Posted on 03/30/2003 8:11:41 AM PST by Diogenesis
Thanks for posting this!
On the road to Baghdad.
Coast Guard Forces Deploying to support Operation Enduring Freedom
PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The Coast Guard's Atlantic Area Commander ordered the deployment of eight 110-foot Island Class patrol boats and two Port Security Units (PSUs), comprising of about 600 Coast Guard men and women, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
The deployment order includes four boats from the Northeast: the Coast Guard Cutter Wrangell, homeported in Portland, Maine; the Coast Guard Cutter Grand Isle, homeported in Gloucester, Mass.; and Coast Guard cutters Adak and Bainbridge Island from Sandy Hook, N.J. The crew from the Grand Isle will not deploy; they have transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Block Island, which will be temporarily homeported in Gloucester. The crew from Block Island will be the crew for Grand Isle's deployment.
Vice Admiral James Hull ordered the deployments this week as the United States repositions some of its military forces where required to support the President's global war on terrorism and to prepare for future contingencies.
"The Coast Guard has a long history of operating jointly with the Department of Defense forces in matters of national security," said Vice Adm. Hull. "These deployments demonstrate how the Coast Guard's missions and expertise can play an important role in the broader DOD operation to fight terrorism and prepare for future contingencies."
The other Coast Guard patrol boats receiving orders to deploy overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom include the Coast Guard cutters Aquidneck, homeported in Atlantic Beach, N.C.; Baranof, from Miami, Fla.; and Knight Island and Pea Island from St. Petersburg, Fla.
Approximately 400 Coast Guard men and women assigned to these cutters, along with operations and support personnel from 20 other commands, including several Coast Guard units in the First Coast Guard District, have been training here over the past several weeks to prepare for this deployment.
Another 200 Coast Guard reservists from two Port Security Units (PSU 305 based in Yorktown, Va. and PSU 309 based in Port Clinton, Ohio) also received orders to deploy this week. PSUs, a component of the U.S. Naval Warfare Command, provide waterborne and land-based protection for shipping and critical port facilities in support of U.S. and allied naval forces throughout the world.
Coast Guard members assigned to the Navy's Harbor Defense Command Unit 206, based in Jacksonville, Fla., also received orders to deploy.
The specific dates of departure, duration and destination of the deployment are not being disclosed for operation security reasons.
"This deployment illustrates the Coast Guard's commitment to protecting America from terrorism both at home and abroad," Hull said.
The patrol boats, built in the late 1980s, and crews are specifically equipped and trained to conduct Search and Rescue, port security, anti-terrorism/force protection and maritime boarding and interdiction duties.
Six members of the Coast Guard National Strike Force, with expertise in maritime pollution response received orders last week to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell, a 378-foot high endurance cutter, deployed from its homeport of Alameda, Calif., Jan. 3 is support of Operation Enduring Freedom. -uscg-
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