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| Mass. Representative: 'In Coast Guard's Corner' |
| 2005-07-30 |
| From the Marshfield Mariner. Edited to remove 'local interest' material and for clarity It's "one brick at a time" for U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Quincy, as he looks down the road toward improving the Coast Guard service, which he claims is both underfunded and understaffed. Delahunt would like to see small boat stations, like the one in Scituate [MA] now manned by Coast Guard personnel only during the boating season from May through October, occupied year-round to better protect boaters and keep emergency response times to a minimum... The Coast Guard is near and dear to Delahunt, who served from 1963 until 1971. Delaunt formed the first-ever Congressional boating caucus nine years ago to address the need for more resources and funding for the Coast Guard, to raise its profile and maintain its one "core mission" of search and rescue. Delahunt has his hands full right now, as he battles to keep Otis Air National Guard Base - which is connected to Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod - open. Otis and several other New England military installations have been targeted for closure and are included on the BRAC Base Realignment and Closure Commission's list. According to Delahunt said the closing of Otis would have a great impact on the US Coast Guard if plans follow through for the 102nd Fighter Interceptor Wing to be reassigned to New Jersey and Florida. Pentagon officials claim $10 million a year can be saved by moving the 102nd, but reports from the U.S. General Accounting Office indicate the federal government would have to enhance budgets of other Otis tenants, like the Coast Guard air station, to keep the base - with its waste treatment plant, waterworks, utilities and roadway structure - operating and secure. On Aug. 1, Mass Development, which has been working with the Save Otis group, will present its case to BRAC to spare all Massachusetts bases. Otis, however, will be the primary focus... "There is not a more perfect location than Otis in terms of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station," [Delahunt] said, adding that the station's area of responsibility ranges from the Canadian border to New Jersey. With the Coast Guard's transferal to the Department of Homeland Security, its duties and mission have also grown. Resources must be met in this case for their increased multi-tasking, Delahunt said, like finding the funds to update equipment and vessels. This is of outmost importance for both the Coast Guard and those serving in it as well, according to Delahunt's Chief of Staff Steve Schwadron. "This puts the safety of the Coastguardsmen themselves in danger," [Schwadron] said about the aging fleet. "We have to do better by them," Delahunt said. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #2 Congressional boating caucus Teeeeeedeeeeeeee! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-30 08:27 |
| #1 I've never liked nor agreed with Delahunt. This is the exception. The Coast Guard is a big player on the WOT, and could use some nourishment. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-07-30 02:24 |