Cutter Hamilton has been in the Black Sea exercising with the Ukrainian and Georgian Navies ,
Looking through the thread here, not 100% sure exactly what your issue is. Does it matter if the powers that be see some reason to deploy there or not. Full disclosure - was in the the Coast Guard 76 - 81. Served on USCGC Gallatin, Glacier, and Sherman. We operated with the Navy a few times on the 378âs for training. Mostly we did drug interdiction on the Gallatin, and Bering Sea fishery patrols on the Sherman.
No âissueâ, nor surprised that the USCG act like a war fighting force, participating in what would normally be seen as Naval Operations. Nor do I question their mandate from US Government to do so.
Just pointing out that other nationâs Coast Guard operate in home waters and along own coast, not in somebody elseâs waters and coasts far from home.
They do perform SAR, law enforcement and fishery patrols in their own EEZ and may from time to time participate in UN mandated activity in international waters.
Ombugge is not the bully on this site. He is quite knowldgeable, and I respect him and his posts. Do I agree with always, well shit no, A decent fellow sailor. .There is another party that fits that narciisitic profile quite well. It ainât Ccaptain, that dude I liked from the start of my 8 years âTenure on this siteâ. The fellow I mention is quite knowledgable, but a complete asshole if you disagree with him.Have had the rare opportunity to sail with his ilk. Kept me running, for sure. Pleasure to sail with, NOPE.
Wouldnât set one foot on the golf course with him, he would blame the clubs he chose in his bag.
Except for your heroes, the Chinese.
Lee, if you havenât left Outer Banks yet, my pal Chris will put you on the bite at âOcean Eddiesâ in Nags Head. Everyone is out of gas though.Also, if you havenât already, take advantage of the 6k grant through âStregnthenyourroof.comâ before you leave. I used Gallop.
Thanks - I agree the multiple missions demanded of the USCG is a unique arrangement.
Yes the South China Sea is a tricky one:
In this case China claim right to all the waters within the so called âNine-dash Lineâ, but nobody else accept that claim.
The Philippine vessel is within their EEZ and the Chinese vessel operate within the âNine-dash Lineâ, which is within itâs area of operation by unilateral Chinese mandated.
IOW both vessels are in âInternational watersâ and none are participating in fishery, or any other economic activity, thus have full right to Freedom of Navigation by international agreement.
I agree that China has no right to claim sovereignty in the SCS, but they DO have the same right to Freedom of Navigation as anybody else within Philippine EEZ.
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The episode with the USCGC Hamilton happened in another tricky place, Straits of Hormuz:
That Naval History article I posted outlines pretty well how the Revenue Cutter Service and the Lifeboat Service were folded into the modern Coast Guard when it was created on the eve of WW1. One of the rationales of creating a âCoast Guardâ was that it would serve as a kind of ready reserve of seamen, officers and ships for the Navy. So the military role was baked in at the inception.
One interesting historical point, brought out in that article, is that, in the immediate pre-WW1 years, the Coast Guard was a bit ahead of the Navy in developing aircraft operations and getting air qualified officers. So Coast Guard officers ended up playing a major command role in Naval Aviation during WW1.
The Coast Guard is traditionally proud of its aviation history and capabilities. When I served with the USPHS in Galveston, one of our Galveston home-ported WMEC 210â Cutters, the Valiant (sheâs still around!) was skippered by a guy who had been a Coast Guard aviator. During dress up times, he was very fond of showing up in his âAviator Greensâ uniform, which is (was? donât know if they still have it?) ONLY an authorized uniform for Navy, Marine & Coast Aviators. He liked it that people in that maritime environment were always double-taking him, trying to figure out âWhat the Hell uniform is THAT? Is he a Brit or something?â
Wasnât USPHS the hospitalization unit for Merchant Mariners a ways back? Not to disapropriate that title from what branch you served in. Went to USPHS in the 70âs for my medical and dentistry before some president changed it. US Public Health System.
The Hamilton is the third of the latest, âLegend Classâ cutters which replaced the venerable âHamilton classâ (which included the Dallas which I posted about above). Biggest cutter the Coast Guard has sailed so far at 4500 tons and 416â.
By the way, during wartime service, and on some occasions since, Coast Guard Cutters HAVE been painted navy gray, and sometimes with the geometric neutral shade camo patterns that were designed for escort ships to interfere with periscope ranging by submarines. During the Gulf War, a number of Navy Coast Patrol (PC) vessels were recommissioned as CG cutters and they stayed gray, Iâm pretty sure. The CG also has the âblack fleetâ of bouy tender/nav aid maintainers, which are considered âcuttersâ, as are the red ice-breakers.
Your are correct. During the Viet Nam era, I served as a Surgeon in the USPHS, stationed at the Galveston Marine Hospital. We were responsible for essentially anyone with a Z-card, although eligibility did expire if youâd not been under articles for some length of time (I donât remember how longâŚto far back!!). In addition to Merchant Mariners, we were the âmedical corpsâ for the Coast Guard and had daily sick call for the USCG Base Galveston and the crews of any of the cutters that were in port. As a âUS uniformed services facilityâ we also provided care for ANY uniformed services personnel who wished to use us. In those days before CHAMPUS/Tri Care (which provides insurance for private care to beneficiaries), we did a lot of DOD/USCG/NOAA commissioned corps retiree care.
The USPHS Marine Hospital System was judged âsurplusâ and gradually phased out under Reagan and Clinton in favor of just paying health insurance for most of those folks. The USPHS Commissioned Corps still exists and the Surgeon General is the C.O. of it. And its still provides medical services to the Coast Guard where needed.
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WillyJP. you had a tough job. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service.
. You were all we had back then. Golf with our crowd anytime you like. Old fucks but have a great time hacking. Every now and then one of us nails a good shot. Itâs alll fun. PM Me if you want to have some fun These cats laugh the whole time at how terrible we are, but used to be good according to them. Itâs a hoot.
When the USS New Mexico visited Tromsø a Norwegian Coast Guard vessel was guarding it while in port and on passage in Norwegian waters.
Seen in the background here:
If you have sharp eyes, since the NoCG vessels are painted gray and blend into the landscape.
PS> The Norwegian Coast Guard is a separate branch of the Norwegian Navy, with a mixture of civilian and naval crews, just like USCG. Some of the NoCG vessels are civilian owned and on long term charter:
NoCG is NOT involved with buoy marking or lighthouses. That is under the Norwegian Coastal Authorities. (NCA)
Nor are they involved in civilian shipping matters. That is handled by the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA)
Both NCA and NMA are Government organisations, run by civilians