Service Lines

Spring 2011

Vol. 1, number 1

COMDTPUB 5700.4

Vice Adm. J. P. Currier

Deputy Commandant for Mission Support

Kerry L. Freese

Managing Editor

Rebekah Gordon

Editor/Writer

Service Lines magazine, COMDTPUB 5700.4, is

produced for members of the U.S. Coast

Guard by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Unless otherwise noted, all stories, 

photographs and graphics are produced by

Coast Guard employees.

Editorial content is unofficial and not

authority for action. Views and opinions

expressed do not necessarily reflect those of

the Department of Homeland Security or the

Coast Guard. Articles may be reprinted

except for those reprinted by permission

from other publications.

Submissions: We need your letters to the

editor, story ideas, content submissions and

suggestions. Please submit your comments

on this issue and content or ideas for future

issues by email to servicelines@uscg.mil. For

additional information you may also call

(202) 475-5767.

Service Lines editors and its editorial board

retain final approval authority for the publication or non-publication of all letters to the

editor and content submissions. We also

reserve the right to edit submissions for

length, accuracy and grammar.

Mission Support Links:

http://www.uscg.mil/missionsupport/

http://dcmslog.blogspot.com/

askdcms@uscg.mil Photo by Lt. Jennifer Runion.

Editor’s Note: Only the first two editions of Service

Lines, Spring and Summer 2011, will be printed. All

subsequent issues will be online only, found on our

website at http://www.uscg.mil/servicelines/. Visit

our website to view the current and future 

editions.
4 We Are Mission Support - Vice Adm. J. P. Currier 

6 Master Chief Petty Officer Kevin Isherwood 

10 Feature Story: Base Seattle Pilot Project Paving the Way for 

Field-Level Mission Support 

18 Force Readiness Command - Rear Adm. Timothy Sullivan 

20 Director of Operational Logistics - Capt. Rick Gromlich 

22 The Coast Guard Responds to WikiLeaks 

23 The Coast Guard Faces Operations Security Vulnerabilities 

24 Human Resources - Rear Adm. Ronald T. Hewitt 

26 The Coast Guard Raises the Bar in Diversity 

30 The Health, Safety and Work-Life Service Center 

32 The Personnel Service Center 

34 Engineering and Logistics - Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo 

36 Puerto Rico Facilities Aim to Save Energy with New Contracting Vehicle 

40 Aviation Logistics Center Leads in Logistics Support 

42 Surface Forces Logistics Center Implements Logistics Transformation 

46 C4IT - Rear Adm. Robert E. Day Jr. 

48 Ship Arrival Notification System Prepares for Increased Demand 

52 The C4IT Service Center 

54 Acquisition - Rear Adm. Ronald J. Rábago 

56 Upgraded MH-60T Helicopters Provide More Capabilities 

58 Feature Unit: Surge Staffing Branch 
2 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 3

Partners in Mission Support,

It is a distinct privilege for me to be able to introduce the inaugural issue of Service Lines magazine. Our intention is to improve

communications across the mission support enterprise so that

everyone has visibility into what is happening at different levels

of the organization. The magazine will provide a snapshot of mission support activities from around the Coast Guard with the goal

of providing transparency as we progress with our modernization

efforts. Additionally, it provides senior leadership with a forum to

pass down the intent and content of strategic direction as we continue our journey toward a modernized organization. I encourage

everyone to follow our transformation through this magazine, as

well as through mission support blogs, as we continue to align

with the Commandant’s four guiding principles.

This is your magazine; be proud of the great stories found within

and embrace the positive movement forward to transform our

mission support organization. You are all part of a service that will

soon serve as a benchmark in best practices to other organizations, both in government and the private sector, for years to

come. These are exciting times and we should all take pride in our

role as we build the future. Semper Paratus!

Vice Adm. J. P. Currier

Deputy Commandant for Mission Support

Photo by Lt. Jennifer Runion.
We Are

Mission Support 

Our efforts at modernization in mission support are beginning to show results across 

the enterprise. Our support of our operational partners is being reflected in 

enhanced readiness, improved asset availability and support for our people. Since 2009, we have 

Vice Admiral J. P. Currier. 

made remarkable advancements in operationalizing 

business rules grounded in the four cornerstones of 

logistics: configuration management, total asset visibility, bi-level maintenance and product line management. 

We have transitioned from Mission Support 1.0, where 

we stood down Maintenance and Logistics 

Commands (MLCs) and Integrated Support 

Commands (ISCs), and then established logistics and 

service centers. We are now progressing into Mission 

Support 2.0. 

The standup of Base Seattle in November 2010 

marked the official commencement of Mission 

Support 2.0. We utilized lessons learned during the 

standup of logistics and service centers to roll out 

the most visible and positive change thus far, the formation of standardized bases. This nexus will bring 

the concepts of logistic system horizontal and vertical integration together into a cohesive network of 

mission support at its most critical juncture—the 

point of service delivery. Standardized technical 

4 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines 

oversight of our numerous specialties, while affording a 

local command-and-control structure and a one-stop 

shop for all things support-related, will now be available 

through these bases. Our goal is to achieve a level of 

support that is timely and responsive to operational 

requirements. After all, that is why we exist! 

Through 2011, you will see the standup of 

the remaining 12 Phase 1 bases in critical locations across the Coast Guard. These bases will 

serve to optimize our support capabilities for 

both normal operations and contingency scenarios. The base construct brings support activiPhoto by Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Kendrick. 

ties into alignment with our service’s operational 

culture. Key lessons learned from recent major 

operations, such as our responses to the Haitian 

earthquake and Deepwater Horizon oil spill, 

were incorporated into this model to establish a 

more proactive versus reactive response posture. 

It is an essential attribute considering our 

dynamic operating environment. 

The standup of bases is only one facet of 

Mission Support 2.0. To further define our 

desired end-state—that of a collaborative and 

cohesive mission support network across the 

entire Coast Guard enterprise—we will be establishing the Director of Operational Logistics (DOL). The 

DOL will ensure the convergence of vertical integration 

(through logistics and service centers) and horizontal 

integration (bases) to provide the optimal oversight our 

numerous support specialties demand. Additionally, the 

A 25-foot Response Boat-Small from 

Coast Guard Station Seattle returns to 

base following tactics, techniques and 

procedures training. Photo by Petty 

Officer 3rd Class David R. Marin. 
DOL will partner with our operational counterparts at 

the Area level, “chopping” to them directly in times of 

major contingency response, and will serve as the mission support touchstone during normal operations. The 

DOL’s response posture is nationwide, offering a common operating picture of enterprise readiness and the 

capability to pool support resources from throughout 

the Coast Guard when needed. 

There’s a question I suspect many of you have 

posed: What’s the difference between the legacy 

MLC/ISC construct and the DOL and base construct? The 

differences will be 

apparent as soon as we 

stand these units up. 

Legacy MLCs offered 

multiple and sometimes inconsistent 

technical authorities 

from a single competency axis. Having two 

MLCs, each working for 

their respective Area 

Commander, generated differences in how 

mission support was 

coordinated and exe- Force Readiness Command ribbon cutting ceremony. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Erik Swanson. cuted between East 

and West Coast units. In 

contrast, the DOL will 

report directly to the Deputy Commandant for Mission 

Support (DCMS) to ensure consistency in support delivery across the entire mission support enterprise (having 

direct oversight of all bases in the field), while ensuring 

strict adherence to technical authority guidance (via a 

support community’s respective logistics or service center). 

The differences between the legacy ISC construct 

and the new base concept will also prove welcomed 

changes. The legacy support footprint—which included 

not only the ISCs, but Electronics Support Units, Naval 

Engineering Support Units and Civil Engineering 

Units—offered several specialized commands but no 

one source for all support in a regional area. With the 

establishment of bases, these specialty commands will 

be consolidated under one command structure, offering 

command cadre positions that provide mission support 

leaders the opportunity to oversee an entire mission 

support portfolio instead of a specific specialty, a key to 

their development for senior leadership roles. 

Additionally, having that one point of contact versus 

several different commands in one geographic region 

will afford the operational commander one central 

source that can provide access to the entire support network. 

I also want to welcome another enterprise to the 

misson support fold—Force Readiness Command 

(FORCECOM). The 

reconstitution of 

Pacific Area and 

Atlantic Area provided the opportunity to move 

FORCECOM into 

the DCMS organization. A command that has 

been resoundingly successful in 

overseeing training, doctrine and 

assessment for 

our enterprise, 

retaining the 

FORCECOM organization was a must. Additionally, FORCECOM shares the 

DCMS mantra: To ensure the readiness and capability of 

the Coast Guard’s people, assets and systems. FORCECOM is a welcomed partner on the mission support 

team and a key participant in our modernization efforts. 

Bases will be working closely with operational partners over the next several months to further define our 

organization and business processes while clarifying the 

role of each and every member of the mission support 

community. We will be sure not to lose sight of our true 

goals: That our support personnel are valued, are 

offered opportunities to excel and advance through 

training and experience, and that they become experts 

in their field to make mission support what it can be—a 

world-class agent for the promotion of safe and effective mission execution. �

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 5
 
6 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines 

COMMAND 

MASTER 

CHIEF 
-

-

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 7 

Greetings from Coast Guard headquarters in 

Washington, D.C.! 

Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m Kevin 

Isherwood, an electrician's mate by trade and a 

Command Master Chief (CMC) by choice. I am honored 

and privileged to serve as the Command Master Chief for 

the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support (DCMS). 

A hearty welcome aboard goes out to the great folks 

in Force Readiness Command (FORCECOM). In January 

2011, FORCECOM joined the ranks of the DCMS organization as one of our key components and operational 

partners in the mission support community. I am excited 

by what FORCECOM brings to the mission support fight! 

Their keen focus on doctrine; tactics, techniques and 

procedures; training systems; and standardization 

through assessment perfectly aligns with our organizational goals. 

As I travel throughout the Coast Guard, I am often 

asked what’s on my plate. Since there is no simple 

answer to that question, here is a quick overview of the 

top issues that currently take up most of my time: 

Mission Support 2.0 and 13 base stand-ups 

As Mission Support 2.0 was under development and 

the plans for bases were maturing, critical leadership 

position shortfalls were identified, including the need 

for base CMCs. Due to the personnel allowance list, size 

of each base and the scope of responsibilities of the 

position, there is an organizational need for a full-time 

CMC at each location. In today’s budget-constrained 

environment, most personnel changes must be managed within the current budget base. Consequently, it 

was determined that 17 E-7 Career Development 

Advisor (CDA) billets would be reprogrammed to 13 

base CMC/Senior Chief positions. This change established the needed base CMC billets and eliminated 

redundancies in the CDA program. 

Career Retention Screening Panel 

The release of the 2010 Career Retention Screening 

Panel (CRSP) results sparked a flurry of activity and 

absorbed the attention of many of us. As you may know, 

1,181 retirement-eligible members’ records were 

reviewed for retention and 377 of those members were 

selected for involuntary retirement (IR). Forty-five of the 

retirement eligible members selected for IR appealed 

the panel’s decision and seven of those appeals were 

approved. Ninety-nine of the retirement eligible members selected for IR submitted waivers to retire after Dec. 

