en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/280278 Comments by lwnelson http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/uscg-anti-submarine-warfare.html#IDComment13871753 I concur on the "optimal manning" concept. During one "non-standard" patrol, most crewmembers stood "2 in 3" - two different 1-in-3 watches - which meant that you had, at most, two 4-hour blocks a day to sleep, eat, shower...and do all of your multiple collateral duties. Optimal manning seems to be built around some strange concepts, more suited for a commercial fleet in many ways: 1. Nobody will ever take leave 2. Nobody will ever go to training 3. Nobody will ever PCS to a new unit 4. Everyone on board will always be fully qualified 5. Nobody will ever get sick, pregnant, have to care for family members, or otherwise have to miss a patrol 6. The ship's primary mission is its only mission; it will never be called upon to perform any mission or task out of the ordinary 7. The ship will have extensive shoreside forces to take care of all special maintenance, and most routine maintenance (to include sanding, painting, etc.) 8. All crewmembers will be mature, seasoned professionals with several years of experience 9. Nobody will require any general or specific professional development not specifically related to the ship's daily mission; there will be no collateral duties 10. The vessel will never operate in a war zone or combat role, and will never interact with other military vessels Who supports this warped mentality? I find it particularly strange because so many of the top brass were groomed as cadets to believe "underway is the only way". Sun, 11 Jan 2009 07:06:21 +0000 http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/uscg-anti-submarine-warfare.html#IDComment13871753 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/2009-coast-guard-predictions.html#IDComment13721354 This is not why piracy continues in the Gulf of Aden. Authority, jurisdiction, and endgame all come to mind... Thu, 8 Jan 2009 05:24:30 +0000 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/2009-coast-guard-predictions.html#IDComment13721354 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/2009-coast-guard-predictions.html#IDComment13721321 Merchant vessels seem to love AIS...now they can call each other by name on Ch. 16 or 13 to propose passage. Which is incredibly useful, as trying to hail some of these ships outside the 3NM line in the middle of the night can be well-nigh impossible (they just don't respond). Thu, 8 Jan 2009 05:22:09 +0000 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/2009-coast-guard-predictions.html#IDComment13721321 http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/after-disaster-indian-navy-coast-guard.html#IDComment13692764 Most countries, particularly outside the "first world" nations, don't have a navy. What they do have is a coast guard. Wed, 7 Jan 2009 11:22:35 +0000 http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/after-disaster-indian-navy-coast-guard.html#IDComment13692764 http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/project-handclasp-and-us-coast-guard.html#IDComment13692750 you beat me to it... Wed, 7 Jan 2009 11:21:22 +0000 http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/project-handclasp-and-us-coast-guard.html#IDComment13692750 http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/this-will-give-some-officers-pause-in.html#IDComment13692740 I used TA to take some Spanish courses, which directly benefited the Coast Guard (i.e. during SOUTHPATs & migrant ops) as well as provided professional development for me. I was not pursuing a degree (I already have an advanced degree) and there was no payback that I can recall - which was huge incentive to use it, and to take the classes. I probably wouldn't have taken the classes otherwise. I won't be using TA anymore until the policy changes. I don't think many officers will. On the other hand, the new GI Bill policy is great. I just wish we could get our $1200 back that we paid into the system, since now it's free for everyone, even for Academy grads that got their undergrad degree gratis. Wed, 7 Jan 2009 11:20:03 +0000 http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/this-will-give-some-officers-pause-in.html#IDComment13692740 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/another-case-dropped-musings-about.html#IDComment12838766 I concur with many of your points, but particularly with the one about having the appropriate resources to carry out the assigned missions & responsibilities. We are being stretched thinner & thinner, despite recent pushes to add billets and convert staff to operational billets. Many watch rotations are so thin that it is difficult for members to take leave or go to a medical appointment, to say nothing of running frequent, large-scale exercises. That's why people often don't get the formal training / schools they should, and why others are pushed to get qualified before they're ready. Reservists & Auxiliarists are used to fill the gaps, and could probably be used more widely, but there should not be so many gaps. There is also not the push from HQ to standardize or mandate many aspects of training, staffing, or funding; and it is also rare to see HQ use (or fund & then use) academic research to develop policy, which is then promulgated uniformly in the field. In the effort to please everyone and do more with less, I worry that we're creating lots of "jacks of all trades, masters of none". And in the effort to empower the deckplate level with maximum authority and flexibility, HQ abdicates its responsibility to provide centralized leadership and direction. While your post dealt with SAR, it could as easily be applied to many different aspects of the Coast Guard. This is not to discount the tremendous dedication, hard work, sacrifice, and expertise of Coasties - only to point out that the system needs reform. Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:25:09 +0000 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/another-case-dropped-musings-about.html#IDComment12838766 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/maritime-enforcement-specialists.html#IDComment12757936 I see the ME rate as a great resource for providing base security at the ISCs (or the BSUs that will replace them)...replacing billets currently held by collateral duty watchstanders, contract security guards, CG police forces, BMs/GMs, and a variety of out-of-rate petty officers. Also, many BMs who want to focus solely on an operational LE career path (TACLET, MSST, LEDET, etc.) now can, without worrying that they are losing proficiency in legacy QM skills or having to rotate in and out of LE billets, having to keep re-qualifying. What provided a solid BM career path was not conducive to pursuing the LE side of the house, which has made it difficult to counsel members who wanted to pursue the types of billets that will be in the new ME rate. Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:47:33 +0000 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/maritime-enforcement-specialists.html#IDComment12757936 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/inside-coast-guards-dirtiest-job-with.html#IDComment12524387 I was always trying to get out on deck! Shooting the tube is so much more fun than standing on an ice-cold enclosed bridge watching people scrape buoys. I'd venture to say the river tender guys & ANTs encounter some pretty nasty stuff when dealing with shore aids - poison oak, rodents, etc. Dead migrants are never fun, nor is a fish hold in Alaska...there are definitely dirtier jobs than buoy tender work. Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:44:46 +0000 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/inside-coast-guards-dirtiest-job-with.html#IDComment12524387 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/unofficial-uscg-christmas-wish-list.html#IDComment12524351 Jim, I would draw on the general format of the Chiefs' Academy as well as the recent comments/focus from MCPON Joe Campa on 1st class PO leadership & roles. In the CG, we put even more authority & responsibility on the shoulders of our incredibly capable 1st class POs. Because of our small units and decentralized management, PO1s have a lot expected of them, and I feel a two-week resident course would help them network as well as make the "leap" from PO2 (skilled worker) to PO1 (deckplate leader). I feel this is particularly important as some rates have been moving quickly, resulting in relatively junior PO1s. I would also like to see a "mid-level management" 1-week resident course for O-4s as they transition from JO to "gotta hit 20 years" to senior officer. Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:41:11 +0000 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/unofficial-uscg-christmas-wish-list.html#IDComment12524351 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/unofficial-uscg-christmas-wish-list.html#IDComment12468417 Thanks Jim. We can always wish. (Although I'm trying to advocate for change from within...) We have a great need for interpreters, which has for a long time been filled by people who might just happen to possibly speak enough of whatever language was needed. More recently, I've seen the need filled by Auxiliarists, by classes "by Coasties for Coasties" like "Law Enforcement Spanish", by TAD requests for language-skilled personnel, and most recently, by starting to pay a monthly bonus to personnel with documented/tested language skills filling specific interpreter-tagged billets. However, with the exception of a few billets such as attaches, the Coast Guard currently does not (have the funding to) send personnel through DLI or a similar program. Personnel must obtain the language training or expertise on their own time & with their own funding (can use TA). It would be great if we could recognize the importance of foreign language proficiency by creating additional training tabs - pipeline training for interpreters - and send folks to DLI. There would obviously have to be some sort of payback to ensure the CG got its "money's worth" out of the training...such as a 3-year payback which would be filled by a 3-year interpreter billet. We are managing well now, given our limited resources, but I think a targeted investment in DLI training would pay great dividends in the fleet. Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:16:04 +0000 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/unofficial-uscg-christmas-wish-list.html#IDComment12468417 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/unofficial-uscg-christmas-wish-list.html#IDComment12370139 -Increased exchange opportunities (TAD & PCS) for enlisted, and for officers outside of aviation, with Navy/TRANSCOM/other countries' Navies, and DoD in general. -A new fleet of river tenders -A multi-year funding mechanism that doesn't rely on the inefficiency and waste of spend-down to meet critical needs -An officer evaluation system that values the ability to make swift decisions under pressure -An evaluation system for both officers & enlisted that values and recognizes work resulting in lasting value to the Coast Guard. The current system, by focusing on a 6-to-12 month period only, promotes "reinventing the wheel" which is so common and wasteful -A two-week "first class petty officers" academy -An assignment season process that is a year in advance of the current system (like it is in DoD) so there is enough time to get pipeline training and move yourself, your family, and your stuff before you have to report to your new unit -Abandonment of the NSC program before we pump any more money after a deeply flawed design -Increased acceptance of responsibility by senior personnel. The attitude should be, if the unit does well it is because of your people; and if something goes wrong it is the command's fault - but too often, the reverse is true. -A return to "in-house" logistics vice contracting. During Katrina, we found that where we still had housing, vehicles, cooks (instead of galley contracts), CG police forces (instead of contract guards), and property we owned (vice leased GSA buildings), we had control over those assets. Any place we had contracts or had to buy "off the shelf", we competed against every other agency and the public at large. -Personnel in charge of HQ divisions who actually set and promulgate policy for the Coast Guard, instead of waiting for policy to "emerge" from the fleet (as each unit "copies, cuts, and pastes" from the next unit's plans) -Training tabs (tied to interpreter billets) at the Defense Language Institute -Increased use of Auxiliary augmentation Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:35:41 +0000 http://www.cgblog.org/2008/12/unofficial-uscg-christmas-wish-list.html#IDComment12370139