it. Some smugglers simply sped toward shoals where deeper-draft destroyers or cutters couldn’t follow. If pursued by speedier patrol boats, smugglers might toss cases of liquor in their wake, in the hope of

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VON PAULSEN FAMILY

Lt. Cmdr. Carl Christian von Paulsen (left) in front of a surplus U.S. Navy UO-1 floatplane pressed into Coast Guard service. As commander of Coast Guard Section Base #7, von Paulsen proved the value of aircraft for interdicting smugglers during Prohibition, and unofficially reestablished Coast Guard aviation.

Expert cryptanalyst Elizebeth Friedman, whose codebreaking made possible the convictions of some three dozen bootleggers and ringleaders.

made conversation with rum-runners – and, when he’d determined they were smuggling, raised the Coast Guard flag and seized their vessels. Scott made many seizures in this way, and in fact the Coast Guard made liberal use of seized craft in their patrol/pursuit fleet throughout Prohibition. According to Willoughby, 649 of these vessels were transferred to the Coast Guard during the period; Dr. William H. Thiesen, the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area historian, has figured that more than 450 of these were repurposed by the service.

NSA PHOTO

ENTER ELIZEBETH FRIEDMAN

damaging the pursuer’s hull. A few smugglers attempted to turn and ram their pursuers, but this was an act of desperation that had mixed results; on several occasions, rum-runners sank themselves in these collisions. One of the factors working in smugglers’ favor – the 3-mile limit to territorial waters, an international standard established by the reach of an 18th century cannon shot – was eliminated in 1924, when the United States and Great Britain agreed on a new standard: the distance a ship could travel in an hour, which averaged 12 nautical miles. This made it more difficult for rum ships to connect with their contact boats, but the fact that the new boundary was moveable, dependent on the speed of a ship, also muddied ensuing court cases. Rum-runner tactics demanded creativity from Coast Guard skippers. Rum War at Sea, Malcolm Willoughby’s definitive history of the Coast Guard’s Prohibition service, recounts the exploits of Cmdr. Philip H. Scott, who commanded the cutter Seminole in the Rum War’s early days. Scott liked to seize rum-running craft and turn them into patrol boats. On one occasion, dressed in civilian clothes, he cruised around in a seized tug,

The surge of new Coast Guard assets at sea and in the air, along with the service’s more varied countermeasures, temporarily knocked the rum-runners off balance, but syndicates had begun to perfect the use of radio communications. One of the first and simplest tactics was for rum ships to transmit over commercial frequencies: Encoded messages, usually groups of random-looking letters, communicating a day’s sales, requests for provisions, the vessel’s location, and other information were sent to management on land. On shore, new technologies allowed hidden pop-up stations to send encrypted locations and instructions for transactions at high frequencies that often went undetected. Obviously, the Coast Guard needed the ability to gather signals intelligence. In 1924, the Office of Coast Guard Intelligence was established, led by then-Lt. Cmdr. Charles Root. This new office launched a twopronged attack on rum-runners: First, it set up its own sophisticated radio communications system under the direction of Lt. Frank Meals, an accomplished telegraph operator and commander of the six-bitter CG-210. Meals trained the incoming generation of Coast Guard radio operators and ensured that the service’s communications technology – including a new generation of radio direction-finding equipment that helped cutter crews locate rum ships – remained on the cutting edge. Second, Root understood that intercepting illegal transmissions was of little use if they were encrypted. By 1927, hundreds of messages had accumulated in the new office’s files, but thanks to the addition of an expert cryptanalyst, Elizebeth Friedman, the Coast Guard began to make headway; within two months of her hiring, the division’s new Cryptanalytic Unit, consisting of Friedman and an assistant, had cleared the backlog of messages. From 1928 to 1930, the unit decrypted about 12,000 messages for the Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies. The messages contained

A HOT WAR WINDS DOWN Though it often had a cat-and-mouse feel, the Rum War was a shooting war against adversaries who wouldn’t hesitate to fire – at a cutter, or its searchlight, or at the crewmember aiming the searchlight. The method most commonly used by the Coast Guard to persuade an obstinate rum-running vessel to heave to for boarding was to fire a warning shot from a machine gun or cannon – or both – across the vessel’s bow. People died on both sides of the Rum War at sea. Just past midnight on April 2, 1925, when the sixbitter CG-237 came across a suspected rum-runner in Block Island Sound, the other boat opened fire without warning, striking Chief Petty Officer Karl Gustafson, who was in the pilothouse, in the abdomen. Gustafson died a few hours later in a hospital.

