CGF 2010 Volume: 2 Issue: 1 (Feb/March)

Admiral Thad Allen, in his final State of the Coast Guard address, appealed to lawmakers for more predictable funding streams that would allow for the prompt replacement of diminishing assets.

“Our acquisition baselines lack credibility when they are not supported by a five-year capital investment plan provided to Congress in a timely manner, or when they are overtaken and rendered ineffective by annual adjustments that change basic business plans,” the Commandant emphasized in a fervent tone at the National Press Club.

The Coast Guard is in dire need of new cutters, icebreakers, aircraft and other transport assets. Nearly every one of the major cutters assigned to Haiti relief operations—10 of 12—suffered mission-altering breakdowns. “No amount of maintenance can outpace the ravages of age,” Allen said. “The condition of our fleet continues to deteriorate, putting our crews at risk and jeopardizing our ability to do the job.”

It’s hard to believe that the average age of the Coast Guard’s high endurance cutters is over 41 years— this compared to a 14 year average for a Navy ship. To accommodate cuts in President Obama’s 2011 spending proposal, the Coast Guard will have to reduce its personnel by 773, decommission the Acushnet and four other large cutters, retire four HU-25 Falcon medium-range surveillance aircraft and five HH-65 Dolphin search-and-rescue helicopters, and dissolve five 90-person marine safety and security teams.

At a time when the Coast Guard has been asked to do more than it ever has before—maintain marine safety and port security, curb piracy, execute drug and migrant interdiction, enforce environmental laws, support defense activities and perform homeland security missions—this downsizing is disappointing.

Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, called the cuts “penny wise and pound foolish.” Representative Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said Obama’s proposal would reduce the number of Coast Guard vessels on important escort missions and leave coastal cities, including New York, San Francisco and New Orleans less secure.

What do you think?

Mark Fitzgerald, Editor U.S. Coast Guard Forum This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it