Stumbled across the video above. It is extremely well done. It is very insightful including some good graphics.

Obviously the crew members were loving what they were doing. Looked like they were having fun and were proud of what they were doing.

The video would make a good intro for any future RB-M crew members. It could also be a recruiting video.

We could do worse than have this guy create a series of 30 minute TV programs just going around from station to station talking about the equipment and to the crew members about what they do. It would have the same kind of appeal as the very successful low budget program “Dirty Jobs.”

The amazing maneuverability also made me want to see jet drives on our bigger vessels.

 

Uniformed Services University News reports,

In a historic milestone, USU graduated its first U.S. Coast Guard-sponsored medical student. Ensign Elise Bobczynski was commissioned as a physician into the Coast Guard by Rear Adm. Paul Jung, the Coast Guard’s Chief Medical Officer. Her graduation marked a significant step in the Service’s effort to expand its organic medical capabilities and address the growing need for uniformed physicians.

This is great, that the Coast Guard should have its own commissioned full time Coast Guard doctors rather than relying on Public Health Service, doctors on loan from other services, or contracted civilians.

I have a personal interest in this in that my daughter also graduated from the Uniformed Services University, became a Navy flight surgeon, served two tours in Iraq with a Marine helicopter squadron doing casualty evacuation. Uniformed Services University is a great opportunity.

I have to thank “librarydoc” for bringing this to my attention. He (or she) referenced the link in a comment on an earlier post, but it was stuck in the moderation queue and I did not recognize it until today, sorry it took so long.

Naval News reports,

“French shipbuilder OCEA signed a contract for the construction and basing support of 40 fast patrol boats for the Philippine Coast Guard on Thursday, marking the largest investment by Paris into Manila’s maritime security efforts to date.

“These fast patrol craft will be based on OCEA’s FPB 110 MKII design, which comes in at 35 meters long and weighs 110 tons. The vessels are more capable than the existing four OCEA FPB 72s in service, which are used for littoral patrol and rarely operate into the South China Sea. According to company infographics, the FPB can reach speeds up to 28-35 knots. The vessels can also operate out to 700 nautical miles at 12 knots. OCEA claims that the vessels can conduct missions relating to territorial and deep sea surveillance operations, control of vessels at sea, and “sovereignty.” It should be noted that while there is a space for a deck gun, this is not depicted in 3D graphics of the vessels.”

These will be a bit larger than the Island class WPBs at about 115 feet and will have an Aluminum hull providing greater fuel economy.

That they would have no permanently installed gun mount should not be a surprise since no Philippine Coast Guard vessels have any weapon larger than a .50 caliber machine gun.

The illustration above suggests that the Philippine OCEA’s FPB 110 will have a single arm davit for a launching their RHIB on the port side.

This contract was not unexpected, but the boats are large than originally expected “Philippine Coast Guard to Receive 40 Patrol Boats from France in $438 Million ODA Project” –USNI

OCEA is an experienced patrol boat builder. Some previous projects:

• “OCEA Launched Largest Aluminum OPV in the World for Philippine Coast Guard” –Naval News
• “Two OCEA FPB 72 MKII Delivered to the Philippine Coast Guard” –NavyRecognition
• “French Customs order OCEA FPB 100 MKII patrol boats” –Naval News
• Ukraine’s new FPB 98 MKI boats pass Istanbul Strait onboard Cargo Vessel
• Ocean Dispatches Two More FPB Mk1s For Ukraine

May 27

1796  Congress passed “An Act relative to Quarantine” and assigned “officers. . .[of the] revenue cutters, to aid in the execution of quarantine, and also in the execution of the health laws of the states.” This Act was repealed with the 1799 Act (1 Stat. L., 619).

1919  The U.S. Navy’s flying boat NC-4, piloted by First Lieutenant Elmer F. Stone, USCG, landed in the Tagus River estuary near Lisbon, Portugal on May 27, 1919, thereby completing the first successful trans-Atlantic flight.  Stone was decorated that same day by the Portuguese government with the Order of the Tower and Sword.

1936  Public Law 622 reorganized and changed the name of the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection Service to Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (49 Stat. L., 1380).  The Bureau remained under Commerce Department control.

1943  Douglas Munro’s posthumous Medal of Honor was given to Douglas Munro’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Munro of South Cle Elum, Washington, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, May 27, 1943.  The citation read: “Awarded posthumously to DOUGLAS ALBERT MUNRO, SIGNALMAN FIRST CLASS, U.S. COAST GUARD ‘For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as Office-in-Charge of a group of Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a Battalion of Marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on September 27, 1942.  After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered Marines, Munro, under constant risk of his life, daringly led five of his small craft toward the shore.   As he closed the beach, he [signaled] the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy’s fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its two small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese.   When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was killed by enemy fire, but his crew, two of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach.  By his outstanding leadership, expert planning, and dauntless devotion to duty, he and his courageous comrades undoubtedly saved the lives of many who otherwise would have perished.  He gallantly gave up his life in defense of his country.'”