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

CG-8031, a converted former rum-running boat, one of many taken into Coast Guard service.

The deadliest Prohibition encounter for the Coast Guard occurred on Aug. 7, 1927, when the six-bitter CG-249, patrolling between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the Bahamas, interdicted a rum-running motorboat. One of the boat’s two occupants, Horace Alderman, somehow managed to bring a gun with him as he was brought aboard the cutter, and he opened fire, killing Boatswain Sidney Sanderlin, Motor Machinist’s Mate Victor Lamby, and a Secret Service agent, Robert Webster. Alderman was subdued by the rest of the crew, tried, convicted of three counts of murder and piracy on the high seas, and sentenced to death. He was hanged in a seaplane hangar at Coast Guard Base 6 at Fort Lauderdale two years later – the only person ever executed on Coast Guard property, and the only person ever executed by the federal government for a Prohibition-related crime. At the trial, Alderman tried to argue – against the testimony of every witness, including his accomplice – that he acted in self-defense. It was an argument probably meant more for the public than the judge: Tensions were running high in South Florida, where wild shootouts had been lighting up the Miami River waterway for years, and had resulted in the deaths of several smugglers. Many accounts of the Coast Guard’s Prohibition service, including Willoughby’s, suggest the battle for public opinion may have been irretrievably lost in 1929, when smugglers were killed in two separate Coast Guard interdictions: In March, the Halifax schooner I’m Alone was chased by the cutter Wolcott and sunk after being shelled by the cutter Dexter. I’m Alone’s FrenchCanadian boatswain drowned, and the incident caused an international row. In December, the rum-rummer Black Duck, a fast, low-profile motorboat that had eluded capture on several occasions, was intercepted by CG-290 in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. CG-290’s commander, Boatswain Alexander Cornell, later testified that the Black Duck had ignored the signal to heave to,

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

information about illegal activities along all the nation’s coasts, and their decryption meant, in many cases, that the codes of major syndicates had been broken, allowing the Coast Guard to intercept and decode messages in real time – and so enabling seizures or prevention operations at sea. By the early 1930s, a bigger Cryptanalytic Unit, overseen by Friedman, was supporting a new radio intelligence service at Coast Guard Headquarters. In the New York area, Meals took command of a specialized unit: five 75-foot patrol boats, outfitted with radio direction-finding equipment, to intercept radio signals that could be decoded and disseminated for action. In the last years of Prohibition, the information gathered by this unit revealed the syndicates were smuggling more than liquor; their contraband, according to Willoughby, included “Swiss watches, French perfume, contraceptives, firearms, and ammunition for Cuban revolutionists, and aliens.” In 1933, Friedman’s work for the Coast Guard, and her court testimony, culminated in the convictions of 35 bootleggers and ringleaders for violations of the Volstead Act. The service’s 11th National Security Cutter will be named after her.

A shot-up rum-runner with the incongruous name of Bubble tied up to the pier after being captured by the Coast Guard.

and veered suddenly into CG-290’s warning shots, killing three of the men aboard and wounding a fourth. In these and other cases, the accounts of law enforcement officers and rum-runners differed. Cornell and his crew were cleared of wrongdoing, but the Black Duck incident provoked a lingering bitterness, expressed in protests, attacks on Coast Guard facilities, demands for an impartial committee to re-open the investigation, and a very public airing of grievances, often by respected public figures. John F. Fitzgerald, former Boston mayor and U.S. congressman, pointed out that the Black Duck’s illegal cargo would have been consumed by public officials all over New England. New York Congressman and future New York City Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia declared Prohibition unenforceable.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

