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America's Waterway
Watch (AWW), a combined effort of the Coast Guard and its
Reserve and Auxiliary components, continues to grow, enlisting the
active participation of those who live, work or play around
America's waterfront areas. Coast Guard Reserve personnel
concentrate on connecting with businesses and government agencies,
while Auxiliarists focus on building AWW awareness among the
recreational boating public.
If you are a
tow boat operator, a recreational boater, a fisherman, a marina operator, or otherwise live, work or engage
in recreational activities around America's waterways, the United
States Coast Guard wants your help in keeping these areas safe and
secure. You can do this by participating in its America's
Waterway Watch (AWW) program, a nationwide initiative similar to the
well known and successful Neighborhood Watch program that asks
community members to report suspicious activities to local law
enforcement agencies.
As a person who spends
much of your time on or near the water, you already know what is
normal and what is not, and you are well suited to notice suspicious
activities - activities possibly indicating threats to our nation's
homeland security. And as a participant in America's Waterway
Watch we urge you to adopt a heightened sense of sensitivity
toward unusual events or individuals you may encounter in or around
ports, docks, marinas, riversides, beaches, or waterfront
communities.
You should always
remember that people are not suspicious, behavior is. And if you observe
suspicious behavior or activity, you should simply note the details and contact
local law enforcement. You are not expected to approach or
challenge anyone acting in a suspicious manner.
America's Waterway
Watch is a public outreach program, encouraging participants to
simply report suspicious activity to the Coast Guard and/or other
law enforcement agencies. Unlike some Neighborhood Watch programs,
for example, you are not formally joining an organization -- there
are no meetings, membership cards or membership requirements --
and you do not become an agent of the Coast Guard or any other law
enforcement agency.
If you are interested in
assisting in a more formal capacity, either as a paid professional
or trained volunteer, you should consider a
civilian or military
career with the United States Coast Guard (http://www.gocoastguard.com/jobs.html) or joining a local flotilla of the
Coast Guard Auxiliary (http://www.cgaux.org/)
its civilian component of unpaid
volunteers.
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To Report
Suspicious Activity:
Call
the National Response Center at 877-24WATCH
If There Is Immediate Danger to Life or
Property, Call 9-1-1 or Call the Coast Guard on
Marine Channel 16 |
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Why do we need America's
Waterway Watch?
America's coasts,
rivers, bridges, tunnels, ports, ships, military bases, and
waterside industries may be the terrorists' next targets. Though
waterway security is better than ever, with more than 95000 miles of
shoreline, over 290,000 square miles of water, and approximately 70
million recreational boaters in the United States, the Coast Guard and
local first responders can not do the job alone.
America's
Waterway Watch is similar to the Coast Watch program
of World War II, which caused the early growth of the Coast Guard
Auxiliary, a group of citizen-volunteers who were mobilized as a
uniformed, civilian component of the Coast Guard to
scan the coast for U-boats and saboteurs attempting to
infiltrate the shores of the United States. Today, America's
Waterway Watch goes one step further: It calls on ordinary
citizens like you
-
who spend much of their on and around America's
waterways
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to assist in the War on Terrorism on the Domestic Front.
The enemy this
nation faces today is unlike any other in our history. The
operatives who may be attempting to enter the United States via
our waterfront areas, whether as stowaways on ships entering our
ports or on pleasure craft entering our marinas, do not wear a
uniform or carry arms openly. They have chosen to attack us
using unconventional warfare, and we must be prepared to
report events such as people entering our country illegally
along the hundreds of miles of coastline, and people preparing
to attack our critical infrastructure. America's Waterway
Watch calls on all port and waterfront users to report
suspicious activity in and around the area where they live, work
and play.
? Who better than
the families living along our shoreline to recognize when the
behavior of visitors in and around their community is not
consistent with what usually takes place in the neighborhood?
? Who better than the
longshoreman to know whether an individual who is loitering near
a restricted area while video taping, taking photos, or making
sketches is out of place and does not belong there?
? Who better than a
marina operator or a dock master to know if the crew that is not
a "normal" customer is acting suspiciously?
? And who better than
recreational boaters, while traveling in familiar waters, to
notice unusual and suspicious activities going on around them?
It is not the
intent of America's Waterway Watch to spread paranoia or
to encourage spying on one another, and it is not a surveillance
program. Instead, it is a simple
deterrent to potential terrorist activity. The purpose of
America's Waterway Watch is to allow you and your fellow
Americans who work and spend their leisure time on the waterways
and waterfront to assist the federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies by being ever vigilant in recognizing
possible threats and crimes on and around our waterways.
Many Americans like you have
asked, "How can I help?" The answer is clear: By participating in
America's Waterway Watch!
How do I get more
information about America's Waterway Watch?
Coast Guard staff, as
well as members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, distribute
material such as informational brochures, boat decals, and reporting
forms in the course of conducting Vessel Safety Checks and Public
Education Safe Boating Courses. In addition, brochures and posters
are distributed to marine dealers, marinas and other
commercial business located near waterways.
And you can also find
out more by exploring this web site - just follow any of the
links in the navigation panel below:
Or you can
contact us directly. |
