THE 21ST CENTURY COAST GUARD (continued)
An Armed Service
The Coast Guard will participate jointly with the other U.S. Armed Services to defend the Nation. It will fulfill military roles that build on peacetime competencies and that complement the capabilities of the Navy-Marine Corps Team. The Coast Guard’s uniquely skilled forces will provide the Unified Commanders-in-Chief maritime expertise to meet their contingency plans. By virtue of their multimission, day-to-day operations, Coast Guard units will be ready to deploy immediately, anywhere and anytime as required in the interests of national security.
The complex array of maritime security challenges that lies ahead will require the combined efforts of versatile forces. The Coast Guard, Navy, and Marine Corps must think in new, mutually supportive ways about how to develop a full spectrum of maritime capabilities for America. The Coast Guard will integrate and coordinate force planning with the other Services to field capabilities that are balanced, affordable, joint, interoperable, and multimissioned. Common military doctrine, innovative operational concepts, focused logistics, and leveraged use of technologies will allow the Nation’s maritime forces to come together quickly to meet any contingency.
The Coast Guard will be prepared to operate in low-threat conflict environments, and to provide specialized functions at all levels of operation. This will include maritime intercept operations to enforce international sanctions, escort of vessels carrying equipment and essential supplies, emergency evacuation of nationals, and protection of high-value assets. Harbor security units will maintain vital U.S. and foreign expeditionary ports free from hostilities, terrorism, or safety deficiencies that might disrupt support and re-supply operations. The Coast Guard will assist in mitigating damages incurred by environmental terrorist acts, and will also provide aircraft and cutters for traditional services such as search and rescue, disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance.
America’s future national security policy will increasingly focus on strengthening regional stability in critical global areas. The Coast Guard’s humanitarian reputation will often give it access to other nations when political sensitivities preclude Department of Defense entry. Coast Guard peacetime engagement will enhance national strategies for building the trust and cooperative ties crucial to successful regional alliances. Routine activities, such as port visits, combined training and exercises, personnel exchanges and information sharing, will show developing countries how to establish and sustain a full spectrum of maritime service capabilities. More than 40 of the world’s 70 naval forces are, in essence, "coast guards." Coast Guard initiatives frequently cross multiple ministries of host governments, which provide opportunities for further diplomatic and military contacts.
The Coast Guard has fundamental and enduring roles in support of the National Security Strategy and National Military Strategy. The future is likely to bring unfamiliar multipolar and asymmetric threats to the maritime region. The Coast Guard will remain a flexible and reliable instrument of policy to address these challenges. Whether peacetime, crisis, or war, the Coast Guard will be ready to work in concert with the Department of Defense, to partner with other agencies, and to operate with friendly or allied forces.
The new century will bring new national security challenges. The Coast Guard will remain always ready as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces.
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Contact rkutz@comdt.uscg.mil
Created: August
1998