THE END OF PROHIBITION AND THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN COAST GUARD On Dec. 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and ending the nation’s ban on alcohol sales. The Coast Guard would never be the same. It had begun the 1920s, arguably, as a lifesaving service with law enforcement authority that was mostly regulatory in nature, conducting inspections and ensuring compliance. After being assigned the biggest law enforcement task in its history, the Coast Guard became a paramilitary law enforcement agency with a crucial role in national security and expertise in the interdiction of lawbreaking vessels. It was also equipped with the resources necessary to do these things, including an aviation branch; a large fleet of cutters designed for a variety of

tasks offshore, inshore, and in waterways; sophisticated intelligence and codebreaking personnel; and well-trained crews manning Navy warships. Many crewmembers who served with the Coast Guard’s Destroyer Force later became commanders or senior NCOs on cutters and Coast Guard-manned U.S. Navy ships in World War II. Between 1923 and 1927 alone, the Coast Guard’s budget and personnel levels more than doubled, and even after the inevitable post-repeal drawdown, the service remained larger and more significant than it had been before Prohibition. It was now an internationally recognized law enforcement organization, and its intelligence service was one of the most respected in the federal government; the Coast Guard serves today as a core member of the national intelligence community. Its codebreakers were immediately useful against World War II adversaries. Coast Guard communications procedures and networks, standardized to be in line with those of the U.S. Navy, were immediately useful when the two services were once again combined to serve in World War II – and the joint integration of far more sophisticated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) platforms and capabilities continues to this day. The Coast Guard’s approach to Prohibition – an interagency collaborative, attacking a problem from every angle and embracing the full spectrum of the service’s capabilities – applied constant pressure on rumrunning syndicates. The Coast Guard clearly reduced the volume of illegal alcohol flowing into the country, and forced lawbreakers to adopt several changes in tactics. By that measure – and in the way its Prohibition service helped to cement its reputation as the protector of the nation’s maritime domain – its 13 years of Prohibition enforcement were a resounding success that fixed an indelible stamp on the modern Coast Guard.

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 has realized several achievements with recapitalizing its assets. The Polar Security Cutter project to procure several new icebreakers for the service is moving forward, and the first Offshore Patrol Cutter is under construction. The seventh National Security Cutter (NSC), Kimball, and the eighth NSC, Midgett, were commissioned together in August 2019, and the ninth NSC is scheduled for commissioning in February 2021. Likewise, 41 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) are now in service, with a total of 58 planned. The Coast Guard is also moving forward with plans for a new Waterways Commerce Cutter, which will replace aging inland construction tenders and buoy tenders. Despite these milestones, fleet and aircraft recapitalization timelines 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 deteriorating offshore, coastal, and inland assets.

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

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

ICEBREAKERS The Coast Guard operates two 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, awarded VT Halter Marine a contract for the detail design and construction of the lead Polar Security Cutter in April 2019. The first PSC is expected to begin construction in 2021 and to be delivered in 2024.

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 Polar-class icebreakers in their homeport of Seattle, Washington. The

Healy is designed to conduct a wide range of research 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

CGC Healy

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

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 (SAR), escort ships, support environmental protection, and enforce 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. A Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for Polar Star is planned, with a five-year phased production between 2021 and 2025. Polar Sea remains laid up and is being used as a parts donor while its disposition is determined. • 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

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

Icebreaker, 240-foot Great Lakes class (WLBB) 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), 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. • 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-kilowatt (kW) azipod propulsion units

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

Icebreakers, 399-foot Polar class (WAGB)

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

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 long tons, the Legend-class cutters are capable of better seakeeping and higher sustained speeds as well as greater endurance than

NORTHROP GRUMMAN PHOTO BY STEVE BLOUNT

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

CGC Bertholf

Offshore Patrol Cutter

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

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, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles. • 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

EASTERN SHIPBUILDING IMAGE

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. Navy 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 CB-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, James was commissioned in August 2015, and the sixth NSC, Munro, was commissioned in April 2017. In a unique ceremony, the seventh and eighth NSCs, Kimball and Midgett, were commissioned together in August 2019. The ninth NSC, Stone, will be commissioned in February 2021. The Coast Guard originally planned construction of eight national security cutters; however, nine have now been built, and long lead-time materials have been ordered for a 10th and 11th.

