Axolotl. A type of Salamander that may retain gills
Photo credit: LoKiLeCh

I am scheduled to be the guest on the “Midrats” podcast this Sunday. This is where you will find the Podcast.

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/midrats/2019/10/06/episode-509-larger-navy-how-about-better-uscg-instead

For those of you unfamiliar with the blog, here is the description:

Navy Milbloggers Sal from “CDR Salamander” and EagleOne from “EagleSpeak” discuss leading issues and developments for the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and related national security issues.

Sal, also has this tongue in cheek description of his blog, so you have a hint what he is like.

Proactively “From the Sea”; an agent of change leveraging the littoral best practices for a paradigm breaking six-sigma best business case to synergize a consistent design in the global commons, rightsizing the core values supporting our mission statement via the 5-vector model through cultural diversity.

Let’s just say, he finds buzzwords less than useful.

It will be broadcast live from 5 to 6 PM Eastern, 2 to 3 Pacific, Sunday, Oct. 6. If you sign in, you can make comments that the host can choose to respond to. It will also be available in recorded form on iTunes.

This will be a Coast Guard centric episode. “Cdr. Salamander” saw the “Navy, this is Coast Guard, we need to talk” post and mentioned it on his blog.

We will probably start with that, but discussion will not be limited to that.

Look, I know you are in trouble. As much as we might kid each other, when it is time to fight, I’m your best friend, and I want to help. But you seem in denial, or maybe you are just up to your ass in alligators, and too preoccupied to think about how I might help. 

Numbers of ships is way down. You don’t even have enough escorts to protect the highest priority merchant shipping. You have had trouble bringing new classes on line. You are having trouble keeping the ships you have properly maintained, and you are having trouble manning the ships you have. Our shipbuilding industry has lost the ability to surge production of complex vessels. We don’t have enough trained mariners to man the shipping needed for a prolonged conflict. 

It hasn’t mattered much since there has not been much competition, but that is changing. 

The Chinese Navy is adding ships faster than you are. Their ships are starting to look very impressive. They have a robust ship building industry, and huge merchant marine and fishing fleets to backstop their Navy. They even have more Coast Guard ships than we do. 

It that were not enough, the Russian Navy is rebuilding, although they are a long way from as capable as the old Soviet Navy, but, worst case, we might have to fight them both, along with some minor hangers-on who have their own scores to settle. 

Meanwhile most of our allies, who may or may not help, have been coasting, letting their capabilities decline.

I know you are trying to fix this, but maybe I can help at least a little bit, if you will tell me what we can do.  

——

USCGC Mellon seen here launching a Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile in 1990.

The Coast Guard used to be an armed naval force prepared for war. We came out of World War II with an ASW mission, and while our assets got older, the mission continued. In the late 80s we cut the number of ASW assets, but modernized the best of our ships, upgrading their ASW equipment and adding anti-ship cruise missiles.

Then, we all got a break. The Soviet Union collapsed and the need for ASW escorts pretty much disappeared. The Navy downsized and the Coast Guard removed all ASW equipment and the anti-ship missile.

We had almost 30 years without a major naval threat, but it looks like that is changing.

The US Coast Guard is the US Navy’s closest ally, but it seems there is little coordination between the two in defining Coast Guard roles in a major conflict. We certainly don’t see any evidence in the way the cutters are currently being equipped.

In terms of personnel, the Coast Guard is larger than the UK’s Royal Navy or the French Navy. The new cutters are comparable in many respects to frigates or corvettes. Looks like we are going to have 64 Webber class patrol craft similar in capabilities to the Navy’s Cyclone class. Plus we have over 200 aircraft.

A U.S. Coast Guard C-130 participates in forward arming and refueling point (FARP) operations during Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise (AECE) in Adak, Alaska on Sept. 18, 2019. US Marine Corps Photo

Being combat ready is one of the Coast Guard’s eleven missions, but obviously we are not.

Though there has been some thought regarding the use of Coast Guard assets for limited wars in the tradition of their use in Vietnam and the Gulf Wars, consideration of the possibility of a larger conflict is nowhere evident in the way these assets are currently equipped. They may not even be adequately armed to deal with the full range of terrorist threats.

Upgrading the Bertholf class NSCs and the Offshore Patrol Cutters could add up to 36 light frigates to the national fleet. The Navy would need to provide some additional equipment, but that cost would be far less than the cost of adding similar ships to the Navy, and the difference in operating costs between ships with or without the upgrades is very small.

The Bertholf class National Security Cutters and the Offshore Patrol Cutters share systems with the Littoral Combat ships and the planned FFG(X). Exploitation of some of the additional systems developed for the LCS should be possible. Huntington Ingalls has already done basic design work on upgrades to the National Security Cutter class as part of a marketing effort.

There are opportunities for synergy between the Coast Guard and the Navy reserve such as flying Navy ASW helicopters from Coast Guard ships.

The first of the Offshore Patrol Cutters has yet to be completed. Significant upgrades should be possible. The program is just getting started with the first of a projected 25 expected to be delivered in 2021. It may be possible to develop a more capable, better armed “B”class.

