Time for a Coast Guard Operating Concept
Abstract
The Coast Guard is a military service whose role is broader, and less defined, than other services, since it encompasses military missions, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine safety and other statutory missions. The Navy's role is to attain command of the seas, the Army's to occupy and hold land in support of national objectives, the Air Forces to attain air supremacy, the Space Forces to attain space supremacy, and the Marine Corps to project power from the sea in support of naval strategy and national objectives. These services have a culture that is best adapted to conventional, high-end, nation-state conflict, and while they fight unconventionally when necessary, the institutional preference is for conventional conflict. Despite instances throughout history where these services regularly conduct Phase 0 (shaping the operational environment) theater cooperation, partner building, and humanitarian/disaster relief operations, these activities are nested within a military culture focused on national defense. Coast Guard capabilities focused on stability are underutilized in the Joint Force construct, which spreads stabilization efforts across the services despite their focus on conventional nation-state conflict.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1200513
Entities
People
- Christjan C. Gaudio
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School