• James (WMSL 754) Charleston, South Carolina • Munro (WMSL 755) Alameda, California • Kimball (WMSL 756) Honolulu, Hawaii • Midgett (WMSL 757) Honolulu, Hawaii • Stone (WMSL 758) delivered • WMSL 759 long lead-time materials ordered • WMSL 760 long lead-time materials ordered

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 longrange, 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, updating 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 were given upgraded C4ISR capabilities under the Deepwater project to extend their service lives until replacement with National Security Cutters. As National Security Cutters have entered the fleet, the Secretary-class cutters have been decommissioned and transferred to friendly foreign navies. The Chase and Hamilton were 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. Sherman was transferred to the navy of Sri Lanka in March 2018. Mellon was decommissioned in August 2020 for transfer to the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Royal Naval Force, and John Midgett is in “incommission” status in preparation for transfer to another foreign navy. The last remaining ship of the class is Douglas Munro (WHEC 724). • 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: • Douglas Munro (WHEC 724) Kodiak, Alaska

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. Construction of the first OPC, Argus, began in January 2019. The first OPC is scheduled for delivery in 2022. The Coast Guard is naming the ships after significant cutters in its history. 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)

295-foot Cutter Eagle (WIX) 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. • 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

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

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. • 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

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

CGC Eagle

CGC Alex Haley

Vessel in this class: • Alex Haley (WMEC 39) Kodiak, Alaska

PHOTO BY MARK FARMER

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 among 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 rigid-hull 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 • 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) Portsmouth, Virginia • 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

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

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

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 class’ 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.

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

CGC Thetis

CGC Spar

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTOGRAPH

• 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) Honolulu, Hawaii • Willow (WLB 202) Charleston, South Carolina • Kukui (WLB 203) Sitka, Alaska • Elm (WLB 204) Astoria, Oregon • Walnut (WLB 205) Pensacola, Florida • Spar (WLB 206) Kodiak, Alaska • Maple (WLB 207) Atlantic Beach, North Carolina • Aspen (WLB 208) San Francisco, California • Sycamore (WLB 209) Newport, Rhode Island • 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) Santa Rita, 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 all-around visibility. They do not have helicopter hangars but each can operate a single H-65 Dolphin on deck. Crew complement is 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 a MEP in 2005 to increase operational availability by installing capability enhancements, performing

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS DUSTIN R. WILLIAMS

CGC Dauntless

• Length: 210 feet • Beam: 34 feet

CGC George Cobb

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

• 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

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

major maintenance, and replacing obsolete, unsupportable, or maintenance-intensive equipment. The successful conclusion of the MEP in September 2014 ensured the operational reliability of these cutters until replacement by the Offshore Patrol Cutter.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

CGC Pamlico Vessels in this class: • Reliance (WMEC 615) Pensacola, Florida • Diligence (WMEC 616) Pensacola, Florida • Vigilant (WMEC 617) Port Canaveral, Florida • Active (WMEC 618) Port Angeles, Washington • Confidence (WMEC 619) Port Canaveral, Florida • Resolute (WMEC 620) St. Petersburg, Florida • Valiant (WMEC 621) Naval Station Mayport, Florida • Steadfast (WMEC 623) Astoria, Oregon • Dauntless (WMEC 624) Pensacola, Florida • Venturous (WMEC 625) St. Petersburg, Florida • Dependable (WMEC 626) Little Creek, Virginia • Vigorous (WMEC 627) Little Creek, Virginia • Decisive (WMEC 629) Pensacola, Florida • Alert (WMEC 630) Astoria, Oregon

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.

• 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

Waterways Commerce Cutter The Coast Guard established the Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program to replace the capability provided by the inland tender fleet. The program has determined that three WCC variants will best meet mission needs. All three variants will be selfpropelled cutters rather than tug and barge configurations. The river buoy tender and inland construction tender variants will

CGC Penobscot Bay

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.

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

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

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 • 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

COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS SETH JOHNSON

be acquired on one contract; these variants are expected to be common except for hull length, working deck layouts, and deck equipment, including the crane. The program released a draft request for proposal (RFP) for these variants in July 2020 and anticipates releasing the final RFP in 2021, with contract award in 2022. The Coast Guard plans to acquire 16 river buoy tenders, 11 inland construction tenders, and three inland buoy tenders. The new tenders will have greater endurance, speed, and deck load capacity than their predecessors. The ships will also feature improved habitability and will accommodate mixed-gender crews.