1954  The aircraft carrier USS Bennington (CV-20), with about 2,000 persons aboard, suffered an explosion and fire 35 miles south of Brenton Reef Lightship, injuring some 100 persons.  U.S. Coast Guard aircraft from Salem Air Station and Quonset Point proceeded to the scene, assisted in transporting medical personnel to Bennington and provided air cover for all helicopter operations.  One of the Coast Guard’s helicopters made seven landings aboard the aircraft carrier and transported 18 injured to the hospital; another transported 14 injured.

1965  Coast Guard Squadron One was commissioned for service with Operation Market Time in Vietnam.

1996  While on leave, Coast Guardsman Kevin S. DeGroot rescued 12 people who had been thrown into the water when their boat capsized.  For his “extreme and heroic daring” that day, he was awarded the Gold Life-Saving Medal.

Date of Award: January 24, 1997

For extreme and heroic daring on 27 May 1996, when a 17-foot pleasure boat capsized, throwing 12 people into the violently surging waters of Pensacola Bay, Florida.  Petty Officer DeGroot was on leave, sightseeing in downtown Pensacola, when he was alerted to the overturned vessel with people in the water, directly off the seawall.  He immediately ran to the scene and joined others in pulling the victims out of the choppy water.  Alerted to the possibility of three children trapped under the boat, Petty Officer DeGroot jumped into the 6-foot swells, swam to the overturned vessel, and repeatedly dove under the boat as it pounded against the seawall, searching for the missing children.  On his fourth dive Petty Officer DeGroot located a 5-year-old girl, unconscious and tangled in the boat’s lines.  He fought to free her enough to bring her from under the capsized vessel.  Once again treading the rough water at the surface, he struggled to keep her head above the swells while he disentangled her from the lines around her legs.  Petty Officer DeGroot swam with the unconscious girl to rescuers waiting to assist on the seawall.  Climbing hand-over-hand up a lowered set of automotive jumper cables, Petty Officer DeGroot raised the young girl to the point where a hopeful rescue team could pull her to the top of the wall.  A waiting paramedic was able to successfully resuscitate the young victim after she had been underwater for at least 15 minutes.  Although suffering from extreme exhaustion, Petty Officer DeGroot remained in the water to attach a towline to the drifting boat and retrieved a life preserver for another victim struggling to stay afloat until rescued.  Petty Officer DeGroot’s determined efforts, outstanding initiative and fortitude during this rescue resulted in the saving of one life.  His unselfish actions and valiant service, despite imminent personal danger, reflect great credit upon himself and are in keeping with the highest traditions of humanitarian service.

2008  CGC Dallas departed Charleston, South Carolina for a planned 4-1/2 month deployment to conduct maritime safety and security exchanges with countries along the central and west coasts of Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea.  It was an historic voyage that included delivering relief supplies to Georgia after that country was attacked by Russia in “Operation Assured Delivery (she was the second U.S. military ship to deliver relief supplies to Georgia) and a port visit to Sevastopol, Ukraine.

May 26

1906  Congress passed an act to regulate enlistments and punishments in Revenue Cutter Service was passed.

1924  Congress passed the “Immigration Act of 1924,” (Pub. L. 68-139; 43 Stat. 153) that limited the number of immigrants annually who could be admitted to the U.S. to two percent of the number of people from that country who were already living in the U.S. in 1890.  This was a one percent reduction from the three percent limit established by Congress in 1921.

1988  Admiral Paul Yost, Commandant, explained the new “Zero Tolerance” initiative to Congress’s Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Navigation.  Yost noted: “The Coast Guard Zero Tolerance policy is that, subject to statutory and jurisdictional limitations, individuals possessing measurable quantities of controlled substances aboard vessels will be subject to the full extent of available criminal and civil sanctions…Zero Tolerance means that the Coast Guard, in the course of its regular patrols, boardings and inspections, will now, within the limits of the law, seize vessels and arrest individuals when ‘personal use’ quantities of illegal drugs are discovered.”

1995  The Secretary of Transportation authorized the involuntary recall of 300 reservists to assist in the relief efforts in the Midwest after the Missouri and Mississippi rivers flooded.  However, only 143 were called to duty.  (See the May 2, 1995 entry.)

Text below the line is quoted from MyCG. I hesitate to call it a news release, but I don’t think anyone will object to my passing it along.

The phase I see applied to the Coast Guard in discussions of Force Design 2028 is “Fighting Force.” 

• “A More Agile, Capable, Responsive Fighting Force”
• “You are the finest fighting force,”
• “Force Design leaders emphasized the need to transform the Coast Guard into a stronger, more ready, and more reliable fighting force.”

Perhaps missile systems (or even torpedoes) will no longer be anathema to the Coast Guard.

I have long felt the Coast Guard is not currently properly armed to carry out its peacetime counter terrorism duties, much less its military readiness function. Hopefully we will see some movement in that direction along with mobilization planning that will assign the Coast Guard specific wartime missions and that would allow Coast Guard Units to host Navy Reserve equipment (like helicopters) and personnel upon mobilization for a large scale conflict.

Also discussed is growing the Coast Guard by 15,000 members. It is not yet clear if those will be regulars, reserves, civilians, or auxiliary.

No indication yet which programs will be deemed “non-essential or obsolete.”

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