1, 2011; three of those waivers were approved. A work 

group was chartered to consider lessons learned 

throughout the entire CRSP process and develop recommendations for future CRSPs. 

Assignment priority review 

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard 

Michael P. Leavitt selected me to lead a diverse work 

group to review the assignment priority process. This 

will involve defining assignment priorities and determining if the current system ensures fairness, consistency 

and parity in career paths. To this end, you will soon 

receive a short, comprehensive assignment priority survey—your participation is critical to our 

success! 

Over the next year, I look forward to meeting you 

and working together to accomplish the DCMS mission. 

Open communication is an important key for success, 

and your input will help ensure DCMS moves forward in 

an effective and informed way. I encourage you to take 

advantage of the helpful resources and information that 

are on my website at http://cgweb.comdt.uscg.mil/cmc/. 

Thank you for your continued support and 

dedication. 

Semper paratus! �

From the 

Command Master Chief 

Deputy Commandant for Mission Support 

Master Chief Petty Officer 

Kevin Isherwood 
8 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
SAN FRANCISCO—The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, 

homeported at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif., passes 

Alcatraz Island as it enters the San Francisco Bay, as the Coast 

Guard’s first National Security Cutter. The new cutters will 

eventually replace the aging 378-foot cutters as the Coast 

Guard’s long-range patrol asset. Photo by Petty Officer 

Jonathan R. Cilley. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 9
 
Base Seattle Pilot 

Project Paving the 

Way for Field-Level 

Mission Support 

by Rebekah Gordon 

Photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan W. Bradshaw 

10 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
SEATTLE—In mid-January 2011, 

500 hours of testing for a new 

engine prototype for the U.S. 

Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea were 

about to get underway at Pier 36, 

where the icebreaker has been in 

maintenance status since mid2010 after being sidelined by an 

engine casualty. But running an 

emissions-producing engine for 

that many hours required advance 

notification to the Puget Sound 

Clean Air Agency. 

Cmdr. Dan Frank, the commanding officer of Naval 

Engineering Support Unit (NESU) 

Seattle, which helped build the 

prototype, brought the impending task to the attention of his 

Coast Guard Base Seattle colleagues in a weekly staff meeting. 

At the meeting, the head of the 

base’s Facilities Engineering 

Department said he had the right 

agency contacts and could get 

the job done relatively easily, so 

he took it from there. 

“We weren't certain from an 

engineering perspective what the 

emissions were going to look like 

coming out of Polar Sea for 500 

hours, and it's an environmentally 

sensitive area. So it was important 

to be ahead of the power curve 

and reach out to the Puget Sound 

Clear Air Agency and say, ‘This is 

what we're going to do,’” Frank 

said. “The base was very instrumental in making that happen.” 

While the NESU still would 

have completed the required notifications before the testing got 

underway, the process would 

have been much more cumbersome without the new base construct that Frank is now a part of. 

Fireman Melissa Lashway of the Naval Engineering Support 

Unit at Coast Guard Base Seattle helps to repair the diesel Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 11 

engines aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea. 
Coast Guard Base 

Seattle department 

heads discuss 

upcoming operations. 

Single Point of Accountability 

Stood up in November 2010, Base Seattle is the most 

visible change in the second phase, known as Mission 

Support 2.0, of the Coast Guard’s mission support reorganization effort. Designed to coordinate all mission 

support activities in its area of responsibility and reinstate local mission support command unity and authority, Base Seattle is finishing up a 90-day pilot period as it 

implements this construct for the first time. Twelve more 

bases throughout the U.S.—at locations stretching from 

New Orleans to Kodiak, Alaska—will be stood up in fiscal 

year 2011, with more to follow in subsequent phases. 

A standard base is led by a commanding officer, an 

executive officer and a command master chief. They oversee seven departments, led by department heads for 

naval engineering; personnel support; health, safety and 

work-life (HSWL); comptroller/base operations; procurement and contracting; facilities engineering; and command, control, communications, computers and information technology (C4IT). However, the naval engineering 

and C4IT departments will not materialize until fiscal year 

2013; until then, legacy NESU and Electronics Support 

Units will remain subordinate commands to bases. 

Under the new construct, the base commander is the 

local staff representative of the Deputy Commandant for 

Mission Support (DCMS), and will report to the DCMS’ 

new Director of Operational Logistics (DOL) based in 

Norfolk, Va. 

The commanding officer of a base provides a single 

point of accountability for mission support activities. 

When a cutter comes into port with a host of support 

needs, ranging from crew dental care to engine maintenance, the cutter’s command can go to one person to ask 

for everything to get done. Previously, mission support 

elements in a geographic area were separate units, each 

under their own command. Cmdr. Jason Hamilton, the 

executive officer of the Polar Sea, is hopeful that having a 

base commander will enable more efficient and collaborative mission support delivery. 

“Some of the problems that we ran into were when 

we'd have separate entities working on the same base 

with no center point to work from. They would be doing 

their own things, sometimes without coordination with 

each other, and also there was a lack of accountability to 

a certain extent,” Hamilton said from aboard the Polar 

Sea. “If service wasn't being provided to the level one 

might want, they were lacking a senior leader to connect 

into.” 

That one point of accountability and command-andcontrol authority at Base Seattle is Capt. Bob Klapproth. 

As commanding officer, he is responsible for about 500 

base personnel who are about 70 percent active duty, 20 

12 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
percent reservists and 10 percent civilians. On top of the 

usual day-to-day activities that come with operating 

any military base, Klapproth is leading the charge in 

implementing an entirely new way of administering and 

delivering mission support services in the field. 

‘Working Smarter’ 

Besides instituting weekly staff meetings to facilitate information sharing and heighten awareness of 

what departments have on their plate—as Klapproth 

puts it, “working smarter” to accomplish tasks that cross 

specialties—his efforts have also encompassed consolidating services shared amongst all base departments. 

Before the base stand-up, each mission support 

command unit had its own yeomen for administrative 

and pay duties, each doing some of their typical activities, like approving leave requests, differently. Now, all of 

the base’s yeomen work under a chief yeoman in the 

Personnel Support Department, performing their duties 

the same way for the entire base and all operational customers in the base’s area of responsibility. 

“Now we have a centralized shop of critical mass,” 

Klapproth said. “If your YN3 [yeoman third class] was 

working and took two weeks of leave, you weren’t going 

to get anything done for those two weeks because your 

yeoman was gone. Not now. Somebody’s always going 

to be here. Somebody’s going to backfill for that person 

and you’re going to get continuous service, which I 

think is the end goal we need to strive for. And you’re 

going to get a fairly significant knowledge pool to draw 

from.” 

As the pilot project continues, the 

base is looking to next do a similar consolidation for storekeepers, who conduct property and financial management. 

As the yeomen at Base Seattle have 

consolidated, they have all been directly 

involved in developing a new standard 

way to provide services. All of that is 

being carefully documented, as a significant part involves helping draft a base 

organization manual. The manual will 

cover the rules of business, ranging 

from watchstanding to contracting 

authorities, essentially outlining all of a 

base’s processes so that they can be 

replicated as more bases are stood up. 

The goal of the manual, Klapproth said, 

is to make it “general enough to be of 

value for everybody regardless of location or specifics 

but yet not too general or generic that it doesn’t provide 

any value.” 

Besides providing the DOL with a draft organization 

manual, the base staff has documented all the activities 

undertaken to stand up the base, folding them into a 

stand-up playbook that includes ceremony scripts, suggested physical layouts and a timeline for completing 

each step. The base is also contributing to the soon-tobe-released DCMS Concept of Operations (CONOPS), 

which outlines interaction between all DCMS components. 

Technical Versus Command Authority 

One of the pilot project’s challenges has been navigating and refining the relationship between the bases 

and the logistics and service centers (stood up during 

the first phase of modernization, Mission Support 1.0) 

and, in particular, where the line is drawn between technical and command authority for each. These six centers—the Personnel Service Center; the Health, Safety 

and Work-Life Service Center; the Surface Forces 

Logistics Center; the Aviation Logistics Center; the Shore 

Infrastructure Logistics Center; and the C4IT Service 

Center—provide technical oversight of the mission support services delivered by units in the field. Product and 

service lines in each of these centers, such as the Small 

Boat Product Line or Enlisted Personnel Service Line, are 

the points of accountability and authority for an entire 

asset class or service type. 

Capt. Bob Klapproth, commanding officer of Coast 

Guard Base Seattle, 

engages in work at his 

office at Pier 36 in Seattle. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 13
 
14 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines

Technical authority resides with a product or service line—

which, as an example, tells Base Seattle to provide cutter engine work

locally in accordance with the line’s technical specs and configuration management principles. “Technical authority, for example, is I’m

not going to tell the NESU how many foot-pounds of torque to put

on an engine block,” Klapproth said. “A bunch of very smart engineers—prior cuttermen—they know how to do it, they’ve done it

before, and they’re going to give them technical guidance on how to

execute that. They’re going to tell them what to fix, how to fix it and

when to fix it, in what order, because they have the whole national

Coast Guard interest in mind.”

Meanwhile, command authority resides with the base. It includes

establishing base priorities, maintaining order and discipline, rewarding employees and performing collateral duties like putting salt

down when it snows. “Command authority is the care and feeding of

the people, the administration of the unit,” he said. “Making sure they

show up to work on time and are able to do their job to support the

operator is our business.”

In some instances, the lines between technical and command

authority are fuzzy, and the pilot project is helping resolve those gray

areas. “It’s that seamless coordination that we’re striving to develop,”

Klapproth said. “That’s a lot of—during the pilot—finding out where

are the rough points, where’s the overlap, and how do we eliminate

both?”

Contingency Readiness

The base construct was developed, in part, to enable more

responsive and comprehensive mission support services in regional

and national contingencies. In a regional contingency, the base commanding officer will serve as the district commander’s logistics manager. Similarly, in a national contingency, the DOL will serve the

appropriate area commander. In addition, mission support personnel

will eventually be embedded in district and area offices as ‘4 staff’ to

provide daily subject matter expertise and operational support.

Master Chief Petty Officer Karl Keyes, the command master chief of

Base Seattle, is confident that the construct will work well for contingency operations at the base, wherein Klapproth would “chop” to the

13th District (D13) Commander Rear Adm. Gary Blore.

“If something were to happen here in D13, we have the ability to

take the entire base and put it under the command and control of

Rear Adm. Gary Blore. Whereas prior to the base standup, there were

five different units working for five different logistics centers, and it

would have been almost impossible to do that,” Keyes said. “So if the

Green River floods or there’s a major storm off of Astoria, within probably less than an hour, Rear Adm. Blore could have the entire base

under his command and control to focus on that problem.”

In the case of an emergency, the base construct gives its command quick and complete visibility into the status of all the mission

support elements. It is also designed to quickly mobilize support for

national contingencies, like last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill,
Petty Officer 2nd Class Padraic 

Duffy of Coast Guard Base 

Seattle’s Naval Engineering 

Support Unit helps cutter engineers to repair the diesel 

engines aboard the U.S. Coast 

Guard Cutter Polar Sea. said Cmdr. Keith Jernigan, the head of the base’s Personnel Support Department. 

