Quote:
Originally Posted by Wetwork
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
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I think you summed it up pretty well IMHO.
I enlisted in 74 and it was boating safety and search and rescue. When I retired in 97 is was drug interdiction, fisheries regulations and environmental. Most of my time was reserves and after Gulf War 1 the CG decided that reserve structure didn't fit their needs. My unit of over 100 dropped to about 20 of us left to augment the regular units. My last six years were spent working on a Point Class cutter.
The CG's ability to board and inspect on the water pretty much at-will surprises a lot of boaters.