CGC Greenbrier

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

USCGAUX PHOTO BY LEN SCHULTE

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-pressure-air 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 the cutters Bristol Bay and Mobile Bay. The Bay-class cutters underwent a midlife renovation project under the

In-Service Vessel Sustainment Program (ISVS) to renew the most elderly or vulnerable components. Biscayne Bay was the ninth and final vessel to complete the program, in September 2020. • 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 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) Cleveland, Ohio • Penobscot Bay (WTGB 107) Bayonne, New Jersey • Thunder Bay (WTGB 108) Rockland, Maine • Sturgeon Bay (WTGB 109) Bayonne, New Jersey

CGC Sangamon

RIVER BUOY TENDERS (WLR)

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

75-foot Gasconade-class River Buoy Tenders: • Length: 75 feet • Beam: 22 feet

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

• 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 • 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

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

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY SEAMAN PAUL JIRASEK

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. Like the inland construction tenders, the river buoy tenders may be replaced by variants of the Waterways Commerce Cutter.

CGC Elderberry 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

INLAND BUOY TENDERS, LARGE-SMALL (WLI) 100-foot Inland Buoy Tenders:

USCG PHOTO

• 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

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 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. Island-class 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.

CGC Isaac Mayo

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 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.

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

• 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 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

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

However, the aging Island-class cutters are being replaced by the Fast Response Cutter. Eighty-seven-foot Marine Protectorclass vessels have an IEBS (integrated electronic bridge system) and a stern-launched rigid-hull inflatable boat useful for various duties including carrying boarding crews.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO/PA3 ROB SIMPSON

CGC Liberty • 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 (WPC 1120) Cape May, New Jersey • John McCormick (WPC 1121) Ketchikan, Alaska • Bailey Barco (WPC 1122) Ketchikan, Alaska • Benjamin Dailey (WPC 1123) Pascagoula, Mississippi • Oliver Berry (WPC 1124) Honolulu, Hawaii • Jacob Poroo (WPC 1125) Pascagoula, Mississippi • Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) Honolulu, Hawaii • Richard Snyder (WPC 1127) Atlantic Beach, North Carolina • Nathan Bruckenthal (WPC 1128) Atlantic Beach, North Carolina • Forrest Rednour (WPC 1129) San Pedro, California • Robert Ward (WPC 1130) San Pedro, California • Terrell Horne III (WPC 1131) San Pedro, California • Benjamin Bottoms (WPC 1132) San Pedro, California • Joseph Doyle (WPC 1133) San Juan, Puerto Rico • William Hart (WPC 1134) Honolulu, Hawaii • Angela McShan (WPC 1135) Cape May, New Jersey • Daniel Tarr (WPC 1136) Galveston, Texas

• Edgar Culbertson (WPC 1137) Galveston, Texas • Harold Miller (WPC 1138) Galveston, Texas • Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) Santa Rita, Guam • Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) Santa Rita, Guam • Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141) Manama, Bahrain

Patrol Boats, 110-foot Island class (WPB) 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 Island-class vessels remaining in commission 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, 5,820 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 Vessels in this class: • Maui (WPB 1304) Manama, Bahrain • Aquidneck (WPB 1309) Manama, Bahrain • Mustang (WPB 1310) Seward, Alaska • Naushon (WPB 1311) Homer, Alaska • Sanibel (WPB 1312) Woods Hole, Massachusetts • 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) Portland, Maine • Tybee (WPB 1330) Woods Hole, Massachusetts • Wrangell (WPB 1332) Manama, Bahrain • Adak (WPB 1333) Manama, Bahrain • Liberty (WPB 1334) Juneau, Alaska • Anacapa (WPB 1335) Petersburg, Alaska • Kiska (WPB 1336) Santa Rita, Guam

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 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 launch-and-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. • 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

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

Vessels in this class: • Barracuda (WPB 87301) Eureka, California • Hammerhead (WPB 87302) Woods Hole, Massachusetts • Mako (WPB 87303) Gulfport, Mississippi • Marlin (WPB 87304) Boston, Massachusetts • 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) Woods Hole, Massachusetts • Hawksbill (WPB 87312) Monterey, California • Cormorant (WPB 87313) Charlestown, South Carolina

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO/PA3 ROB SIMPSON

CGC Crocodile • Finback (WPB 87314) Jonesport, Maine • Amberjack (WPB 87315) Port Isabel, Texas • Kittiwake (WPB 87316) Honolulu, Hawaii • Blackfin (WPB 87317) Santa Barbara, California • Bluefin (WPB 87318) Virginia Beach, Virginia • Yellowfin (WPB 87319) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Manta (WPB 87320) Freeport, Texas • Coho (WPB 87321) New London, Connecticutt • Kingfisher (WPB 87322) Panama City, Florida • Seahawk (WPB 87323) Carrabelle, Florida • Steelhead (WPB 87324) Newport, Rhode Island • Beluga (WPB 87325) Galveston, Texas • Blacktip (WPB 87326) Oxnard, California • Pelican (WPB 87327) St. Petersburg, Florida

