Coast Guard Journal

Thorough Response Ensures Safety of the Public and Our Own

Coast Guard Sector San Diego and its local interagency partners demonstrated how public safety -- through vigilance, preparedness and precaution -- does not take holiday leave. This is a great example of the diligence and readiness that we must retain as a Service and as Guardians every day, all day.

Early afternoon, Dec. 23rd, a Good Samaritan reported to Sector San Diego a suspicious black package near the front gate on city property. It appeared to be a 6” diameter section of PVC pipe with a visible wire. The front gate sentry immediately notified the Joint Harbor Operations Center and they coordinated an interagency response via the collocated San Diego Harbor Police. Very quickly, there were nine local, state, and federal agencies working together. A Unified Command was established and responders based every decision on obtaining the highest level of safety possible to protect the base personnel and the public, despite the pressures from unavoidable inconveniences. For example, the Sector Duty Officer made a quick decision to close the front gate keeping CG personnel away from the hazard despite the delays they would encounter.

Following the same safety ethos, San Diego Harbor Police quickly deemed the pipe suspicious enough to close North Harbor Drive, the main road just outside the base’s front gate. Closing North Harbor Drive restricts the main feeder route for the adjacent San Diego International airport, and is a critical economic decision during this second most traveled week in the year. The road was briefly reopened until new information from an FBI assessment prompted them to close it for a second time despite the known negative public reaction to follow. Initiating the road closure plan frustrated travelers trying to get to their flights but provided the necessary safety zone to protect the public if the worst case scenario occurred.

Although not the lead agency, Sector San Diego looked beyond the immediate situation and took proactive steps and contributed to the big picture. They initiated wide-spread notifications and used critical incident communications protocols that resulted in full transparency with real time awareness at all levels during this highly sensitive event. CG personnel employed Quick Response Sheets that allowed them to make clear, effective and timely decisions. Sector Officials decided to create another exit where non-essential personnel could safely leave the threatened area. The Unified Command conducted an active media relations program that keep the community informed of the situation so they could stay out of harm’s way and adjust their plans according to the incident and its impacts.

Through the actions of the Local, State, and Federal responders, particularly San Diego Harbor Police and Fire Department, this coordinated response quickly mitigated the threat. Initially, law enforcement officials determined the package suspicious enough to detonate it in place. However, further review by the Unified Command deemed the object warranted further investigation by a human team through inspection and x-rays. The Harbor Police Bomb Squad arrived on scene to x-ray the package. It took only 12 minutes for the results to determine that the package did not contain any explosives. The bomb squad was then clear to go and dismantle the PVC pipe. The bomb squad opened the pipe and discovered it was harmless. This entire response operation and threat mitigation lasted only 2 hours and 40 minutes.

This case turned out to be a false alarm; however, the most important lesson to take from this real-life scenario is that a threat to public safety is a determination that should NEVER be assumed. As agencies responsible for public safety, we must consider ourselves successful when the outcome is limited to complaints of inconvenience rather than remorse that we could have saved lives if we reacted faster. I commend Sector San Diego and all the State and Local responders for proceeding in a rapid coordinated and professional response. The lessons learned from this full scale response are invaluable and make us as a Service, as a Department, and as a Nation safer and more prepared to respond to all hazards. Well done!

Office of Incident Management and Preparedness, CG-53

Photos by: MST2 John H. Herman, Sector San Diego

          YOU can help the Coast Guard keep America’s waterways safe and secure. In light of the tragic terrorist attacks in Mumbai it is important to remember that all Americans play a vital role in homeland security. Whether you live, work or recreate near the waterways of the United States you can assist the Coast Guard by remaining vigilant and reporting suspicious activity.
          With this in mind, I would like to remind the public of the America’s Waterway Watch program. America's coasts, rivers, bridges, tunnels, ports, ships, military bases, and waterside industries may be the terrorists' next targets. Though waterway security has been increased greatly in recent years, with more than 95,000 miles of shoreline, over 290,000 square miles of water, and approximately 70 million recreational boaters in the United States, the Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies can not do the job alone.
          Please do your part and report: unusual surveillance of vessel or waterside facility operations, unattended boats near bridges, unusual diving activities, unauthorized vessels operating in restricted areas, or other suspicious activities. Call the National Response Center at 1-877-24WATCH or radio the Coast Guard on marine channel 16. Use 911 or marine channel 16 to report immediate dangers to life or property. For your safety, I recommend boaters do not approach or engage anyone acting in a suspicious manner – call for help.

For more information on the America’s Waterways Watch program please click here.

