By
JAMES H. THACH III
JAMES H. THACH
III is a retired aerospace program manager and the past chairman of the
Navy League's Active and Reserve Affairs Committee.
When Hurricane
Floyd ravaged the U.S. East Coast in September 1999, leaving thousands of
Americans flooded out of their homes and businesses, the United States
Coast Guard was again ready to protect life and property.
At 9:15 p.m. on
16 September, Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., was advised by
the Coast Guard's Fifth District Rescue Coordination Center that
"hundreds of individuals" were stranded "on rooftops, in
cars, on highways, in trees, and in rivers" in the vicinity of
Tarboro, N.C. The Air Station assumed the role of on-scene commander for
the rescue efforts around Tarboro. An HC-130H was launched to provide
airborne command and control. The U.S. Navy sent an E-2C Hawkeye equipped
with airborne radar to provide an accurate picture of all the aircraft
operating in and around the area; the Coast Guard and other services
provided aircraft for the recovery operations. Ground stations were set up
on-scene and manned by personnel from Air Station Elizabeth City to allow
immediate communications for the evacuation being planned. The Coast Guard
also forward-deployed its Transportable Communications Center, which
played an invaluable role by serving as a direct link between officials on
the ground and the on-scene commander. Rescue Coordination Center
personnel worked closely with local officials to provide expert advice.
Every type of
Coast Guard aircraft was called into service. Seven Coast Guard and 12
Department of Defense (DOD) facilities provided aircraft and personnel.
The aircraft came from as far away as Clearwater, Fla., and Traverse City,
Mich. Over the next 42 hours, during which the Coast Guard headed the
recovery operations, more than 2,200 lives were saved or directly
assisted. Coast Guard aircraft flew over 350 flight hours and saved 450
people. Navy, Army, and Marine components flew a collective total of more
than 450 hours and recovered an astounding 1,800 people. DOD heavy-lift
helicopters were able to transport large numbers in the same aircraft, and
at one point evacuated an entire community in a single flight.
While this is an
extraordinary case, it is what the American people have come to expect of
the U.S. Coast Guard--but saving lives is only one of the numerous
missions assigned to the Coast Guard throughout its long and sometimes
complex history.
The
Early Years
That history
started in 1790, when the United States Congress, under the direction of
Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, established the
Revenue Cutter Service and gave it the specific task of collecting the
customs and tonnage duties that were sorely needed by the new nation.
Congress also authorized 10 cutters, each to be manned by an "Officer
of Customs" and a crew of not more than 15 personnel in operations
along the Atlantic seaboard. In 1797, the Congress further strengthened
the military character of the Revenue Cutter Service by assigning it the
responsibility of defending the nation's sea coasts and countering any
hostility to U.S. vessels and/or commerce. In 1799 the Congress formally
made the Revenue Cutter Service a military organization by statute and
provided that the Service would, in time of war--or whenever else the
president might direct--cooperate with the U.S. Navy, which itself had
been reestablished one year earlier. Within its first 10 years, therefore,
the organization that was to become the United States Coast Guard was
created for maritime purposes and as a military organization. The U.S.
Coast Guard retains those two key characteristics today. It is a military
and maritime force in all respects.
The multimission
character of the service developed quickly. In 1807 the first lifesaving
station was established in Cohasset, Mass., and 1818 saw the building of
the first lighthouse on the Great Lakes. Manning and maintaining both
types of facilities would later become major responsibilities of the Coast
Guard.
The Service
fought, and fought gallantly, in the War of 1812. One encounter
underscores the zeal and fortitude with which the Revenue Cutter Service
defended the United States. On 12 June 1813, Stephen Evans reports in his
The United States Coast Guard, 17901915, the cutter Surveyor was
anchored in New York harbor. Manned by only 15 men, she was attacked by a
boarding party of 50 Englishmen from the frigate Narcissus. Outnumbered
and surrounded, the cutter's crew defended their deck foot by foot until
it was clear to her commanding officer that further resistance would
result in useless loss of life. Only then did he surrender. In the brief
and bloody battle five cutter men and seven British were wounded, and
three British were killed. The following day, the captain of the Narcissus
sent a note expressing his admiration for the gallantry with which the
American crew had defended the Surveyor. In short, the spirit and
dedication of the Coast Guard was established very early, and set a
standard that endures to the present.
A
Proliferation of Missions
By the 1850s
there were several additional responsibilities that would later be
assigned to the Coast Guard: enforcement of the Neutrality Laws of 1818,
for example, the suppression of piracy on the high seas, the protection of
timber reserves in Florida, and the suppression of the slave trade. The
creation of the Steamboat Service within the Department of Justice, the
formal assignment of the Revenue Cutters to search and rescue, the
establishment of the Bureau of Navigation within the Treasury, and the
establishment of the Revenue Marine Bureau within the Treasury Department
added other duties. In addition, the revenue cutters were formally
assigned to the search-and-rescue (SAR) mission, and the Bureau of
Navigation and the Revenue Marine Bureau both were established within the
Treasury Department.
