US Naval Institute has a report on a panel discussion on the Arctic held as part of the annual Sea-Air-Space Symposium. Read it here.

DefenseNews has a report on Vice Commandant Adm. Charles D. Michel’s remarks at the Sea-Air-Space symposium. Read it here. 

The US Naval Institute is again having its annual Coast Guard Essay Contest. I would have provided a link to the USNI page about the 2018 contest, but there does not seem to be one (I keep getting 2017 contest info), so I am repeating information from my print copy of Proceedings below.

The Challenge: Advance new thinking about the U.S. Coast Guard’s critical role in the 21st century. No issue is too big or too narrow as long as it makes the Coast Guard stronger. This does not mean author’s cannot be critical and take on conventional wisdom and current practices. In fact, we encourage you push the “dare factor.”

The Reward:

—$5,000 First Prize

—$2,500 Second Prize

—$1,500 Third Prize

Eligibility + Submission: Open to all contributors–active-duty military, reservists, veterans, and civilians.

Deadline: 30 June 2018

Email to: essay@usni.org with “Coast Guard Essay Contest” in subject line

Include: Word count on the title page. Provide bio and contact information in separate attachment.

Winners will be announced in July and published in a future issue of Proceedings.

Word Length: 2,500 words maximum, excluding notes and sources.

If you are interested you might want to take a look at the advice offered here: “Writing for the National Security Audience–From the Heart”

I’m just passing this along. Its copied from an e-mail I received as a Surface Navy Association member. The point of contact is Bill Erickson, CAPT, USN(Ret), Executive Director, Surface Navy Association, (703) 960-6800. Would have been nice if the National Cuttermen Association Chapter, Surface Navy Association website had mentioned this.

The 6th Annual Maritime Security 2018 East, to be held 2-4 April 2018 in Norfolk, Virginia, is the sixth installment in the Maritime Security East program series.  As the twenty-fourth maritime security conference hosted by Homeland Security Outlook since 2011, Maritime Security 2018 East furthers a commitment to address the needs of governments, law enforcement, and critical infrastructure to counter the challenges of securing coastlines, inland waterways, and their critical infrastructure.

The Surface Navy Association is proud to be a lead sponsor for this event and will be hosting the luncheon on 4 April 2018. 

Further information along with registration information for the event can be found at http://www.maritimesecurityeast.com/  and luncheon information can be found on SNA’s homepage at http://navysna.org. This event is a great way to learn about port security in the Hampton Roads area for a very reasonable cost. 

Just passing this along for the benefit of those who would not have had an opportunity to see the ALCOAST. Thanks to Vince Patton for posting on his Facebook page.

R 280741 MAR 18
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-092//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS//N05700//
ALCOAST 110/18
COMDTNOTE 5700
SUBJ:  CAMPAIGN TO HONOR VIETNAM VETERANS IN 2018-2019
1. Thursday, March 29th, is the second annual National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
This day marks the commencement of the U.S. Coast Guard’s campaign to honor
Vietnam Veterans over the next year. All Coast Guard active, reserve, and
auxiliary members are encouraged to participate in the U.S. Coast Guard’s
12 x 12 Campaign: 12 units, 12 months, honoring at least 1,200 Veterans this year.
2. The President signed the National Vietnam War Veterans Day Act on March 29, 2017,
calling on the nation to observe every March 29th as National Vietnam War Veterans
Day, in honor of those who served and sacrificed during the longest conflict in
United States history. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs the United
States loses an estimated 500 Vietnam veterans every day, many passing away before
they receive the thank you and homecoming they so rightly deserve. Coast Guard
units can collaborate with their communities, colleagues, families and veterans
groups to plan and host dignified events to present the lapel pins to as many
Vietnam veterans as possible, and recognize the selfless service of this
remarkable generation of patriots.
3. The Coast Guard has partnered with the Vietnam War Commemoration Program
to observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, and to thank and honor
veterans of the conflict for their service and sacrifice. The Vietnam War
Commemoration Program was established to recognize all veterans who served
November 1955 to May 1975, regardless of location. All veterans from that
twenty year era are eligible and should be recognized; service in the country
of Vietnam is not a requirement.
4. To host an event contact LT Emily Brockway at: Emily.H.Brockway@uscg.mil
or (202) 372-4641. View the Coast Guard Vietnam Commemoration web page at: 
http://www.history.uscg.mil/Commemorations/Vietnam/.
5. The 12 x 12 Campaign poster is available at https://go.usa.gov/xQc3d.
6. RADM Peter Gautier, Director of Governmental and Public Affairs, sends.
7. Internet release authorized. 