Lieutenant Tony Migliorini
Public Affairs (CG-0922)

On Thanksgiving Day we met with the Japan Coast Guard Band for a rehearsal (See Practice, practice, practice) Upon arrival to the rehearsal room we were led to our seats. Our Japanese counterparts were not taking their places in the ensemble with us, however, but instead gathering on the side of the room. Our liaison hushed our warm-up at the start of the rehearsal time, and the members of the Japan Coast Guard Band swiftly filed out to line up at the front of the room, where they performed a bow in unison, followed by introductions and short speeches of warm welcome. My time here has so far been filled with examples of warm courtesy and formal displays of appreciation.

The rehearsal was orderly, efficient, and enjoyable, but the real party was waiting for us at the JCG Band's rehearsal space later that evening. USCG Band members walked together from our hotel led by our liaisons carrying small Coast Guard flags. Upon arrival we were given nametags at the building's entrance, then shown to a reception room where our new Japanese friends were already assembled. They clapped for us as we entered the room. We were immediately all given small glasses of Japanese beer for the toasts. The reception was fantastic (see great pictures here). In addition to the bountiful spread, there was a "special chef" preparing the best sushi and tempura of my life. The excitement in the air was hard to describe. Every single thing that happened was wonderful and worth telling, but my favorite part was the short performances the Japan Coast Guard Band's percussion and saxophone sections provided. The percussionists demonstrated strength and determination with individual skills: a phone book was ripped in half, a frying pan was rolled up, and a spoon bent with one little finger. I'm not making this up!

The members of the saxophone section performed a traditional Japanese song that is the source material for one of the pieces in our joint performances. Truly lovely,

Signing off for now from Ginza Tokyo,
Mu1 Brooke Allen

Follow the Coast Guard Band's trip to Japan here.

Reports of the demise of Coast Guard major acquisition authority are greatly exaggerated. In fact, the Coast Guard acquisition program (CG-9) is healthier and better positioned now, than ever before, to build a Coast Guard for the 21st Century.

On October 28 we posted a fact sheet (updated on November 4) that explained that DHS had rescinded acquisition [milestone] decision authority from the Coast Guard as recommended by the GAO and required in a recent legislation. I want to further explain this issue, as it may not be clear that this basically codified existing acquisition management practices. We are exercising our major¹ acquisition processes -- appropriately -- the same way we did before, and after, this law. However, since we had previously adopted the guidance as a "best practice," we did feel it was important to document our past acquisition process improvements for future continuity.

Previously, the Deepwater projects had a "waiver" that allowed individual project decisions at key program acquisition milestones to be made by the component (Coast Guard) rather than at the departmental level. DHS retained oversight of Deepwater at the system level with periodic briefings and communications. This “waiver” or delegation of authority was done when the Coast Guard was still in the Department of Transportation, recognizing that the Coast Guard had established policies and processes for acquisition management, and as an expediency for the system-of-systems nature of the original Deepwater concept. The waiver allowed Deepwater projects (approximately 15) to be approved by the department at the systems level, and then executed over the life of the contract (25 years) at the component, or Coast Guard, level. The Coast Guard operated under this delegation of authority for Deepwater projects for a period of time, while all of the Coast Guard’s non-Deepwater major acquisitions were managed in accordance with the existing (now DHS) acquisition oversight processes, along with the other 21 components within DHS.

As the newly formed DHS developed their acquisition oversight capacity and the Coast Guard re-invigorated its organic acquisition workforce and acquisition processes, the Coast Guard and DHS decided it was beneficial to have major decisions on all large acquisition projects consistently reviewed outside the component, by DHS, as is done for all other DHS components. Simultaneously, our Commandant, Admiral Thad Allen, directed significant acquisition reforms during the summer of 2006, and the importance of DHS oversight in providing independent review was recognized. Additionally, this was a best practice in place in most of our sister military agencies. With GAO and Congressional encouragement, we began the process of "converting" the former Deepwater project documentation and integrated master plans to accommodate DHS review at milestone decision points. We have been operating this way for most of the last year.

For those less familiar with "milestone decisions" as practiced in major acquisitions, this is similar to DoD processes, where a project reaches significant decision points in which recommendations are briefed up through their services to the Department of Defense for final approval.

DHS is similar. For DHS, these decision points are: (1) Milestone 1, authority to start the project based on an approved need to close a mission capability gap; (2) Milestone 2, approval of the best alternative, based on a business case analysis; and, (3) Milestone 3, approval to start production. Multiple steps between these major milestones are still internal to the component, as explained in detail in the Coast Guard Major Systems Acquisition Manual (our equivalent of the DoD 5000 Series). Other than increasing the size of the Coast Guard acquisition workforce, nothing in the legislation affected where those acquisition employees work in the Coast Guard, which directorate they report to, or the contracting activities and authorities of the Coast Guard.

In summary, the legislation, and implementing directive from DHS, documented and codified a best practice in major acquisition programs used commonly throughout government; one which had been in practice in the Coast Guard for most of the last year.

Rear Admiral Gary T. Blore
Assistant Commandant for Acquisition & Chief Acquisition Officer