Quote:
Originally Posted by tevake
Here is a view from a private boat opperator and long time live aboard, and small commercial boat opperator.
About 20 / 25 years ago when the role of the C G changed from protect and perserve vessels and Mariners. To more of save lives and enforce laws, against drug and people trafficking. Their interaction with civilian boaters also changed significantly.
They will now stand by as a vessel in trouble gets deeper into trouble to the point that the boaters are in dire peril. Then step in to save the well being of the people aboard.
Not getting involved to assist or save the vessel at the point that it is possible to do so.
Liability issues they say.
Also "safety boardings". are now conducted by boarding parties of usually at least three members, all armed, one usually carrying an AR style rifle in hand. These are routinely done at sea in conditions that don't lend themselves to easyly coming alongside for the boarding and removal of their personal. The resulting damage to the civilian vessel is your problem.
A lot like the change in the dynamic between our citizens and LEO, since protect and serve went away. A similar change in the boating public and the C G has resulted from their changing role.
Clearly there are good reasons for C G and Law enforcement to take steps to protect themselves. But these steps don't lend themselves to comfortable interactions with normal law abiding folks as a rule.
Cheers Richard
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Unfortunately a lot of what you mention is true. I have some ideas why and most of it came down to who the current Commandant was. In the beginning of the drug wars our boss was big on spec ops stuff, so we leaned that way. Had a several teams in the jungles of Bolivia running rivers there and taking down cocaine farms. This was late 80's early 90's and was pretty covert. Seriously who'd thunk there were Coastie's in jungle camo, running around blowing up stuff in S. America? Google it. CG specialists operations in Bolivia. It got shut down pretty quick with the next Presidential election.
The rescue stuff (SAR) that depends on location. In the PNW there isn't really any local salvage companies, its just too dangerous so it's the CG or nobody. That's why 90% of the Surfman are stationed there. In locations where there is commercial salvage available like Sea Tow, we have to step back. Not for liability but because we would be taking money from a local business. Same reason the State Police won't tow your car out of the ditch.
Whoever is the current Commandant pretty much follows what Congress (the funding) wants. So we generally spend those couple of years running the direction they want. I've went through big pollution years, were all we did was environmental stuff, tactical years were the push was high speed low drag drug and immigration pushes. With all the middle east issues we are on a war footing all the time with cutters in the Gulf around the clock. So we got a lot of hats.
The SAR stuff was always there but if there was commercial guys available we could only stand by. Any time its life and death we launch. If its just a boat broke down or becalmed we don't do anything but monitor in case it gets bad.-WW