Here is a bit more information about how the Mumbai terrorist attack developed, provided by UK based Warship magazine. That the boat carrying the terrorists was boarded and the boarding officers captured and killed without alerting the authorities should reaffirm the importance of supporting and keeping track of our people. Hopefully this would not have happened to a USCG team.
There have been some interesting developments in the suppression of piracy off Somalia.
China has been remarkably active, and successful, and now they are following the example of the Dutch in sending a well deck equipped amphibious warfare ship (an LPD, in fact the largest surface combatant in their Navy), along with a strong aviation contingent as part of their seventh deployment to the area. In the well deck of the LPD are two boats that look to be comparable in capability to our Long Range Interceptors.
The Dutch are sending a submarine that is recognized as being especially adept at intelligence gathering.
The US is sending a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) that has been specially trained to deal with pirates.
If you are interested in the new National Security Cutter and you haven’t already seen the virtual tour (it has been out for a while), you may find it interesting. There are lots of options for navigating the site and a ship’s diagram to keep you oriented as to where you are.
Here is a news report that Indonesia is going to establish a Coast Guard. This is more evidence that the importance of an independent Coast Guard is being recognized. Interesting that Japan as well as the US are sited as being willing to help set up the new service. Japan’s Coast Guard of course, traces its roots back to our own, when the occupation forces under MacArthur were reshaping Japanese institutions. Clearly the Japanese have a vested interest in the security of Maritime commerce through the Straits of Malacca, but I had not previously heard of them offering security assistance and training. On the other hand, during WWII, then Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, was about the only place where Japan’s vision of a “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” actually seemed to be cooperative.
Here is an interesting article discussing how the Iranians are using shell corporations and changes of name and ownership to disguise their control of ships being used to circumvent sanctions. This would seem to have important implications for any attempt to maintain Maritime Domain Awareness, and identify potentially hostile ships attempting to enter US ports. As we attempt to do this, let’s make sure it is more effective than the TSA’s “no fly list.”
Thought some of you might be interested in another view of our actions.
Here is an interesting development with possible Coast Guard implications:
“The company (Northrop Grumman) has received a $517 million Army contract to build up to three of the huge military airships, called the Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicles (LEMV). Such airships would serve as surveillance stations at 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) above sea level and could stay on watch for as long as three weeks at a time.”
On June 3, ABC News accused the Coast Guard of acting in collusion with BP to minimize the estimate of oil being discharged from the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon. I learned about the report from a blog I visit regularly.
While there is much to talk about regarding ABC’s report, including how statements were taken out of context, whether initial estimates of the discharge rate would have any effect on the fines ultimately levied against BP; whether the inaccuracy of those estimates had in any way reduced the urgency of our response, whether this was about a cover up or simply a media outlet sulking because they were not given access to the best available video.
The thing I found truly gratifying was the view of the blogger and of those who commented on the blog. They trusted the Coast Guard because we had been honest in the past, even, and especially when, it wasn’t pretty.
“I am having a seriously hard time believing that the US Coast Guard, which was at the time under the command of Admiral Thad Allen, was the responsible party withholding this information from the public for BP.”…..”US Admirals, Navy or Coast Guard, don’t put companies before citizens during crisis and emergencies – which is what ABC is basically trying to imply with this reporting.”
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When the new Bernard C. Webber class Fast Response Cutters are commissioned, I hope we will use the traditional designation for this type, “WPC” rather than “WFRC.” The “PC” type designation is widely recognized. Using “WFRC” would have people outside the CG (and probably more than one inside) scratching their heads.
There is a long history of WPCs in the Coast Guard. Currently we have the three WPCs of the Cyclone Class that were originally built for the Navy, that are virtually the same displacement as the Webber class. More importantly, before that, we had the 33 units of the 125 ft Active class, and the 17 units of the 165 ft Thetis Class like the Icarus and Triton, that were also the same size as the Webber Class.
PCs are typically a bit larger than PBs, making them clearly distinct from the 87 ft WPBs and the 110s WPBs that will remain in the fleet until replaced.
It may seem trivial, but this is about both a historical link to successful cutters of the past and the integrity of a designation system that goes back almost 100 years.
A nice tribute to Admiral Allen over at the “Information Dissemination” web site. The author goes so far as to refer to him as “the most influential Admiral of the early 21st century in the United States.”
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 