“Issuing orders for all base personnel will be more efficient. Since we have all the 

yeomen in a single department, we will no longer have to coordinate with yeoman from five commands on the issuance of orders for deployments,” he said. 

Military Career Paths and Change Management 

Besides standing up the organization and creating rules that govern the intersection of authority between the bases and the logistics and service centers, a 

third arm in making the base construct successful is developing mission support 

career paths for officers. At first glance, it might appear that this eliminates command opportunities, with individual support units losing their commands to fall 

under one base commander. But Keyes and others who are bringing the base to 

life see it having the opposite effect. 

Previously, being the commanding officer of a NESU might be the pinnacle of 

an officer’s career. But now, as a department head at the base, the officer becomes 

a “broadened specialist”—with exposure to logistics disciplines beyond his or her 

own—and can aspire to go further into management by becoming a base or 

logistics or service center commander. That could, in turn, make him or her eligible for a flag-level assignment. “You’re increasing the number of true command 

opportunities,” Keyes said. 

Just as this shift requires a change in mindset about what constitutes a career 

in logistics or mission support, coping with all the changes that have come about 

during the base stand-up and Mission Support 2.0 implementation has been a 

notable challenge. A big hurdle for Keyes has been shifting the mentality of base 

personnel from one of “yours and mine” to “ours,” as departments now must work 

together and share resources. The base is akin to a ship and its crew, he said. If 

there is a hole in the ship, the entire crew, and not just naval engineers, must work 

together to fix it, lest it sink. 

Master Chief Petty Officer Karl Keyes outlines the 

weekly agenda during Coast Guard Base Seattle’s 

department head staff meeting. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 15
 
“If the hole in the ship happens to be in procurement and contracting, well, the SKs [storekeepers] that 

are in personnel are going to need to surge to fix that 

hole, because if procurement and contracting sinks, we 

all sink. And that’s the mentality—we’re all in this 

together,” he said. “It’s teaching them that we’re all going 

to win or we’re all going to lose.” 

Department heads have also had to manage change 

and educate their staffs about Mission Support 2.0, said 

Lt. Cmdr. John Allen, Base Seattle’s HSWL Department 

head. “One of the biggest challenges has been managing the leadership expectations and bringing people 

along and showing them the benefits, and not trying to 

use coercion,” he said. “I think as time goes on, more 

lights start to go off. And they start to maybe not fully 

support it just yet, but they start to understand it. So I 

think it's a process that takes time. Especially with some 

of our medical practices being as far away as 500 miles, 

we have to convey to them what 2.0 is and why we have 

to do these things, to be proactive and preventive vice 

reactive, and try to anticipate problems and work 

together.” 

The prospective DOL, Capt. Rick Gromlich, who has 

been selected for the rank of rear admiral, acknowledged that communicating about the changes under 

modernization has been challenging. “There's such a 

large, diverse audience that we're addressing, so to get 

the right information to people at the appropriate level 

Lt. Cmdr. Li-Kuei Hung, a 

dentist at Coast Guard 

Base Seattle, performs a 

routine examination. 

has probably been the biggest challenge we’ve faced,” 

he said from Coast Guard headquarters in Washington. 

It is not just change for change’s sake, he said, but to 

make mission support delivery more effective and efficient across the enterprise, particularly in a budget-constrained environment. He knows that personnel in the 

field are used to doing things a certain way, and that it’s 

a lot to ask of them to both change and trust leadership’s 

rationale in doing so. “To me, a key piece of this is trust,” 

he said. “There are a lot of people, I think, who feel like 

the only way that I can do this is if ‘I do it myself. Nobody 

can do it better than me.’ And that's been a big challenge. But we've got to earn that trust, and we're working really hard to do that. We’re also committed to working with our union partners as we develop the CONOPS 

and other changes.” 

High Hopes from Customers 

For the base’s operational customers, such as Sector 

Puget Sound, the transition has been “completely seamless,” said Sector Commander Capt. Scott Ferguson. 

“Everything seems to be working just fine. My boats are 

getting repaired quickly, my cutters need parts—they 

get them. And so as far as operations go, I'm able to execute very effectively,” Ferguson said. “My biggest fear 

was that we would see a drop in support. Like any new 

organization, there's always a period where you've got 

to make adjustments to the new organization. I've not 

16 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
 

seen that drop. I'm sure as we mature the process 

together, Bob [Klapproth] and I and both our teams, 

that we'll see further efficiencies.” 

Ferguson noted that getting support is now easier, 

a one-stop shop instead of many steps. Still, he hopes to 

see additional improvements down the road as the base 

matures, including better parts inventory management, 

support availability 24 hours a day and plans for continuity of operations should the base find itself wiped out 

by a major disaster. Still unknown is how existing sector 

logistics departments will operate within the base construct, both for sectors that are co-located with bases, as 

is the case with Sector Puget Sound and Base Seattle at 

Pier 36, and those that are not. Furthermore, along with 

command staff of D13, he noted that the base will only 

be optimal in supporting them if it is adequately funded and resourced. 

“It is a good process, and it does have a lot of 

promise,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Jim Savinski, 

D13’s regional boat manager. “But they're trying to meet 

the customer demand, they're trying to build up the 

infrastructure, they're trying to build the metrics to see 

how they're doing, but at the same level of funding.” 

Ferguson also hopes that the Coast Guard will apply 

lessons learned through the base stand-up to make mission support delivery the best it can be. 

“I'm hoping that through this new structure and the 

Petty Officer 1st Class 

Richard Moreno, stationed aboard the 

U.S. Coast Guard 

Cutter Polar Sea, 

works to install a piston into one of the 

ship’s diesel engines. 

number of bases that are being put out, we'll gather 

lessons learned and we'll be creative enough as an organization and have the courage to make adjustments 

and apply those lessons learned quickly,” he said. “Most 

operational commanders in the Coast Guard forget 

about logistics, and they don't understand the importance. I'm here to tell you that Sector Puget Sound cannot perform without a solid logistics capability. We're all 

about logistics here and good support for our far-flung 

operations.” 

Base leadership readily acknowledged that much of 

their pilot project is about trial and error: testing, measuring, improving and redoing. Deborah Cefaratti, the 

department head for procurement and contracting, 

likened it to baby steps, where “every day is a challenge, 

every day is some type of a change or something that 

needs to be done.” Step by step, they are determining 

how all the pieces of a base will come together. 

“It’s been very interesting being, as we say, at the 

pointy end of the spear and figuring out—for the first 

time—how we’re going to stand up a base,” said Frank, 

the NESU commanding officer. “A big part of this is figuring out what works and what does not work, and 

being honest with ourselves about what’s not working 

and accurate about why it's not working. Is it not working because we're not doing it properly? Or is it working, 

but just not the way we thought it would work?” �

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 17
 
18 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines 

FORCECOM
-

-

 

-

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 19 

Why keep a FORCECOM? 

No doubt this question is heard around the Coast 

Guard, but the answer is simple: The Coast Guard Force 

Readiness Command, or FORCECOM, is emerging as a 

new and innovative entity to fill a critical void in the 

service’s quest for standardization. FORCECOM was 

designed from the ground up to prepare our workforce to perform efficiently, effectively and safely. 

FORCECOM seamlessly ties together training, 

assessments, Commandant instructions, doctrine, and 

tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP). Putting 

these components together using various feedback 

loops and business practices creates a process by 

which we can best prepare to execute our missions. We 

call this process the Human Performance Cycle. 

The vision of FORCECOM is to drive a continual 

Human Performance Cycle to impart the skills and 

knowledge required to achieve mission excellence. 

This cycle integrates these related components of doc 

trine, training and assessments into a holistic system 

that is aligned with Coast Guard operational needs. 

Doctrine and TTP provide us with the guidance on how 

to do our jobs; training provides the core competencies on duties, watch stations and mission assign 

ments; and assessments provide evaluation and feedback mechanisms that drive continual improvement. 

Critical to the cycle’s success are multiple feedback 

loops and analyses of lessons learned. 

As a national command, we have made some 

notable contributions to mission performance. We 

stood up a forward-deployed schoolhouse that provided newly arriving multi-agency responders with justin-time critical knowledge and standardized skills to 

respond to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We drove a 

reduction and streamlining of mandatory training for 

all Coast Guard personnel, enabling the reinvestment 

of more than 400,000 man hours. We have developed 

baseline operational readiness metrics and an associated readiness dashboard for Deployable Operations 

Group units, select Pacific Area cutters, Air Stations San 

Francisco and Sacramento, and the Helicopter 

Interdiction Tactical Squadron. This dashboard whets 

the appetite for analysis and presentation of readiness 

metrics for use by operational commanders. Through 

its direct oversight of the Coast Guard Training System, 

we can rapidly effect training changes in response to 

feedback from operational commanders and from mission support directorates and product lines. 

In January 2011, FORCECOM transitioned to the 

Deputy Commandant for Mission Support (DCMS), 

enabling strong alignment with its directorates and 

fostering close engagement with product and service 

lines. We are now a partner-in-performance within the 

DCMS family, with close ties with operational commanders and units through doctrine and TTP development, as well as various inspection and assessment 

processes. 

Aiming high in 2011, we intend to develop and 

manage the emergent Coast Guard Readiness 

Reporting System; standardize the performance of the 

Coast Guard’s Exercise Support Teams; and develop, 

codify and implement a process to improve the collec 

tion, analysis and incorporation of lessons learned. 

Learn more about FORCECOM and read our 2011 

Business Plan at http://www.uscg.mil/forcecom. 

FORCECOM’s focus is, and always will be, operational commanders and their units. Our job is to keep 

the tip of the spear sharpened. And with the help of 

our mission support partners, operational units and 

Coast Guard personnel will reap the benefits. �

from the 

Commander 

Force Readiness Command 

Rear Adm. Timothy Sullivan 

Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class CC Clayton. 
20 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines 

Director of 

Operational 

Logistics 
Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 21

The tragic Haitian earthquake in January 2010

became the largest and most complex real-world test of

the modernized mission support organization (Mission

Support 1.0) to date. The new bi-level logistics and service-delivery system provided a high level of operational

readiness for deployed personnel and assets. However,

much of the mission support response was centrally

directed from Coast Guard headquarters using an ad

hoc structure in the field. Mission Support 2.0 will

mature the mission support organization in the field to

one that is standard, clear and predictable—a priority of

the Commandant’s guiding principle of steadying the

service.

The first step in implementing Mission Support 2.0

occurred in November 2010 when the Director of

Operational Logistics (DOL) was established in Norfolk,

Va. The DOL will deliver logistics during steady state and

contingency operations, and for planned events of

national significance. Its first subordinate unit—Base

Seattle—was established shortly after when regional

mission support elements transitioned to the new standard base construct. These critical first steps began the

shift of command and control of operational logistics to

the field while allowing for continued implementation

of the successful bi-level mission support business

model.

In his role as commander of Base Seattle, Capt. Bob

Klapproth will coordinate all regional mission support

activities in the 13th District and provide a single touch

point for operational commanders for coordinated mission support services. A member of the Base Seattle

command cadre will provide daily mission support

expertise as a collateral duty to the district commander

and support current, planned and contingency operations. 

