my own drum

An announcement from Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Thad Allen, reveals a new plan to restructure the manangement of the Coast Guard and, get this, expand its surveillance efforts along the nation’s coasts. Coastal surveillance is their job, why aren't they already expanded? The expansion was mandated by Homeland Security back in 2001. Full Ahead Stop! - it was interrupted by the last Coast Guard plan, Deepwater.

The proposed plan is far reaching, primarily affecting how the Coast Guards manages the business of guarding our coasts. Part of the plan will call to equip commercial and some pleasure boats with automated beacons. There's a boondoggle waiting to happen. I've got a question. How do you spot a small boat entering the harbor when your radar screen is full of beaconing dots?

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The Coast Guard command structure will undergo a change, with all forces reporting to a single commander instead of Atlantic and Pacific fleet commanders. The Coast Guard is taking command of ship design and ship building again, in light of the fiasco that resulted from contractors keelhauling the Coast Guard. (See Deepwater reference) And a team has been created to coordinate specially trained troops operations in various scenarios.

None of this has been enough to satisfy the U.S. Navy. They are looking seriously at using their own trained seals and dolphins in the Pacific Northwest to patrol the bay waters at one of their facilities. That's another story, but as I was reading it I wondered why the Coast Guard wasn't guarding that facility.

The Admiral made an oblique reference that he intended to run the Coast Guard like it was a Fortune 500 business. Really? Whatever happened to military training, pride and results? It's more important than ever that our coastal guardians take their assignment not as a business, but as a call to duty.

See this report for more about Deepwater.