OPC “Placemat”

Potential Missions: 

• Upgraded NSCs and OPCs could escort priority shipping from the US coasts to the theater of operations. They may not be ideal, but they are ships we will have.
• They and the Webber class supported by Coast Guard aviation assets could sweep the seas of hostile merchant shipping and fishing vessels that might be used to provide intelligence, land agents, or lay mines.
• Those same assets could help enforce a blockade.
• We can do Combat SAR and provide rescue services for when vital supply ships are inevitably lost. We can’t afford to loose trained mariners.
• We can protect bases from unconventional attacks.
• Buoy tenders can place sensors on the sea floor to detect enemy activity or lay something like captor mines.
• Some of our ships can support unmanned systems for mine countermeasures.

If we go to war, “If it floats, it fights” will apply to Coast Guard vessels as well as Navy. They need to be ready. We need to be equipped and trained for whatever the Navy wants us to do.

Below is a Commandant Note published in full. Normally I would not publish these, but there is a good summary of the status of the cutter recapitalization effort in paragraph 3. Have to say I am still a bit uncomfortable with “completely paperless navigation.” I have had too many computer problems for mind not to revolt over the idea of total dependency on electrons.

R 191425 SEP 19 FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-7// TO ALCOAST UNCLAS //N01710// ; ALCOAST 298/19 COMDTNOTE 1710 SUBJ:  EIGHT BELLS – A SEA SERVICE CELEBRATION ON 18 OCTOBER 2019 1. The Coast Guard Office of Cutter Forces (CG-751), the Heart of the Service, is sponsoring a Sea Service Celebration centered around 18 October 2019 that honors the sacrifices of the men and women serving aboard Coast Guard cutters, and highlights the hard work of the thousands of shoreside administrative, training, and engineering personnel who enable our fleet to operate. On 18 October 1974, the Office of Personnel promulgated the Coast Guard Cutterman Insignia program, to “recognize the contributions and qualifications of our personnel.” 2. This year, we celebrate more than 229 years of our sea-going traditions, currently upheld by over 8,000 active duty personnel aboard our 255 cutters. The theme of this year’s Celebration is “Cutter Art.” There are countless examples of artistic creations by Cuttermen who take pride in their work and we want to recognize their abilities and the time they dedicated to creating this wide array of art. 3. These are exciting times to be a Cutterman – The 7th and 8th National Security Cutters (NSC) were commissioned in August, NSC #9-11 are under construction and 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) are planned. There are 33 commissioned Fast Response Cutters (FRC) of the 56 planned for the domestic program of record. An additional six are scheduled for commissioning in FY 2020 alone; we are also preparing to transition FRCs to PATFORSWA, with the first two tentatively arriving in 2020. The Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) received funding for expedited development of plans for a replacement of the WLIC/WLI/WLR cutters. The Polar Security Cutter (PSC) contract was awarded with funding approved for PSC #1 and long lead time materials for PSC #2. To outfit our cutters, the new Cutter Boat Large 210/225 (CB-L) is in production and OTH-V and LRI-III are in initial acquisition stages. All boats and cutters are scheduled to be furnished or retro-fitted with SINS-II systems as we continue on our trackline to completely paperless navigation. These substantial national investments are clear evidence of the great value American leadership places in the hard work of our professional mariners and support personnel fleetwide. 4. As part of this year’s Sea Service Celebration, COMDT (CG-751) is hosting a Cutter Art contest and encourages participation by all current, past and aspiring future professional mariners. Digital submissions of Cutter Art are due by 15 October 2019 and should follow the below guidelines:     a. Potential artworks and examples of Cutter Art include, but are not limited to; unofficial cutter seals or logos, pictures of artfully painted equipment, images of fancy work, pictures of unit murals, and digital renderings of hand drawn images.     b. Submissions will be judged on creativity, quality and ability to inspire esprit de corps. Entries are limited to 5MB, formats that can be viewed and opened on a standard CG workstation, and three submissions per unit. Photographers and artists retain ownership and copyright of their submitted images. In consideration of the contest, artists and photographers grant the use of their submissions to the Coast Guard for use in various media starting from submission for a duration of one year.     c. All submissions should be of good taste, professional in nature, and with due regard to what is considered acceptable in 2019 versus historic examples of military art containing what is now widely held as inappropriate.     d. Chain of command approved contest submissions should be sent via email to the two POCs listed below. The top three winning entries will be posted on the COMDT (CG-751) portal page and social media platforms, and shared with Surface Naval Association Presidents, Rating Force Master Chiefs, and Operational Commanders for distribution within the cutter community. 5. COMDT (CG-751) further encourages all Cuttermen and operational commanders to participate in the following events:     a. Cutter Public Affairs Officers (PAO) are encouraged to utilize their Official Facebook pages to post CO/OIC-approved photos and media under the hashtag #CutterArt throughout the year.     b. Local events: All commands are encouraged to host appropriate functions that celebrate sea service traditions during the month of October, particularly on 18 October. Suggestions include: local Cuttermen’s Calls, Dining-Ins, or cutter round-ups with friendly competitions (DC Olympics, shiphandling challenge, etc.).     c. For a concurrent annual Surface Naval Association (SNA) competition, submit photos and videos by 01 October 2019 at: http://navysna.org/awards/komorowski-photo/ and at: http://navysna.org/awards/video-competition.html (Won by USCGC BAILEY BARCO in 2018). 6. POCs: LT Keith Blevins at Keith.A.Blevins@uscg.mil and LT Micah Howell at Micah.D.Howell@uscg.mil. 7. RDML Matthew W. Sibley, Assistant Commandant for Capability, sends. 8. Internet release is authorized.