In general, operational partners will receive logistics

and support services using the same product line

processes that are in place today, but they will have

additional avenues to access those services and those

services will be better integrated across product lines. A

base provides a single point of contact to access and

coordinate the wide variety of services provided by the

mission support organization. Individual service lines

(i.e., Naval Engineering Support Units, Electronics

Support Units, and legacy Health, Safety and Work-Life

field offices) will remain field-level touch points for those

accessing individual mission support services.

Looking ahead to 2011, the DOL and the Base

Seattle pilot will refine the cooperation, team-building

and adaptability essential to succeed in a matrixed environment and establish additional bases in more locations. Specifically, we will:

1. Release a standard base organization manual to

document the consistent level of services provided

by a base regardless of location.

2. Provide the Mission Support 2.0 Concept of

Operations to ensure responsibilities and authorities

in the mission support organization are clearly

defined. It will include lessons learned from the Base

Seattle pilot to ensure the successful standup of

future bases. 

3. Define the processes to realign the DOL and base

reporting chain during major national and regional

contingencies to the area and district commander,

respectively.

4. Initiate the standup of the remaining 12 Phase 1

bases after the pilot program has run for a minimum

of 90 days. 

The other 12 planned Phase 1 base locations are:

Alameda, Calif; Boston; Cleveland; Elizabeth City, N.C.;

Honolulu; Ketchikan, Alaska; Kodiak, Alaska; Los

Angeles/Long Beach; Miami; New Orleans; Portsmouth,

Va.; and Washington, D.C. (headquarters). We are studying potential Phase 2 and 3 base locations in concert

with Atlantic Area, Pacific Area and other major field

commands. 

This is an incredibly exciting time for all of us within

the mission support organization. You should be proud

of your accomplishments to date. Through your sustained efforts, we continue to identify more effective

and efficient ways to deliver mission support services to

the operational community! 

from the 

Prospective Director of 

Operational Logistics 

Capt. (Rear Adm. Select) Rick Gromlich

U.S. Coast Guard photo.
The Coast 

Guard 

Responds to 

WikiLeaks 

by Sam Evans, Security Policy Division 

C

oast Guard personnel make choices every 

day about the details of their lives that they 

may or may not tell others, whether in an 

office conversation or a status update on 

Facebook. However, sometimes you may 

realize that you made a mistake and revealed something too sensitive that would have been better kept 

private. But for the cache of military communications 

and diplomatic cables posted on the WikiLeaks website, there was no mistake. The organization intentionally posted details from private interactions never 

intended for public dissemination, revealing classified 

and highly sensitive information. 

Following the WikiLeaks releases last year, the 

Office of Management and Budget directed all agencies that handle classified information to establish a 

security assessment team to review procedures for 

safeguarding classified information against improper 

disclosure, evaluate configuration of classified government systems and review restrictions on usage of 

removable media on classified government computer 

networks. The Department of Homeland Security further directed each component to establish security 

assessment teams and accomplish the internal review. 

Coast Guard leadership asked the Insider Threat 

Working Group (ITWG) to take the lead and begin 

working on these issues. The ITWG consists of counterintelligence, Coast Guard Investigative Service, 

security and information assurance experts. The ITWG 

was initially formed at Coast Guard headquarters in 

late 2009 and will ultimately be established at the area 

commands once policy is developed. 

While the ITWG continues its work, it is important 

that all of us remember our role in protecting our 

nation’s secrets. There are legitimate reasons to classify information that the Coast Guard needs to conduct 

its many missions. 

All personnel should be reminded to not access 

WikiLeaks or other websites to view or download the 

publicized classified information. Doing so would 

introduce potentially classified information to unclassified networks. It is incorrect to assume that the information is no longer classified even if it resides in the 

public domain as, according to Executive Order 13526, 

“classified information shall not be declassified automatically as a result of any unauthorized disclosure of 

identical or similar information.” 

The information posted on WikiLeaks and various 

websites has not been declassified by an appropriate 

authority and requires continued classification or 

reclassification. It is apparently classified information 

that appears to have been disclosed without appropriate review and authority. The information posted 

needs to be reviewed by the appropriate Original 

Classification Authorities (OCAs) to determine if it is 

classified, conduct damage assessments and make a 

determination regarding continued classification. 

Despite the circumstances surrounding WikiLeaks, 

everyone must continue to protect information commensurate with the level of classification assigned 

until the information is assessed by the appropriate 

OCAs. �

22 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
The Coast Guard Faces 

Operations Security 

Vulnerabilities 

by Operations Security Staff 

T

oday more than ever, 

Operations Security 

(OPSEC) is vital for Coast 

Guard mission success. The 

lack of sound OPSEC practices endangers the lives of 

Guardians and their family members 

and reduces operational effectiveness. Constantly emerging technologies allow adversaries to exploit 

weak OPSEC practices and access 

sensitive Coast Guard information. 

One particular sector our adversaries can exploit is unencrypted and 

unsecured email. Unencrypted and 

unsecured email containing sensitive Coast Guard information 

remains a major OPSEC concern 

despite repeated guidance advising 

personnel of its dangers. Sophisticated adversaries may 

have the means to access Coast Guard email once the 

information leaves the security of the Coast Guard Data 

Network. In other words, our emails are vulnerable to 

being intercepted by our adversaries. 

Governing Policy 

COMDTINST 5500.13, U.S. Coast Guard Information 

Assurance for Unclassified Information Systems, states U.S. Coast Guard photo. 

Photo by Lt. Cmdr. C. T. O'Neil. 

that Coast Guard email shall be encrypted and password 

protected if the recipient is located outside the continental United States, and when sending official Coast 

Guard email to non-DHS.gov domains. 

Countermeasures 

The least expensive and most effective countermeasure to address this vulnerability is awareness. 

Awareness resources and references are available to all 

personnel at the Office of Security Policy and 

Management’s OPSEC website at 

http://cgweb.comdt.uscg.mil/dcms-34/OPSEC.aspx. 

In addition to awareness, OPSEC surveys are available to units, free of charge, which will help unit commanders identify weaknesses in their OPSEC programs 

and recommend ways to address the weaknesses. To 

schedule an OPSEC survey, please contact your security 

manager. OPSEC points of contact are Randy Reau at 

Randall.J.Reau@uscg.mil and Larry Pugliese at 

Lawrence.J.Pugliese@uscg.mil. �

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 23 
24 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
-

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Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 25 

From the 

Assistant Commandant for 

Human Resources 

Rear Adm. Ronald T. Hewitt 

The mission of Human Resources is to “meet the 

people needs of the Coast Guard, and the needs of Coast 

Guard people.” In practical terms, this means supplying 

leaders at all levels of the Coast Guard with the people 

they need to accomplish their mission, and providing for 

our shipmates, both military and civilian. 

The ability to execute our mission was greatly 

enhanced with the stand-up of the mission support 

organization, including the Personnel Service Center 

and the Health, Safety and Work-Life Service Center. 

Since then, we have been working to standardize our 

people support services to ensure all Coast Guard members get consistent, quality support wherever they are 

located. 

As we re engineer our service delivery model, we are 

also implementing internal controls to make certain our 

processes and systems are audit compliant. Our focus in 

this realm is to develop a civilian time and attendance 

system, a civilian electronic official personnel folder, and 

a military payroll system that provides better tracking, 

accuracy and access to records. We are also acquiring a 

new electronic health record system that will provide 

Coast Guard active duty and reserve personnel with a 

longitudinal record for their entire career and will facilitate provision of care beyond retirement. 

Our effort to improve non-pay compensation for all 

members of our Coast Guard family is achieving 

unprecedented success. The Coast Guard Exchange 

System (CGES) has expanded its online presence at 

http://www.cg-exchange.com, and we now have new 

and improved stores in many locations, including a 

deployable support exchange that can bring CGES ser 

vices to our front lines. CGES profits are rising, allowing 

greater returns for our morale, well-being and recreation 

programs. 

We’ve tackled assignment challenges driven by contingency operations and fluid budget forecasts while 

minimizing adverse impacts. Our surge staffing process 

delivered nearly 9,000 responders to support the Haitian 

earthquake and Deepwater Horizon response operations. Our Recruiting Command met its reserve accession target for the first time in recent history and 

achieved significant workforce diversity goals. The quality of our enlisted recruits continues to be the best 

among all military services. 

Last year, Coast Guard reservists showcased their 

value as an integral component of the total workforce. 

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occasioned the largest 

recall of the Coast Guard selected reserve since the Sept. 

11 terrorist attacks, with more than 2,600 reservists 

mobilized. In addition, 195 reservists responded to the 

Haitian earthquake and 23 supported Midwest floods. 

However, these challenging operations verified the 

necessity of important program improvements. 

This year, we are developing a Concept of Reserve 

Employment to help reservists and their commands 

understand what skills and competencies they are 

expected to attain, how to attain them through standardized training and augmentation, and how they may 

expect to be employed when mobilized for specific contingencies. We have also chartered a work group to 

develop doctrine to guide the mobilization and demobilization process to ensure that lessons learned from 

Deepwater Horizon don’t become shelfware. And, we 

are continuing to mature the Reserve Force Readiness 

System implemented over the past couple of years. 

We also continue to excel in developing leaders at 

the Coast Guard Academy. The academy doubled the 

percentage of minority admissions from 12 percent in 

2008 to 24 percent in 2010, achieved accreditation from 

the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, 

and was ranked the top regional college in the 

Northeast in U.S. News and World Report’s 2011 school 

rankings. 

I am very proud of everyone in Human Resources. 

Your hard work, creativity and resilience as you deliver 

our mission will ensure the Coast Guard remains a premier maritime service that is Semper Paratus! �

Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Kendrick. 
26 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
The Coast Guard 

Raises the Bar in 

Diversity Management 

by Portia Boggia Davidson, Office of Diversity 

T

he Coast Guard recognizes that recruiting, 

developing and retaining a highly skilled, capable and diverse workforce is a business imperative and critical to mission readiness. Valuing 

diversity is an important part of building a work 

environment that respects and appreciates the contributions of individuals from various backgrounds who 

share the Coast Guard’s core values of honor, respect 

and devotion to duty. 

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp is committed to making the service a federal government 

leader in diversity management. To realize this commitment, the Coast Guard has implemented an aggressive 

and innovative plan for diversity management. 

In 2009, the Coast Guard published its Diversity 

Strategic Plan, which sets clear and concise direction for 

the service’s senior leaders to make diversity-related 

business decisions. Now, the Diversity Strategic Plan has 

inspired a campaign, known as Operational Task 

(OpTask) Diversity, which aligns and links the Coast 

Guard’s component-level strategic goals with its tactical 

field-level actions and related measurable performance 

objectives. 

In April 2010, the Coast Guard hosted a three-day 

diversity leadership summit that helped improve the 

service’s training and education to underscore the value 

of workforce diversity. Many attendees described the 

summit as a “world-class” event. It brought together 

more than 200 men and women from across the Coast 

Guard, providing valuable opportunities to network 

with colleagues in diversity management. 

2010 Accomplishments and Milestones 

Already, the Coast Guard’s diversity strategy and 

campaign are producing measurable results: 

•	 For the first time, the Coast Guard ranked 16th on 

the list of the top 50 employers identified by 

HBCUConnect.com, a website for students, alumni 

and faculty of Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities. 

