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As a U.S. Coast Guard officer assigned to U.S. Africa Command's Operations Logistics Directorate, I have had the pleasure of recently traveling back to many of the West African countries I first trained in over 17 years ago. Cape Verde is a good example of the long tradition that the Coast Guard has in assisting other countries in increasing Maritime Safety and Security capability.
"Why is the U.S. Coast Guard in Africa?" First, most of the navies and coast guards in Africa are similiar to the U.S. Coast Guard, both in size of vessels (cutters and boats) and in mission. The Cape Verde mission includes maritime law enforcement (fisheries protection and anti-smuggling), search and rescue, environmental protection, aids to navigation all the same as the U.S. Coast Guards missions, except for icebreaking! Secondly, the ports in Africa are essential to the economic development of the coastal African nations. Since the U.S. Coast Guard has the mission of port security in the U.S. and also the tasking by Congress to assist the International Maritime Organization to provide port assessments for countries requesting assessment, it made sense that U.S. Coast Guard port security expertise would be used for maritime missions in Africa.
The Republic of Cape Verde is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands off the coast of West Africa. The islands were colonized by the Portuguese in the 1400s and became an important watering station for ships and later, a hub for slave trade. Cape Verde received its independence in 1975. It is a country of mariners and fishermen, although, tourism is now the most important industry.
Beyond our training together off of West Africa, the U.S. has other historical connections to Cape Verde. A large community of Cape Verdeans live in the New England region, on the northeast side of the U.S. Many are fisherman in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. There are also many members of the U.S. Coast Guard who have Cape Verdean ancestry.
Seventeen years ago, I commanded a U.S. Coast Guard team that delivered a 51-foot patrol boat to Cape Verde, which was used to train the Cape Verdean Coast Guard. The vessel was called the ESPADARTE (Swordfish). During a return visit to the island March 27-28, 2008, I was able to sail aboard the boat once again while it served as a platform for a law enforcement boarding demonstration by a visiting European naval vessel. I was impressed by the fact that now, almost 18 years later, the boat is still running strong and in very good material condition. It is a tribute to the men and women of the Cape Verdean Coast Guard, and the periodic maintenance assistance of the U.S. Navy, and other partners. I spent eight hours aboard the ESPADARTE, and had the opportunity to observe a very professional Cape Verdean crew operate the vessel. Later that evening, the Minister of Defense wanted a frank assessment of the crew and we told her that the crew was very enthusiastic and professional, but should continue their training. Additionally, I added that all coast guards and navies, including the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, must constantly train and upgrade their capabilities.
As the Cape Verdeans continue to increase maritime security capabilities, U.S. Africa Command is committed to assisting with the development and implementation of programs that support the safety and security of this island nation.
(Captain Phil Heyl, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, currently is the Chief of Staff for U.S. Africa Command's Directorate of Operations and Logistics)
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