The Littoral Role of the U.S. Coast Guard: A Significant Naval Asset in Small Scale Conflicts/MOOTW

Abstract

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) can partner with the Department of Defense (DOD)/U.S. Navy (USN) in meeting many of the maritime challenges of the 21st century - i.e., global littoral operations, including small scale conflicts (SSCs) and military operations other than war (MOOTW) - and can alleviate some of the burden placed on the Navy's shrinking forces. The Coast Guard offers a complementary naval force that can fill niches the Navy cannot or should not fill. The benefits of the Coast Guard working with the Navy in the littorals are great. They include: integrating USCG/USN assets into a more jointly linked force; increasing USCG's contingency response capabilities; economizing forces through reductions in duplicative operations and maximization of efficiencies; and expanding area control in Support of national military objectives. Global littoral operations for the USCG translate into an expansion of the Coast Guard's core capabilities to worldwide proportions. The Coast Guard would require additional resources to accomplish this broader mission. A preferred alternative would be to create a shell USCG force (i.e., COGARDFOR shell) that can accomplish national USCG missions and be pulled away to respond to SSCs and MOOTWs without depleting the Coast Guard's operational tempo. Implementation of the COGARDFOR shell concept will require changes within both the USCG and USN's organizations (i.e., operating procedures, support links, and resources). It will also require National Command Authority, Congressional, and Departmental approval. The opportunities gained by an increased global littoral mission for the Coast Guard outweigh the challenges. The Coast Guard has a lot to offer the DOD/USN operationally and can "free-up" precious Navy assets for additional operational and training opportunities.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 18, 1998
Accession Number
ADA351708

Entities

People

  • Kathleen M. Gibson

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Coast Guard
  • Commerce
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Drug Interdiction
  • Environmental Protection
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Littoral Warfare
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Treaties
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Maritime Security/Maritime Homeland Security