•	 The Civilian Hiring Guide for Supervisors and 

Managers, published in June 2010, underscored the 

value of a diverse applicant pool in selecting the 

best-qualified applicants. 

•	 The Coast Guard Academy Class of 2014 recently 

swore in the highest number of minority cadets in 

the academy’s history. There was a 79 percent 

increase in minority inquiries over 2009, including a 

147 percent increase in African-American inquiries. 

•	 Of the 2,257 active duty accessions in fiscal year 

2010, 40 percent were underrepresented minorities 

and nearly 30 percent were women, an increase over 

previous years. 

•	 The service promoted the first African-American 

three-star flag officer, Vice Adm. Manson Brown. 

•	 The Coast Guard appointed the second woman to 

serve as Vice Commandant, Vice Adm. Sally BriceO’Hara. 

•	 The Coast Guard selected the first African-American 

aviator in 31 years to command an air station, Cmdr. 

Michael Platt. 

•	 Officer and enlisted minority retention remained at 

an all-time high, at more than 90 percent, exceeding 

majority retention rates. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 27


Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Etta Smith. 
Lt. Jeanine Menze, the first African-American female aviator in Coast Guard history, pins aviator wings on Lt. j.g. La’Shanda Holmes, the first African-American 

female helicopter pilot in the Coast Guard. U.S. Navy photo by Ens. Ryan 

Trespalacios. 

The Coast Guard recognizes the need to continue creating and maintaining a diverse workforce, and to ensure 

that every American has the opportunity to join or be 

employed by the Coast Guard. The service’s leadership 

appreciates the importance of participating in affinity 

group conferences, which support underrepresented 

populations by highlighting legislation that may impact 

members and offering professional development, mentoring and outreach. 

Outreach builds Coast Guard awareness and support, 

especially in geographic areas and within organizations 

whose demographics meet the needs of the service. In 

2010, outreach teams increased Coast Guard visibility and 

built relationships with science, technology, engineering 

and mathematics-focused minority communities. These 

and other efforts promoted Coast Guard career options to 

196 schools and organizations. 

Executive Outreach Management System 

To measure the effectiveness of the Coast Guard’s outreach and diversity strategic communication efforts, the 

service deployed a new business-aligned management 

system called the Executive Outreach Management 

System (EOMS). The system tracks, manages, coordinates 

and reports all strategic communication partnership activities for the engagements of all flag officers and members 

of the Senior Executive Service. 

The EOMS allows the Coast Guard to analyze and 

archive information and data pertinent to diversity strategic communication efforts while providing a framework 

for planning, implementing, measuring and achieving 

long-term diversity goals. The EOMS also provides a dashLt. j.g. La’Shanda Holmes 

Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Eggers. 

28 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp 

mentors Coast Guard Academy cadets. Photo 

by Petty Officer 1st Class Kip Wadlow. 

board output that displays measures for contacts, events, principal event counts and target audience event counts. The system will improve the effectiveness of diversity communications 

and event management processes and contribute to implementing the Coast Guard’s diversity strategy and campaigns. 

Diversity Training and Technology 

Diversity training is crucial as members of the workforce 

learn how to interpret cultural differences, behaviors and languages. Coast Guard leadership also believes training will help 

minimize conflict and build collaboration. The service has 

developed the Audience Response Technology System, a valuable training and assessment tool designed to survey audiences 

on their level of diversity knowledge and experience. This technology will help senior leaders analyze diversity areas of focus and future training needs. 

The Coast Guard recognizes that workforce diversity is crucial. The service requires 

the best human capital to operate and maintain the platforms and support systems 

upon which it relies to execute its missions. 

The service’s diversity strategy and OpTask 

Diversity campaign will help position the 

Coast Guard to be proactive in recruitment 

and retention efforts. Improved training and 

new technologies will help to teach and 

measure progress as the Coast Guard works 

to achieve its diversity goals and continues 

to be recognized as the service of choice for 

a diverse workforce in the federal government. 

Visit the Office of Diversity online at 

http://www.uscg.mil/diversity/. �

“It’s every Coast 

Guardsman’s job to make 

the workplace one of 

respect. You must value 

your shipmates, no matter 

what their background.” 

—Coast Guard Commandant 

Adm. Bob Papp 

2011 State of the Coast Guard address 

Dr. Antonio Flores and Vice Adm. J. P. 

Currier sign a memorandum of understanding between the Coast Guard and 

the Hispanic Association of Colleges and 

Universities. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd 

Class Henry G. Dunphy. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 29
 
30 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 31

T

he newest of the Coast Guard’s six mission support logistics and service centers, the Health,

Safety and Work-Life Service Center (HSWL SC)

was established in August 2010 in Norfolk, Va.

Under the command of Capt. Gary L. Bruce, the

HSWL SC ensures and coordinates access to and delivery

of health, safety and work-life services to Coast Guard

members and employees. The service center provides

the operational, technical and professional authority

over the systems, services, techniques, practices and

assets that deliver these services to the field.

Additionally, in order to facilitate Coast Guard interaction with the Department of Defense Military Health

System and the TRICARE health care program, the commanding officer of the HSWL SC is designated as the

Coast Guard’s military treatment facility commander and

intermediate service representative for all Coast Guard

sick bays and practice locations. The HSWL SC reports to

the Chief Medical Officer of the Coast Guard.

Through detached and collateral duty assignments,

the service center has created links with the Atlantic and

Pacific Area commanders, district commanders and base

commanding officers. The HSWL SC aligns health, safety

and work-life services with mission support and execution structures, and has defined touch points with

key operational and mission support organizations.

HSWL services work toward these four outcomes:

1. A healthy and ready work force. As a mission

support entity, the first priority of HSWL services

is to ensure Coast Guard men and women are

healthy, fit and focused enough to be ready to

perform the often dangerous missions the Coast

Guard executes in the maritime environment.

Equally important, a service member is better

able to focus on the mission if his or her family is

able to thrive in the community where they live.

2. A safe workplace. HSWL services are committed

to a workplace that is occupationally and interpersonally safe, as well as making safety prevention and continuous improvements a priority. A

safe workplace supports unit cohesion and

morale, job satisfaction and mission focus.

3. Integration with Coast Guard operations and contingency responses. Whether performing flight surgeon consults, designated medical officer advisor

services, family safety assessments or shipboard

safety inspections, HSWL professionals must be

familiar with the needs of Coast Guard operators

and inform their practices to best accommodate and

support Coast Guard operations. The service center

must also deploy the right HSWL capabilities, in the

right place and at the right time, for contingencies.

4. A single point for HSWL product line accountability

and resource management. With the alignment of

technical expertise and authority, the HSWL SC

assumes responsibility for ownership, accountability, optimization, stewardship and quality improvement of the HSWL product line.

The HSWL SC command duty officer may be contacted anytime at HSWL-SUPACT-CDO@uscg.mil or 

(757) 846-5348. Visit the service center online at

https://cgportal.uscg.mil/delivery/Satellite/HSWL/. 

The Health, Safety and

Work-Life Service Center

by Health, Safety and Work-Life Service Center Staff

Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tasha Peters.

Petty Officer 1st Class Chris Sims, a storekeeper aboard the U.S.

Coast Guard Cutter Walnut, a Juniper-class buoy tender, holds

his daughter as he greets his family at the pier at Base Support

Unit Honolulu. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael DeNyse.
Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jetta H. Disco.

Coast Guard members from Sector and Station San Diego pose in front of an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. 

The Personnel Service Center 

by Personnel Service Center Staff 

T

he Personnel Service Center (PSC) was established 

in 2009 in Arlington, Va., by incorporating the Pay 

and Personnel Center, Coast Guard Recruiting 

Command, Community Services Command, 12 

Personnel Services and Support Units (PSSUs), 

four divisions, administrative support staff and business 

operations staff. 

Under the command of Rear Adm. Daniel May, the PSC 

supports mission execution by recruiting, accessing, 

assigning and developing careers; maintaining well-being; 

and compensating, separating and retiring all Coast Guard 

military personnel. The PSC’s vision is to provide superior 

support to Coast Guard military personnel, meeting their 

needs from recruitment through retirement. 

There are three major commands and 12 PSSUs that 

report to the service center. 

Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Brad Dawson.

Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Evanson. 

32 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Photo by Chief Petty Officer Tom Sperduto. 

PSC Commands 

The Pay and Personnel Center provides caring 

and responsive personnel and compensation services for all Coast Guard military members, retirees, 

annuitants and other customers in support of 

Department of Homeland Security missions. 

The Coast Guard Recruiting Command finds 

qualified recruits for the service who can perform, 

support and lead Coast Guard operations. 

The Community Services Command brings 

together the quality-of-life services of morale, wellbeing and recreation, as well as the Coast Guard 

Exchange System, to uplift service members and 

their families. 

Objectives and Service Lines 

The service center provides integrated support 

to the Coast Guard’s military workforce. It: 

•	 Places under one flag officer all the elements 

that support the military workforce by providing 

a human resources system that is flexible and 

responsive to dynamic personnel requirements; 

•	 Delivers central support for all military members’ 

personnel services and career management 

through three major field commands and PSC 

staff; and 

•	 Oversees regional-level support of personnel 

services at the field level. 

The PSC’s service lines are broken down by officer, enlisted, reserve and retiree, and provide full 

lifecycle support for personnel who fall within each. 

The service line manager is the primary point of 

contact for the operational unit and the single point 

of accountability for any military personnel-related 

issue. 

Visit the PSC online at http://www.uscg.mil/psc/. 

�

“Providing personnel services to 

enable our people to perform at the 

level necessary to meet operational 

requirements remains an essential element in achieving mission success.” 

—Rear Adm. Daniel May, 

Commander, Personnel Service Center, 

Personnel Service Center Business Plan for Fiscal 

Years 2011-2014 Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 33
 
34 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 35

From the

Assistant Commandant for

Engineering and Logistics

Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo

The Engineering and Logistics Directorate’s mission is to develop and support the systems that enable

the Coast Guard to be Semper Paratus for all missions

and all hazards, today and tomorrow. The 5,800 men

and women that make up the directorate at headquarters and three logistics centers are responsible for all

naval, civil, aeronautical and industrial engineering

and logistics for the Coast Guard’s $22 billion capital

plant, which includes 23,000 facilities, 250 ships, 1,800

boats and 200 aircraft. 

My aim is to ensure we provide affordable readiness for the Coast Guard, focusing on predictable availability and reliability in operations. While there is still

much work to do, I believe we have made great

progress over the past year in developing a logistics

system that is process-driven, predictable and reliable,

and provides availability in a way that allows operators

to have the freedom of action they need.

While we still have a long way to go in delivering a

fully modernized Coast Guard logistics system, we

have made significant progress. First, we seamlessly

transitioned from the old logistics support system by

eliminating the legacy Maintenance and Logistics

Commands and standing up the logistics centers. We

also instituted the product line manager and bi-level

maintenance concepts with strong operational success, most notably demonstrated by the Haitian earthquake and Deepwater Horizon oil spill responses. In

both cases, we provided better logistics support than

we ever could have under our old logistics system.