During the
several intervening decades before the Coast Guard was formally
established under that name in 1915, the various agencies that would later
merge into it acquired numerous additional maritime responsibilities: the
building and operation of additional lifesaving stations, the enforcement
of immigration laws, and law enforcement in the newly acquired territory
of Alaska. A School of Instruction was established in 1877 for the
training of cadets, the Life Saving Service became part of the Treasury
Department, navigation and anchorage requirements were introduced, and the
Collectors of Customs were integrated into the Revenue Cutter Service. The
protection of fisheries in federal waters and the enforcement of motor
boat regulations became yet additional missions. The Bering Sea Patrol was
created to protect endangered fur seals. Finally, the International Ice
Patrol was created after the tragic loss of the Titanic in 1912.
In short, by 1915
the "new" Service already had assumed responsibility for the
management and protection of virtually all waters bordering the United
States. The Coast Guard's multi-mission character was thus firmly
established.
Since 1915, the
Service's maritime responsibilities have continued to grow and expand.
Responsibility for detecting against coastal pollution was added as early
as 1924, and was significantly expanded later (in 1990). Icebreaking was
another duty assigned to the Coast Guard. All maritime navigation
facilities and systems, from lighthouses to LORAN (long-range aid to
navigation), also became USCG responsibilities. The Coast Guard Auxiliary,
a voluntary nonmilitary organization created to promote boating safety,
was established in 1939; the Coast Guard Reserve was created only two
years later. During World War II the Coast Guard reported to the U.S.
Navy, and distinguished itself on virtually every combat front.
Statements
Clear and True
After the war the
Coast Guard once more came under the Treasury Department. In January 1948
Congress mandated the first detailed and independent study of the roles
and missions of the Coast Guard. That study was completed over 50 years
ago, but provides a worthwhile perspective on the current review of the
Coast Guard's roles and missions. The purpose of the independent study
established by Public Law No. 299 of the 80th Congress was simply stated
as: "Review the functions, policies, operations, and procedures of
the Coast Guard, promoting efficiency and cost savings." The scope of
work included a detailed analysis of operations carried out at Coast Guard
Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at representative field units--with
an emphasis on diverse locations, types of units, and the operations of
each. The study's "Conclusions and Recommendations," presented
in three clear statements, are as true today as they were 50 years ago:
- Historically,
the Coast Guard is a changing, not a static, organization;
- All of the
duties/functions performed by the Coast Guard are in the public's
interest; and
- No evidence
was found that any other Federal Government agency could perform these
functions at lower cost or with greater efficiency.
The 1948 study
also found that the most significant problems faced by the Coast Guard
were not of its own making, but were the product of Congressional activity
(or the lack of it). Discussing "principal problems," the study
stated that "Under current required budgetary and appropriations
procedures, the Coast Guard is operating on a type of budget which permits
only short-range operational planning with little or no opportunity to
achieve the efficiency possible with long-range planning.
"The
development of a base operating plan and program, with activities and
costs segregated along functional lines, as specified and recommended in
this report, should materially increase the efficiency of the Coast
Guard."
Today's
Coast Guard
How much
haschanged in the last 50 years? In some respects, very little. The Coast
Guard is still a military organization, involved on every maritime front
throughout the world, and is still the nation's multimission service.
Perhaps some examples of today's Coast Guard will serve to show the
significant variety of its current missions.
The
high-endurance cutter Midgett is stationed in Seattle, Wash., and normally
cruises the Alaskan coast in support of international fisheries
regulations. However, Midgett left Seattle on 18 June 1999 and sailed
8,500 miles in 28 days to Pusan, South Korea, as part of the USS Peleliu
Amphibious Ready Group for operations enroute to the Arabian Gulf. In
early 1999, Midgett became a permanent unit of the USS Constellation
Carrier Battle Group, under the command of Cruiser Destroyer Group
One--the first time since World War II that a Coast Guard cutter has been
so assigned.
The Midgett and
her crew bring unique capabilities to a U.S. Navy Battle Group, including
the skills required for boarding and inspecting vessels for safety and
contraband. Of course, rescue in all of its aspects is another skill
currently being passed on to Navy crews by the Midgett crew. As Capt. Paul
D. Luppert, commanding officer of the Midgett, said, "This is a
chance for the Coast Guard to demonstrate our commitment and showcase our
ability as part of a national asset. We bring a practical side to the
Battle Group with our traditional ability of boarding ships."
Unfortunately,
having to deploy for extended periods has produced certain difficulties
for this aged cutter. The Midgett was designed for much shorter
deployments, and to operate at considerably slower cruising speeds than
the Battle Group's usual 20 knots. The higher speed has necessitated
running the turbines constantly, and these ancient 707 aircraft engines
are simply too old and tired for such stress--and there are numerous
unexpected breakdowns as a result. The Midgett's crew has always found a
way to get the turbines running again, and the cutter always met her
commitments.