• Ridley (WPB 87328) Mayport, Florida • Cochito (WPB 87329) Miami Beach, Florida • Manowar (WPB 87330) Galveston, Texas • Moray (WPB 87331) Cape Canaveral, Florida • 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) Corpus Christi, Texas • Sockeye (WPB 87337) Bodega Bay, California • Ibis (WPB 87338) Fort Pierce, Florida • Pompano (WPB 87339) Tybee Island, Georgia • Halibut (WPB 87340) Marina Del Rey, California • Bonito (WPB 87341) Pensacola, Florida

• Shrike (WPB 87342) Sandy Hook, New Jersey • Tern (WPB 87343) San Francisco, California • Heron (WPB 87344) Jacksonville, Florida • Wahoo (WPB 87345) Port Angeles, Washington • Flying Fish (WPB 87346) Little Creek, Virginia • Haddock (WPB 87347) San Diego, California • Brant (WPB 87348) St. Petersburg, Florida • Shearwater (WPB 87349) Cape May, New Jersey • Petrel (WPB 87350) San Diego, California • Sea Lion (WPB 87352) Bellingham, Washington • Skipjack (WPB 87353) Abbeville, Louisiana • Dolphin (WPB 87354) Miami, Florida

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

• Hawk (WPB 87355) St. Petersburg, Florida • Sailfish (WPB 87356) Grand Isle, Louisiana • Sawfish (WPB 87357) Gulfport, Mississippi • Swordfish (WPB 87358) Port Angeles, Washington • Tiger Shark (WPB 87359) Freeport, Texas • Blue Shark (WPB 87360) Everett, Washington • Sea Horse (WPB 87361) Galveston, Texas • Sea Otter (WPB 87362) San Diego, California • Manatee (WPB 87363) Dania, Florida • Ahi (WPB 87364) Honolulu, Hawaii • Pike (WPB 87365) San Francisco, California • Terrapin (WPB 87366) Bellingham, Washington

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

47-foot Motor Lifeboat

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

25-foot Response Boat-Small II • 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) St. Petersburg, Florida • Reef Shark (WPB 87371) San Juan, Puerto Rico • Alligator (WPB 87372) Galveston, Texas • Sea Dog (WPB 87373) Kings Bay, Georgia (Navy owned) • Sea Fox (WPB 87374) Bangor, Washington (Navy owned)

65-foot Small Harbor Tugs (WYTL) 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 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

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 20-foot aluminum hull with a range of 70 nautical miles, and ATON BoatSkiff (AB-SKF), a 16-foot aluminum hull with a range of 50

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

nautical miles. Both boats are outfitted with standard electrical systems and ample working deck space. Coast Guard boats include:

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 undergoing refit and renovation under the ISVS project. There are currently 107 MLBs in inventory.

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

BOATS

migrant interdiction, environmental, and other law enforcement missions. The second-generation RB-S IIs replaced the original RB-S classes. The RB-S IIs are 29 feet long and have a range of 220 nautical miles. The final RB-S II was delivered in November 2019, bringing the fleet up to 370 boats.

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.

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 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 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.

33-foot Special Purpose Craft

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY DAVE SILVA

45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) The 45-foot RB-M replaced the 41-foot Utility Boat (UTB) and other non-standard boats. 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 UTBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s limits were 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 UTBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top speed of 26 knots.

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; 35-foot Long Range Interceptor II; 24-foot Cutter Boat-Large; 24-foot ATON-Large; 24-foot Over-the-Horizon and 26-foot Over-the-Horizon IV; 18-foot ATON-Medium; 18-foot Cutter Boat-Medium; and 13-foot Cutter Boat-Small, just to name a few.

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) 25-foot Response Boat-Small II (RB-S II) The 25-foot Response Boats-Small II (RB-S II) perform port and waterway security, search and rescue, drug and

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 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/B 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-144 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-144 provides extended on-scene loitering capabilities while also being capable of performing maritime patrol, law enforcement, SAR, disaster response,

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

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 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 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. Currently the fleet is being upgraded to HC-144B standard, with integration of the Minotaur Mission System and a new cockpit control and display unit (CAU) under the Ocean Sentry Refresh program. The Coast Guard accepted its eighth missionized HC-144B aircraft in August 2020.

