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| Coast Guard Sees Security Duties Expand | |
| 2005-09-12 | |
Eight years ago, after his daughter was born, Weschrek transferred out of the Coast Guard's law enforcement side, from ship boardings and drug interdiction missions, and became an environmental officer, a ``duck scrubber'' who contained oil spills and saved wildlife. Then came the 2001 terrorist attacks. The Coast Guard became the nation's largest Homeland Security agency and Weschrek's duties changed again. He became a boarding officer, a member of the armed teams that search foreign ships entering U.S. ports. The Coast Guard's duties are growing faster than its ranks and officers like Weschrek who were saving seals, breaking ice or repairing harbor lights are being retrained. ``If you're part of the Coast Guard today, you have to understand that we have two priorities: search and rescue, and security,'' said Capt. Peter Boynton, commander for all of Long Island Sound, which includes Weschrek's unit based at New Haven, Conn. ``We still do everything else, but those are the main acts.'' Today, ``everything else'' includes helping victims of Hurricane Katrina. Rescue crews on other Jayhawk helicopters were among the first to respond and the Coast Guard is credited with saving thousands from rooftops of flooded homes in New Orleans. Coast Guard personnel also run medical centers and head up shelter operations. And on Friday, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen was named to replace Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown as commander of the New Orleans relief efforts. Cross-training like what Weschrek has undergone is happening across the country, officials say, as the Coast Guard races to keep up with its changing job description. Even though its active duty rolls grew by 13 percent since 2001, the average work week at many stations was 83 hours last year, a fact the General Accounting Office attributed to the growth in homeland security missions. A Department of Homeland Security inspector general's report last year said the many new demands were jeopardizing the Coast Guard's ability to keep up its traditional missions and respond to crises. ``They need more personnel and they need more assets,'' said Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., a former Coast Guard officer. ``Not only have they acquired more tasks, but the order and magnitude of those tasks is multiplying exponentially.'' Cadets get the message from the day they arrive at the academy. Undergraduate courses now include discussions on building security, terrorism, ship tracking and satellite mapping. Participation in a weeklong disaster drill, called the ``New War Threat Exercise,'' is now required of all seniors. ``I thought I'd be on a boat doing (search) patterns, looking for fishing vessels,'' said Ensign Joan Pavlish, a member of last year's graduating class. Instead, she was one of the boarding team members who got airborne training last month. Like Pavlish and Weschrek, many officers embraced their new roles. Others weren't so enthusiastic, officials said. But that's changing with each recruiting cycle and new academy class. ``Their whole perception of what the Coast Guard is is anti-terrorism,'' said Cmdr. Glenn Sulmasy, a professor at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. ``Now, it's much more saying 'It's part of who we are. It's interwoven in what we do.''' | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 they've been life-savers here in San Diego, and their upgrades seem to only come from War on Drugs attention. Agreed, time to value them for all their services/missions |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-12 20:57 |
| #5 Time to stop starving the Coast Guard, upgrade their equipment, ships and helos. They have proven themselves time and again as the first line of defense. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-12 20:35 |
| #4 Go Jayhawks! |
| Posted by: bman 2005-09-12 10:31 |
| #3 Semper Paratus gents. |
| Posted by: Togo 2005-09-12 10:03 |
| #2 Let me guess, these increased responsibilities will come with no extra funds or equipment. I agree it's sad that the Coast Guard is looked upon as the bastard stepchild of our armed forces. |
| Posted by: gromky 2005-09-12 06:53 |
| #1 So sad that the press had to get hung up on 30,000 people at the SuperDome out of over a million souls that Katrina effected, thus forgetting that the true heroes of this disaster is our Coast Guard. We should all be wearing Coast Guard hats, similar to NYPF FDNY hats. But because our press (our job is to be skeptical) focused on those 30,000, these heroes of the Coast Guard didn't, and still are not, getting the hero worship they deserved. They never stopped working, even during the storm. As others have said, "I'm embarrassed for America." I'm embarrassed at the coverage our media has chosen. I'm embarrassed at the story they have chosen to tell. I'm embarrassed, that they couldn't just be Americans and tell the story of Americans helping Americans. There were real stories in those first few days, yet, they focused on those 30,000 at the Superdome over the other one million stories to be told, and this media needs to take full credit for the image of American that was beamed throughout the world. Why didn't they focus on the rescue mission of the Coast Guard? I will blame our next terrorist attack on "our" media, cause they have chosen to show, not the real story of Americans helping Americans, our strength, but a focus on a few, when many were in need and the help, aid and just good ole hugs were there. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2005-09-12 01:18 |