Maintaining
enough fuel and food has been another issue. Because of her limited
carrying capacity the Midgett has needed to take on new supplies, and to
refuel under way, every few days, a complex operation not frequently
practiced by Coast Guard cutters. In spite of the difficulties, the
Midgett and her dedicated crew have performed very well as part of this
Navy team.
On every front
today, the Coast Guard is hard at work on a staggering number, and
variety, of missions. For example, Coast Guard C-130 long-range patrol
aircraft are currently patrolling vast areas of the Pacific Ocean for
illegal drift-net fishing. Coast Guard motor lifeboats are saving lives
and protecting property at the entrance to the Columbia River at Cape
Disappointment. USCG drug-interdiction teams operating out of remote
locations in the Caribbean basin are flying HH-60J Jayhawks and HU-25
Falcon aircraft to disrupt the smuggling of drugs into the United States.
Coast Guard marine inspectors board foreign-flag vessels, before they
enter U.S. waters, to ensure their operational safety. Coast Guard
Reservists man small boats and communications sites around and along the
nation's coasts. Coast Guard MH-90 helicopters are now armed, and have
proved very successful in stopping the latest tool of the drug
smugglers--the go-fast boat. (The go-fasts are usually open fiberglass
boats, 30 to 45 feet long, equipped with high-powered outboard motors and
capable of carrying a ton of narcotics at speeds in excess of 50 knots;
the helicopters, which work in teams of two with Coast Guard cutters, use
their weapons--after receiving proper authorization--to warn, and then
disable, the go-fast boats by destroying their engines.)
In other words,
the Coast Guard of today is performing all of the numerous missions that
the Service has been assigned over the last two centuries, albeit with a
few new tools.
Defining
"the Core Business"
Often overlooked
in any discussion of the Coast Guard is its unique ability to perform so
many different functions so efficiently. The president of any private
company would be staggered by the task of incorporating into his or her
business the diverse activities that the Coast Guard undertakes on a daily
basis, particularly those that are not part of "the core
business" that defines the company. The question therefore arises:
What is the Coast Guard's core business, and how does one define it in
simple terms?
One perhaps
surprising answer that has been suggested is that the Coast Guard is the
nation's "Maritime Primary Care Organization"--because it is a
maritime agency, and is usually the first agency to be called on to deal
with the vast and sometimes bewildering diversity of maritime issues
facing the United States.
The analogy is
not all that far-fetched. The Coast Guard installs and maintains the more
than 50,000 aids to navigation around the United States, but when a
mariner chooses the rocks rather than the channel the Coast Guard is
called out to save both his life and his property. The Coast Guard
promulgates numerous regulations for the safe design of vessels, the
licensing of commercial mariners, and the protection of all of the
nation's natural maritime resources--but when an oil spill occurs the
Coast Guard is almost always the first federal agency on the scene, as
well as the last to leave.
The Coast Guard
also is tasked to patrol millions of square miles of open ocean to prevent
illegal drift-net fishing--and when an infraction is discovered, it is the
agency that responds. The Coast Guard also is always ready to respond in
the event of a national disaster, such as Hurricane Floyd.
The Coast Guard's
multiplicity of missions poses problems for analysts, particularly those
seeking to measure the Service's cost-effectiveness.
One study
determined that the Coast Guard returns $4 in benefits to the taxpayers
for every $1 in Coast Guard appropriations. But, as positive as the 41
ratio is, it encompasses only a small seg-ment of the Coast Guard's
operations--specifically, the Coast Guard's search-and-rescue activities.
The 41 ratio was developed by comparing the value of the lives and
property saved to the total operational expenses of the Coast Guard,
averaged over five years. But it does not consider the value of the Coast
Guard's drug-interdiction operations, which last year stopped well over
111,000 pounds of cocaine from entering the United States. It does not
consider the value of LORAN or differential GPS (Global Positioning
System) to navigators (on land and in the air, as well as at sea). It does
not consider the benefits generated from the regulation and licensing of
mariners, and the inspection of both U.S. and foreign-flag vessels
entering and leaving U.S. ports. Nor does it consider the military value
of the Coast Guard to the nation, or the value of those over 50,000 aids
to navigation set and maintained by the Coast Guard, or the dollar value
of the Coast Guard's domestic icebreaking on the Great Lakes and along the
nation's rivers and in U.S. ports and harbors.
The conclusion of
the 1948 study was that, "All of the duties/functions performed by
the Coast Guard are in the public's interest." That statement remains
valid and makes it clear that the value of the United States Coast Guard
is quite possibly incalculable, at least in dollars. It may be
appropriate, therefore, to add to the current definition of the Coast
Guard--"Maritime, Military and Multimission"--a few additional
words: "No one does it better, and no one does it for less."
Next article: The
U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine: A Century in Review
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