COAST GUARD PHOTO BY LT. SCOTT HANDLIN

HC-144A Ocean Sentry

HC-27J Spartan • Power plant: Two 1,750 shp (1,305 kW) General Electric CT7-9C3 turboprop engines • Maximum cruising speed: 215 knots • Range: up to 2,100 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, 8 inches

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

C-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 other Coast Guard missions. All 14 aircraft are planned to be missionized with a system based on the Minotaur mission system, incorporating sensors; radar; and C4ISR equipment.

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. Aircraft completing the missionization program will be designated HC-27J. • Length: 74 feet, 6 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

C-37A Gulfstream V efficiency. The C-37A enjoys commonality of parts and supplies with more than a dozen C-37As operated by the other military branches. In October 2020, the Coast Guard issued a delivery order for the purchase of a new C-37B long range command and control aircraft. • Power plant: Two 14,750-pound thrust BMW/RollsRoyce BR710-48 turbofan engines • 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

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 the HC-130H Hercules and the 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 planned acquisition of 22 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

100

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

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. The service’s HC-130Js will employ the Minotaur Mission System; newer aircraft are being produced with the system while older aircraft are being backfitted. The Coast Guard accepted its 13th missionized Super Hercules in July 2020. • Power plant: Four 4,910-hp Allison T56-A15 turboprop engines (HC-130H); four 5,600-hp RollsRoyce AE2100D turboprop engines driving sixbladed 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/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 (EWPEmergency War Power) • Dimensions: Wingspan, 132.6 feet; length, 99.6 feet; height, 38.6 feet; wing area, 1,734 square feet

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

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS JONATHAN HARPER

HC-130H Hercules to operate the aircraft in 1990 as a replacement for the nowretired HH-3F Pelican. The Coast Guard has 45 MH-60Ts at time of writing. 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 land-based 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 into the 2030s. The Coast Guard is studying options for a Service Life Extension program (SLEP) upgrade for the fleet to keep it flying until replacement by an aircraft derived from the Future Vertical Lift program. • Power plant: Two 1,890-shp General Electric T700GE-401C turboshaft engines • Dimensions: Rotor diameter: 53 feet, 8 inches; length, 64 feet, 10 inches; height, 17 feet; main rotor disc area, 2,261 square feet • Performance: Maximum speed, 170 knots; service ceiling, 5,000 feet, hovering; range, 700 nautical miles

101

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS BRADLEY PIGAGE

MH-60T Jayhawk • 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-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 deck-equipped 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 an NVG heads up display (HUD) to help pilots maintain situational awareness during nighttime operations. The MH-65s used by Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, or HITRON, Jacksonville,

103

MH-65D Dolphin

104

Coast Guard OUTLOOK

cockpit instruments, among other modernization upgrades. Eight of 96 Coast Guard MH-65s have been completed to MH-65E standard as of November 2020. • Power plant: Two 853-shp Turbomeca Arriel 2C2CG turboshaft engines • Performance: Maximum speed, 175 knots; cruising speed, 148 knots; operational ceiling, approximately 10,000 feet; range, 350 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, 5 inches; height, 13 feet, 3 inches • MH-65C Armament: .50-caliber precision fire weapon, M240B 7.62 mm machine gun

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO BY AUX. WILLIAM GREER

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 extends the aircraft’s service life through 2027. It addressed 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 6, which is underway now, brings the fleet to MH-65E standard, replacing the analog automatic flight control with digital systems, and installing digital weather radar and digital glass

Coast Guard OUTLOOK 2020 - 2021 Edition

Articles inside

RUM WAR: The U.S. Coast Guard and Prohibition

IN THE MARITIME DOMAIN, PRESENCE EQUALS INFLUENCE

ACCELERATING COAST GUARD INNOVATION

SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION COME FROM THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS

THE CUTTERS, BOATS, AND AIRCRAFT OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD

SERVICE – AND PRESENCE – IN THE ARCTIC

RESCUE 21

ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, UNREGULATED

ROBOTS ON WATER

INTERVIEW: REAR ADM. ERIC JONES, Commander, Coast Guard District 7