Compact XM18, above left, and the full-size XM17, lower right. (Army Photo)

We now have an indication that the Coast Guard may be following the Army and Marine Corps in replacing the M9, 9mm, made by Beretta USA. with the Sig Sauer Modular Handgun System.

“The U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Coast Guard all have orders that will be fielded starting later this year and early next year.”

Unit cost is $180. We do not yet really know if this is a move to replace all the Coast Guard’s hand guns or only those for select units, but there may be reason to believe it will be a wholesale replacement. .

The Army’s 10-year MHS agreement calls for Sig Sauer to supply the service with full-size XM17 and compact XM18 versions of its 9mm pistol. The striker-fired pistols can be outfitted with suppressors and accommodate standard and extended-capacity magazines. There is also an accessory rail for mounting accessories such as weapon lights.

U.S. Navy	U.S. Marine Corps	U.S. Coast Guard	U.S.-flag Merchant Marine

Just a reminder of the upcoming Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition 2018, scheduled for April 9-11 at the Gaylord National Convention Center, National Harbor, MD.

USCGC Alert (WMEC-630), newest of the remaining 14 ships of its class.

The USCGC ALERT (WMEC-630), one of 14 remaining 210 foot cutters had what must have been a very frustrating cruise. The Navy League’s on-line magazine reports,

“The crew departed Astoria Feb. 5 to conduct a counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific when the ship suffered more than 35 equipment casualties within the first 19 days of their patrol, including malfunctions in the ship’s radar, propulsion and fuel systems.

“The ship’s main diesel engine also suffered a crankcase explosion, resulting from a seized bearing on an oil pump, which caused a week-long delay in Panama while the crew inspected the engine. Following the inspection, a decision was made to end the patrol.”

The ship has returned to its homeport, March 16. 39 days away from homeport and nothing to show for it.

As disappointing as this may have been, I applaud the fact that the Coast Guard is making public the difficulties of operating units well past their “best if used by” date. Otherwise everyone just assumes everything is alright. Everything is not alright.

HMNZS Wellington intercepts suspected toothfish poachers

An interesting report that seems to indicate the Chinese are doing something to curb Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated (IUU) Fishing.

I would note that cutting subsidies does not seem to be a severe penalty, while subsidized fisheries in any form appear to be an unfair trade practice.

We also have this report on the effect of IUU fishing in the Caribbean.

Coast Guard Cutter John F. McCormick (WPC 1121)

JuneauEmpire.com has news of something a bit unusual happening in Juneau, a Navy/Coast Guard mine countermeasures exercise.

Doing mine countermeasures in Alaska is not easy for the US Navy because basically, the only navy in Alaska is the US Coast Guard.

There are basically three kinds of mine countermeasures done by USN,

• airborne with a helicopter pulling a sled,
• ship based, increasingly done by surface and subsurface unmanned systems as a way to keep sailors out the minefields,
• and by divers.

Formerly the mine countermeasures ships were highly specialized, but they are now moving to using LCSs which are based in either Mayport, FL or San Diego, CA. In either case it would take a long time for them to get to Alaska.

The Helicopters, divers, and unmanned systems can be flown there, but they will need support including work space, communications, and ground and water transportation. The divers and unmanned systems will require supporting craft unless the mining is done very close to shore. The less they have to bring the better. That is apparently where the Coast Guard comes in.

It sounds like this is all preliminary to a more complex exercise in 2020.

“…Juneau could be a location of drills in 2020. Along with Anchorage, Kodiak and Seward, Juneau is an option for having an exercise in the water where Coast Guard and Navy personnel have to go in and figure out how to remove mines…”

One of the activities was touring the Webber class John F. McCormick (WPC-1121). Presumably the WPC was brought up from its homeport, Ketchikan, specifically for this purpose. Perhaps they are already familiar with Coast Guard’s buoy tenders, but they could also be very useful in supporting diver and unmanned systems operations.

As for where the 2020 exercise should be done–Cook Inlet–since Anchorage is the only strategic port in Alaska. Exercise results would also probably be more universally applicable if it is done away from the facilities of the District headquarters in Juneau, which are not available elsewhere in Alaska..