Furthermore, we are putting real money on the table

with efficiencies in logistics. And we are beginning, for

the first time in history, to measure the sensitivity

between operational tempo and logistics support

across our surface fleet.

The four cornerstones of the mission support business model—configuration management, total asset

visibility, bi-level maintenance and product line management—are being firmly institutionalized. For example, a comprehensive configuration management policy was developed that led to a 50 percent reduction in

configuration management discrepancies within the

patrol boat fleet alone. Here are some examples of our

great accomplishments over the past year: 

Aviation Engineering

• Achieved 72 percent aircraft availability, 92.3 percent dispatch success and 92 percent of program

flight hours for fiscal year 2010.

• Oversaw management of $1.1 billion in aviation

materiel inventory and achieved 99.8 percent

inventory accuracy for quarterly audits.

Civil Engineering

• Executed more than $275 million to restore and

enhance 8th District operations after the 2008 hurricane season devastated most of the Gulf of

Mexico’s port facilities.

• Developed a nationwide centralized project prioritization methodology for the fiscal year 2011 AFC43 shore facility maintenance program, which

focuses scarce resources on maintenance and

improves audit conditions by imparting programmatic controls on funds execution.

Naval Engineering

• Assumed responsibility for providing fully modernized logistics to 36 sectors encompassing more

than 760 assets. The Small Boat Product Line facilitated an average asset availability rate that exceeded an 80 percent target for fiscal year 2010.

• Completed post-shakedown availability on the U.S.

Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, the first National

Security Cutter, directly supporting the Ready for

Operations determination in 2010.

• The Coast Guard Yard delivered eight vessels

under the Mission Effectiveness Project (MEP):

three 110-foot Island-class patrol boats and five

210-foot Medium Endurance Cutters (WMECs),

including the last of the 210-foot WMECs to go

through MEP.

It is essential that the connection between the

Coast Guard’s support activities and its operational

effectiveness be seamless. Thank you to everyone in

the engineering and logistics community for your 

leadership and hard work. The work you do within the

mission support organization is absolutely vital to the

success of the Coast Guard today and in the future. 



U.S. Coast Guard photo.
36 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines 

Puerto Rico Facilities 

Aim to Save Energy with 

New Contracting Vehicle 

I

n December 2010, the Coast Guard 

awarded a combined Energy Savings 

Performance Contract (ESPC) and 

Energy Services Agreement (ESA) for 

roof renovation and solar photovoltaic 

power at multiple Coast Guard facilities in 

Puerto Rico, including Rio Bayamon housing, Air Station Borinquen and Air Station 

Borinquen housing. The project began with 

$10.5 million for roof repairs. 

by Puerto Rico Energy Project Staff 

Rendering of Rio 

Bayamon’s community 

center with photovolatic 

array. 
Top: Aerial photo of Air 

Station Borinquen, Puerto 

Rico. 

Right: Rendering of Air 

Station Borinquen’s 

hangar with 

photovoltaic array. 

The project will install 2.89 megawatts of photovoltaic panels on renovated Coast Guard rooftops over a 

13-month period. The photovoltaic electricity production, combined with new cool roofs that will reduce the 

annual cooling load of the buildings by 3.9 billion British 

thermal units, will result in an overall reduction of utilitypurchased electricity by an estimated 40 percent. Cost 

savings derived from the reduced purchases will be used 

to pay off the project for the full performance period. 

The project’s execution strategy is the first of its kind 

for the federal government, as it embeds an ESA within 

an ESPC financing vehicle, thus maximizing the incentives and overall value to the Coast Guard. The incorporation of an ESA within an ESPC allows for third-party 

contractor ownership and maintenance of the roof photovoltaic systems, and the capture of a $6.5 million grant 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 37
 
in lieu of a tax credit from the U.S. Treasury’s federal 

program for renewable energy projects. As such, the 

Coast Guard’s $10.5 million investment results in $34.4 

million in capital improvements and repairs for photovoltaic power and roofing. 

A potential future modification to the project may 

provide additional energy and water conservationrelated capital improvements including lighting; controls; heating, ventilating and air conditioning; weatherization; and window film. 

Equally important, the project will dramatically 

improve operations for on-base personnel and mitigate maintenance and design burdens for the civil 

engineering organization. Additionally, it will help the 

Coast Guard meet renewable-energy mandates, stabilize energy costs and security, change the perception of 

renewable energy on the island, assist Puerto Rico with 

its own energy goals and establish a new contracting 

model for the entire federal government. 

Energy Savings Performance Contract 

An ESPC project is a partnership between an 

agency and an Energy Service Company (ESCO). The 

ESCO conducts an initial survey to identify energy conservation measures that are likely to yield substantial 

energy savings. These findings are presented to the 

agency in a preliminary assessment and, upon acceptance of the preliminary assessment, the ESCO conducts a comprehensive energy audit. In consultation 

with the agency customer, the ESCO designs and constructs a project that meets the agency’s needs and 

arranges financing to pay for it. The ESCO guarantees 

that the improvements will generate savings in utility 

costs sufficient to pay for the project over the term of 

the contract. After the performance period, all additional cost savings accrue to the agency. As authorized 

by law, federal agencies may enter into a multiyear contract for a period not to exceed a total term of 25 years 

including both the construction and service phases. 

Rendering of Air Station Borinquen’s 

community center with photovoltaic 

array. 

38 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Energy Services Agreement 

An ESA is a long-term agreement for the supply of renewable 

energy between a federal customer and a third-party developer. The utilization of an ESA allows 

for the third-party developer to 

own and operate the renewable 

energy system, thereby capturing 

benefits such as tax incentives 

and accelerated depreciation. 

These savings are passed onto the 

customer as a means of maximizing project value. �

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 39 

Rendering of Air 

Station Borinquen’s 

one-story housing with 

photovoltaic array. 

Aerial photo of Rio Bayamon 

housing complex, Puerto Rico. 
40 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines

T

he Aviation Logistics Center (ALC) in Elizabeth

City, N.C., provides centralized logistics support

for all Coast Guard aviation missions. As the sole

industrial complex for Coast Guard aviation, it

provides depot-level maintenance, engineering,

supply, procurement, acquisition and information services. Its unique combination of capabilities is unprecedented in government and industry, and has earned high

praise among government logistics organizations as well

as the private sector. The ALC has worked long and hard

to become the only place in all of government aviation

where depot-level maintenance (including both programmed maintenance and extensive modifications),

engineering, procurement, supply and an information

hub are all collocated. In essence, the center is the who,

what, when, where and how of Coast Guard aviation and

take its motto—We Keep ‘Em Flying—to heart.

Mission and Facilities

The ALC's mission is to support 26 Coast Guard aviation units that operate about 200 aircraft. The reach is far;

these air stations are located throughout the continental

United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, and

deployed aircraft are supported worldwide. The center's

annual workload includes overhauls of approximately 40

aircraft and modifications to another 30. 

On an average day at the ALC, the team:

• Ships and receives more than 900 aircraft and standard boat parts;

• Responds to more than 100 technical or engineering

questions;

• Performs depot maintenance on 23 aircraft;

• Works on four aircraft for unit drop-in maintenance;

• Manages 2,000 contracts valued at $750 million;

• Has two expert

field teams repairing aircraft at air

stations;

• Repairs 500 component parts and

manufactures 100

piece parts that

support planned

depot-level maintenance and

warehouse

requirements; and

• Processes approximately 600 Asset

Logistics

Management

Information

System material

requisitions.

Aviation Logistics Center

Leads in Logistics Support

by Aviation Logistics Center Staff

Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Kendrick.
The command occupies 23 buildings with approximately 540,816 square feet of floor space on 55 acres of 

the 749-acre base complex. This includes two large production hangars, three acres of warehouse space, an 

engine test cell, a machine shop and an aircraft paint 

hangar. In addition to space on the complex, the ALC 

occupies the off-site Heavy Maintenance Facility and C130 metal shop. Outside of the core business processes, 

the ALC also occupies a 100,000-square-foot “transformation” warehouse that enables the transformation to 

centralized logistics support 

for the Coast Guard's standard 

boat fleets. All sectors and surface training commands currently receive support under 

the new model. 

Leadership and Standards 

As Coast Guard aviation’s 

leader in providing missioncritical overhaul and repair services for aircraft and aircraft 

components, the center consistently delivers high-quality 

products and services in a costeffective manner. In addition to 

utilizing best practices, the ALC 

maintains an organizational 

focus on systematic performance improvement while 

aggressively pursuing safety 

and environmental stewardship. To ensure we have a highly skilled workforce, the 

ALC provides education and training opportunities for all 

personnel. The ALC is also strongly committed to supporting and strengthening the local community by participating in volunteer services and various initiatives of 

the Coast Guard Partnership in Education. 

To ensure its business management system is effective and continually improving, the ALC utilizes the 

International Organization for Standardization’s ISO standards, specifically ISO 9001:2000 (Quality) and ISO 

14001:2004 (Environmental). In June 2006, the ALC 

reached a significant milestone in Coast Guard history by 

being the first Coast Guard unit to achieve a fully integrated ISO 9001 and 14001 business system. 

Additionally, the center has been actively engaged in 

Lean Six Sigma process improvement initiatives that 

have resulted in more than $12.8 million in projected 

cost avoidances as well as significant increases in process 

efficiencies throughout the command. 

Commitment to Excellence 

The center’s commitment to excellence is nothing 

new. In 2006, the ALC was the winner of the White 

House’s Closing the Circle Award for demonstrating 

exemplary environmental stewardship. The ALC has 

thrice been a recipient—at the Gold Level in 2004 and 

the Silver Level in 2001 and 2003—of the Commandant’s 

Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Kendrick. 

Quality Award, which is based on Baldrige Performance 

Excellence Program criteria. The ALC was an inaugural 

recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award for Excellence 

in 2009 and received the 2010 Captain Niels P. Thomsen 

Innovation Award in the science or technology category. 

The continuing success of the center’s business management system is due to the high level of support and 

dedication exhibited by its military, civilian and contractor employees throughout all levels of the organization. 

As one of the largest employers in the area, the ALC has 

more than 1,500 dedicated personnel, including 175 military, 538 civilians, 32 student apprentices/interns and 

more than 750 contractors. This diverse and talented 

workforce personifies the Coast Guard core values of 

honor, respect, and devotion to duty. 

Visit the ALC online at http://www.uscg.mil/alc/. 

�

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 41
 
Surface Forces Logistics 

Center Implements Logistics 

Transformation 

by Surface Forces Logistics Center Staff 

42 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Forward sits moored at Base Support Unit 

Portsmouth, Va.; behind the Forward are two other 270-foot Medium Endurance 

Cutters homeported at the base. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Kendrick. 

T

he Surface Forces Logistics 

Center (SFLC) is the single 

logistics center for the 

Coast Guard fleet, providing engineering, supply, 

maintenance and industrial services to 251 cutters and 1,930 

boats stationed throughout the 

United States. The SFLC core workforce is comprised of about 1,800 

personnel geographically distributed throughout the nation, with 

1,008 military and 829 civilians, 

augmented by about 270 contractors. The Coast Guard Yard at Curtis 

Bay in Baltimore, a major subordinate command, has an additional 

workforce that exceeds 650 people. 

The SFLC was established in 

January 2009 at the Coast Guard 

Yard and was formed by uniting 

the legacy regional system of engineering, logistics and industrial 

support. The building blocks of the 

center include the former 

Engineering Logistics Center in 

Baltimore, the naval engineering 

divisions of the Maintenance and 

Logistics Commands in Atlantic 

and Pacific Areas, Naval 

Engineering Support Units, 

Industrial Support Activities and 

Detachments, and the yard. 

Since its inception, the SFLC 

has been charged with implementing the logistics transformation for the Coast Guard fleet. The 

objective of transformation is a 

drive toward an optimal state of 

affordable readiness in which the 

Coast Guard can know what it 

costs to operate a hull over its lifecycle, enabling it to make the best 

use of the next dollar in its planned 

maintenance budget. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 43
 
The core structure of the center consists of 10 enti- Product Line Successes 

ties that fall into two groups: five product lines and five 

shared service divisions. The product lines are the SFLC’s 

direct interface with commanding officers in the fleet 

and provide 24-hour logistics services for all 251 cutters 

and 1,930 boats assigned to their care. Under the Coast 

Guard logistics model, the product lines serve as experts 

on their assigned assets and exercise exclusive control 

over the engineering configuration of those assets. The 

five SFLC product lines are headed by product line managers. 

The second part of the SFLC core structure is comprised of five shared service divisions. The shared service 

divisions exist to support the product line managers, 

providing them support in engineering, supply, contracting, industrial services and logistics management. 

As outlined in the Coast Guard logistics model, the divisions are also staffed with experts in their field, and they 

exercise exclusive control over the engineering and 

logistics processes used by the SFLC and its product line 

managers. 

Product Line Personnel Location Assets Assigned 

Long Range Enforcer 

Product Line 

70 Oakland, 

Calif. 

12 High Endurance Cutters , three National 

Security Cutters and the Alex Haley 

Medium Endurance Cutter 

Product Line 

70 Norfolk, 

Va. 

27 Medium Endurance Cutters (210-foot 

and 270-foot), the Eagle and the Acushnet 

Icebreaker, Buoy and 

Construction Tender 

Product Line 

100 Oakland 89 hulls, including polar and Great Lakes 

icebreakers, 140-foot icebreaking tugs, 

and 225-foot and 175-foot buoy tenders 

Patrol Boat Product Line 75 Norfolk 117 patrol boats, including 41 110-foot 

hulls and 73 87-foot hulls 

Small Boat Product Line 75 Baltimore 1,930 small boats, including 900 hulls in 

six standard classes and about 1,000 other 

boats 

Shared Service Division Personnel Location Specialty 

Engineering Services Division 150 Baltimore Engineering and maintenance programs, and the technical library 

Asset Logistics Division 170 Baltimore Central management of supply and 

maintenance budget for the fleet 

Contracting and Procurement 

Division 

135 Baltimore Contracting (workforce embedded in 

product lines across the center) 

Business Operations Division 40 Baltimore Information technology tools, metrics 

and affordable readiness 

Industrial Operations Division 900* Norfolk Central management of depot maintenance (Coast Guard or contract labor) 

The Small Boat Product Line (SBPL) was the first 

product line to undergo the transformation process, 

which began in 2008 ahead of the SFLC standup. Now, 

the Coast Guard is reaping the benefits of the SBPL 

transformation, as the line is using data to identify specific systems that are the greatest cost drivers and 

degraders of operational readiness. Cost drivers include 

those systems that are the most costly to maintain, and 

degraders of operational readiness are those that generate the greatest loss of operational time due to either 

maintenance or waiting for repair parts. 

By studying the causes of these adverse impacts, the 

SBPL can make data-driven decisions about where the 

next maintenance dollar is best spent and how to 

address problems. In short, the line can determine 

whether it is more cost effective to change maintenance 

or operating practices, or more prudent to replace a system entirely. Making this determination was impossible 

prior to modernization, as data was not centrally collected and there was no easy way to identify the costliest 

systems in terms of 

dollars or lost operational time. 

Two examples 

from the SBPL illustrate the new opportunities that came 

with transformation. 

From its new nationwide vantage point, 

in 2010 the SBPL was 

able to see all maintenance data for the 

small boat fleet and 

identify the significant loss of operational boat hours 

caused by tire failures on the trailers 

used to transport 

boats. In this 

instance, upgrading 

the tires made an 

immediate and costeffective improvement in boat availability. In another 

case, with all the 

national data on 

maintenance for 

small boat engines 

at its fingertips, the 

SBPL leveraged the 

Coast Guard’s relationship with a major

*Most of the 900 personnel are distributed in Naval Engineering Support Units and Industrial Support supplier. The Coast 

Activities across the U.S. Guard is now the 

44 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
biggest customer of Honda small boat 

engines in the world and is reaping major cost 

reductions as a result. 

Shortly after the full standup of the SFLC, 

all product line managers began collecting 

nationwide maintenance and spare parts cost 

data broken down by cutter asset class. In 

2010, for the first time ever, all surface forces 

product line managers were able to quantify 

the annualized planned and unplanned maintenance costs per asset class and to project a 

data-driven shortfall of budgeted maintenance funding. The output of this exercise was 

organized and recommendations for managing the shortfall were prepared. This marked 

the first time that nationwide cutter maintenance funding had been subjected to a datadriven affordable readiness review. 

Asset Transformation 

The SFLC is also responsible for implementing asset transformation for the surface 

fleet. Transformation of Coast Guard surface 

assets is a major systematic change in the 

management and execution of engineering 

and logistics services for surface assets. For 

each asset, the transformation process 

includes establishing an engineering configuration baseline, which is then systematically 

linked to a database of required maintenance 

procedures. In turn, both of those are linked to 

an associated supply of serially tracked parts. 

Transformation begins with enrollment of 

hulls, one by one, into the logistics information technology system, followed by building the configuration 

database, documenting hundreds of required maintenance procedures and then linking thousands of parts 

to that database. 

At the end of 2010, the SFLC had enrolled about 70 

percent of its 1,930 boats into the transformed logistics 

system, and started enrolling cutters with the 87-foot 

Marine Protector class of patrol boats. By the end of 

2011, the center aims to have enrolled the entire small 

boat force (1,930 hulls), the entire fleet of patrol boats 

(117 hulls) and the entire 175-foot Keeper class of 

coastal buoy tenders (14 hulls) into the transformed 

logistics model. As fleet logistics transformation moves 

from smaller to larger assets, the task grows in complexity. 

To ensure successful transformation going forward, 

the SFLC has implemented a transformation roadmap, 

consisting of several principles linked to the logistics 

model: 

•	 Adhere to planned maintenance: Programmed maintenance must be performed as scheduled to enable 

Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas M. Blue. 

lines are driving toward establishing maintenance 

cost per operational hour for their assigned assets to 

begin impacting fleet availability and affordability. 

•	 Documented maintenance and logistics procedures: 

Shared service divisions are leading the way in documenting SFLC business processes and will have completed publishing nearly 30 center process guides in 

2011. 

•	 Multiyear contracts for maintenance: Multiyear 

requirements contracts for engineering and logistics 

services are being awarded, and similar contracts 

covering multiple depot maintenance availabilities 

to be conducted in dry-dock or dockside are in the 

works. 

•	 Expanded supply contracts: Current contracts for supplies, such as consumable parts and repairs to equipment, are being expanded to cover more items. 

•	 Transformed informaion technology tools: All available information technology tools are being leveraged and modified where necessary to support 

transformed logistics processes. 

both the product lines and the shared service divi- Visit the SFLC online at 

sions to gain efficiency in procurement actions. http://www.uscg.mil/sflc/default.asp. 

• Drive toward cost per operational hour: All product �

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 45
 
46 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 47

Coast Guard operations around the world use command, control, communications, computers and information technology (C4IT) systems to capture information about suspicious activities and possible threats. We

deploy C4IT assets such as radios and sensors on our

ships, aircraft and boats to keep our forces connected

with internal and external partners on shore, along the

coasts and on the high seas. To support Coast Guard

missions, our 89,000 military, civilian, reservist and auxiliary employees use more than 42,000 computers,

20,000 radios and 700 different types of C4IT products

to perform their work each day. The mission of the

Assistant Commandant for C4IT is to design, develop,

deploy and maintain the Coast Guard’s C4IT solutions.

In 2010, the C4IT community did amazing work and I

am proud to highlight a few of their outstanding

achievements.

Deepwater Horizon Support

In support of the response to the Deepwater

Horizon oil spill, Telecommunication and Information

Systems Command (TISCOM) and the C4IT Service

Center Field Services Division (FSD) ensured that the

Unified Area Command and all of the associated

Incident Command Posts had essential connectivity to

perform their mission. When it became apparent that

the spill response was not going to end anytime soon,

the FSD quickly reached across all of the Coast Guard’s

Electronics Support Units to design and staff an extensive support organization that maintained an average

of 60 additional personnel in theater. These personnel

ensured operators had the C4IT support needed for

response and cleanup efforts. While TISCOM may be

more than 1,000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, the

entire command contributed to the oil spill cleanup by

providing network connectivity and Coast Guard standard workstations critical to accomplish the mission.

Information Assurance

Our Information Assurance Policy Division revised

and simplified the Coast Guard’s Information Assurance

Instruction, COMDTINST 5500.13. When the instruction

is fully implemented, financial, navigation and other

onboard systems will be better safeguarded from data

leaks and hostile attacks. Additionally, the Spectrum

Management Policy Division developed and negotiated international acceptance of an updated Automatic

Identification System (AIS) standard, providing a new

message type transmitted over two new frequencies

dedicated to satellite reception. This capability will

ensure AIS signals can be detected by satellite in the

most congested shipping and radio frequency environments. 

Enterprise Architecture and Governance

The Office of Enterprise Architecture and

Governance vastly improved the understanding of C4IT

governance by designing easy-to-follow diagrams to

explain the governance processes that a C4IT project

may have to go through and the connections between

these processes. C4IT governance work is critical to

managing C4IT investments and priorities throughout

the Coast Guard and will enable the directorate to conduct strategic reviews, eliminate duplicative efforts and

better allocate our limited funds to meet the highest

priorities. The diagrams can be found online at

https://cgportal.uscg.mil/lotus/myquickr/office-ofenterprise-architecture-and-governance/Governance.

Information Technology Acquisition Reviews

The Office of Enterprise System Development

Policy approved an amazing 296 Information

Technology Acquisition Reviews (ITARs) valued at $602

million. This is a 17 percent improvement over 2009 in

ITAR compliance with the Department of Homeland

Security Chief Information Officer. Additionally, 200

personnel have been trained in the ITAR submittal

process, which is mandatory for all IT procurements of

$100,000 and above. This process helps us effectively

manage and administer resources and assets.

Strategic Plan

Recently we finalized the Coast Guard’s C4IT

Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2011 to 2015. In accomplishing the goals and objectives laid out in the plan,

we will help to realize the Commandant’s strategic

vision. The plan can be found online at 

https://cgportal.uscg.mil/CTL/1S7Q0H. 

From the

Assistant Commandant for C4IT 

& Chief Information Officer 

Rear Adm. Robert E. Day Jr.

U.S. Coast Guard photo.
Ship Arrival Notification 

System Prepares for 

Increased Demand 

by Lt. j.g. Galen A. Varon, 

SANS Project Officer 

48 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
 

S

hortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 

11, the federal government identified 

an immediate need to capture information about vessels arriving in the United 

States. The Coast Guard’s Operations 

Systems Center (OSC) in Martinsburg, W.Va., was 

charged with developing a software application 

to capture these Notices of Arrival (NOAs). The 

Code of Federal Regulations states, in part, that 

“all owners, agents, masters, operators, or persons in charge of vessels over 300 gross tons 

bound for U.S. ports must file an NOA before 

they enter port.” The resulting effort was dubbed 

the Ship Arrival Notification System (SANS) and 

went into full production in the spring of 2002. 

Using one of multiple submission methods 

available, an NOA is sent to the Coast Guard and 

is routed to the National Vessel Movement 

Center (NVMC), a 24-hour watch also located at 

the OSC. There, the raw data contained in the 

notice is reviewed. Staffed with 24 full-time 

watchstanders, the NVMC manually verifies each 

NOA to validate items such as crew, cargo and 

vessel classification. In the event the NOA has 

errors, the NVMC will contact the sender to clarify the submission. This process is formally called 

vetting. Since standing up in October 2001, the 

NVMC has vetted nearly 1.1 million NOA submissions. 

Once the vetting process is complete, the 

NOA information is entered into the SANS database where it is routinely accessed by internal 

and external intelligence and law enforcement 

entities. Some of the more common users of 

SANS data are the Coast Guard’s Marine 

Information for Safety and Law Enforcement 

database system, Interagency Operations 

Centers’ WatchKeeper information system, and 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Traveler 

Enforcement Compliance System, all of which 

focus on eliminating national security threats in 

the maritime domain.

Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Scott Carr. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 49
 
Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cindy Beckert. 

Proposed Regulation Changes 

With an emphasis on increased awareness in the 

maritime domain and an indisputable need to keep our 

nation’s waterways safe and secure, changes are being 

proposed to the Code of Federal Regulations requiring 

that all vessels, regardless of size, submit an NOA prior to 

arrival in a U.S. port. The changes—which could be finalized as soon as this summer—could have significant 

ramifications for current system capabilities, as they are 

projected to increase NOA submissions by 447 percent 

overnight. This roughly equates to 558,000 NOAs annually. 

Staffed with just seven people, the SANS team is 

responsible for ensuring that the system can support the 

increased demand. However, this is not the first time the 

team has faced similar challenges. For instance, in the 

early days of the NVMC, NOAs were primarily received 

via fax machine. The SANS team helped develop and 

implement a robust website and submission process, 

creating a centralized database from which scores of 

customers can receive SANS data in near real-time. With 

sustained maintenance and system support, the current 

SANS project has become the most advanced vessel 

arrival notification system in the world. 

Major SANS Upgrade 

With the news of such a potential dramatic shift in 

the number of NOA submissions resulting from the proposed regulation changes, the SANS team began a 10­

month upgrade project to radically improve system 

capabilities while avoiding excessive costs. Officially 

released in October 2010, SANS Schema 3.0 was the 

biggest system release in the SANS’ 10-year history. 

SANS Schema 3.0 provides a new user interface, autovalidation logic, keyword alerts and an updated .NET 

framework—all of which will contribute to the future 

success of the NVMC in support of federal 

regulations. 

The most notable system upgrade is the auto-validation logic feature. This innovative component allows for 

computer-based automated vetting of an NOA submission. Along with vetting NOAs, it avoids an estimated 

$1.25 million in annual labor costs associated with hiring 

15 additional watchstanders. Within the first 30 days of 

release, 52.5 percent of all NOAs were being auto-validated. This is a 300 percent increase from the industry 

standard of 17 percent of first-tier automated validation, 

as reported in a 2008 study by the Gartner Research 

Group. 

50 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Another beneficial attribute of the October release validation rate already achieved, the SANS is making 

was the keyword alert feature. This element scans NOA steady progress. The SANS team, along with all OSC 

submissions for 155 trigger words such as “pirate,”“ter- personnel, continue to press forward to find solutions 

rorist” and “hostage.” Should a submission contain one that will help secure America’s ports and waterways for 

of these trigger words, an alarm is sent via email to sys- decades to come. �

tem administrators and the NVMC of possible 

law enforcement, search and rescue, or other 

potentially hazardous situations requiring 

immediate response. This has become necessary due to the increased number of international ship pirating incidents in recent years. 

Additionally, it allows field units to prepare for 

an increased level of protection before boarding these high-risk vessels. 

Finally, SANS Schema 3.0 provides users 

with a much-needed and more contemporary 

motif in light of advances in graphical user 

interfaces seen on websites using the latest 

industry standards. SANS Schema 3.0 was 

developed using the .NET framework, which 

allows for better integration of code, a more 

enhanced class library and easier deployments of future releases and system 

upgrades. This is especially beneficial for the 

systems updates and improvements mandated by Coast Guard headquarters, 

Telecommunications and Information 

Systems Command, and the Command, 

Control, and 

Communications 

Engineering Center. 

System improvements can now be 

deployed much 

more efficiently, 

allowing the SANS 

to keep pace with 

current industry 

standards. 

While SANS 

Schema 3.0 has 

been highly successful, there is still 

more work to be 

done. In order to 

handle a 447 percent increase in 

NOAs, the auto-validation feature will 

need to vet 80 percent of all incoming 

NOA submissions. 

With a 60 percent 

National Vessel 

Movement Center. 

 Coast Guard photo. U.S.

Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class John Masson. 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 51
 
 

The C4IT Service Center 

by C4IT Service Center Staff Petty officers from Communications 

Area Master Station Atlantic connect radio, telephone and internet 

connections for mobile emergency 

communications. Photo by Petty 

Officer 2nd Class Andrew Kendrick. T

he Command, Control, 

Communications, 

Computers and 

Information Technology 

Service Center (C4ITSC) is 

the execution arm of the Coast 

Guard’s Assistant Commandant for 

C4IT. The C4ITSC provides depotlevel lifecycle support for Coast 

Guard C4IT applications, systems 

and infrastructure, enabling Coast 

Guard men and women to execute 

maritime safety, security and stewardship missions. 

The director of the center is a 

senior executive who is served by a 

deputy, a command master chief, 

five chiefs of shared service divisions, and commanding officers of 

three centers of excellence that 

manage C4IT product lines and 

core technologies. 

Shared Service Divisions 

The Asset Logistics Division 

chief is the principal advisor and 

primary point of contact for financial, logistics and internal control 

matters, ensuring compliance with 

the Chief Financial Officers Act and 

Anti-Deficiency Act. The division 

deputy serves as the C4ITSC comptroller. 

The Business Operations 

Division chief coordinates overall 

C4ITSC actions and aligns performance with directorate policy and 

the requirements of program managers and major acquisition project managers. The division liaises, 

coordinates and standardizes 

processes and metrics using tools 

such as Lean Six Sigma. 

The Contracting and 

Procurement Division serves as the 

principal advisor for contracting 

and is the primary point of contact 

for procurement of C4IT hardware 

and software configuration items 

in accordance with federal procurement guidance. 

52 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
Petty Officer 2nd Class Georgette Lopez, stationed at Coast Guard 

Sector Houston-Galveston, stands radio watch in the command 

center. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class CC Clayton. 

The Field Services Division chief coordinates 

and manages the 10 Electronics Support Units 

and their detachments, performing maintenance 

and repair of electronics and information systems. 

The division also regularly supports product line 

managers and core technologies by carrying out 

system testing, monitoring, analysis and installations. 

The Workforce and Facilities Division chief 

tends to the needs of the C4ITSC’s workforce and 

facilities, working closely with the Personnel 

Service Center and the Shore Infrastructure 

Logistics Center. 

The shared service divisions are headquartered in Alexandria, Va. 

Centers of Excellence 

Through its product lines and core technologies, the Command, Control, and 

Communications Engineering Center develops, 

builds, fields and supports advanced electronic 

command, control, communications and navigation systems. The center, located in Portsmouth, 

Va., also trains operators. 

Through its product lines and core technologies, the Operations Systems Center develops, 

fields, maintains and supports Coast Guard enterprise information systems used in missions and 

pursues innovative applications of technology. 

The center, in Martinsburg, W.Va., follows information-assurance guidance from the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of 

Defense (DoD). 

Through its product lines and core technologies, the Telecommunications and Information 

Systems Command develops, deploys, secures 

and supports the Coast Guard's information-technology infrastructure for both the unclassified 

and secret enterprises, including computer incident monitoring and response. Also located in 

Alexandria, the center follows information-assurance guidance from DHS and DoD. 

Requesting Changes to C4IT Capabilities 

For major platforms such as cutters and aircraft with organic C4IT personnel, the platform 

product line manager is the preferred point of 

contact for all platform support. Requests for new, 

enhanced or modified C4IT capability should be 

sent through the chain of command to the 

responsible program manager at Coast Guard 

headquarters. 

Visit the C4ITSC online at 

http://www.uscg.mil/c4ITSC/. �

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 53
 
54 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
 

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Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 55 

From the 

Assistant Commandant for 

Acquisition 

Rear Adm. Ronald J. Rábago 

As I reflect upon the Acquisition Directorate’s many 

significant accomplishments over the past year, what 

stands out is the quality of our people and the great 

work they do as a team. Whether it is as part of one of 

our acquisition projects, part of our research and development team, in support of our foreign military sales 

projects or as one of our contracting professionals, our 

people and our mission support teammates enable us 

to care for our existing assets and deliver capable new 

assets and systems to the men and women in the field. 

The business of delivering high-quality mission 

support requires a trained, professional, technically 

competent and certified workforce. One of the investments we’ve made as a team is in the area of training 

and credentialing of our workforce. The value of this 

investment is evident in the quality of our work and our 

ability to manage a complex portfolio of recapitalization projects in a challenging environment. 

One of the strengths of the mission support organization is the ability of a diverse set of professionals 

with extensive expertise to collaborate and function as 

a cohesive team. To accomplish this, we’ve set up gov 

ernance structures that clearly lay out functional roles 

and responsibilities and create an environment where 

mutual respect for each other’s competencies and personal accountability are the order of the day. In our 

recapitalization enterprise, the roles of acquirer, technical authority and sponsor are spelled out in our newly 

revised Major Systems Acquisition Manual (MSAM), 

which gives us a great rulebook for efficiently and collaboratively replacing our aging systems, aircraft, cutters and boats. This also enables us to be good stewards 

of the taxpayer’s dollar. 

Today, we are building new cutters and boats, 

acquiring new and refurbishing some existing aircraft, 

and delivering new communications systems to ensure 

that the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland 

Security can protect our nation now and in the future. 

In Louisiana, we are building the first of 58 Sentinelclass Fast Response Cutters that will replace our aging 

110-foot patrol boats. This new cutter possesses modern and sustainable systems and will be a great addition to our fleet. We’re also nearing completion of construction work on our third of eight National Security 

Cutters, the Stratton, which was christened last summer by its sponsor, first lady Michelle Obama. The 

fourth National Security Cutter and advance materials 

(long-lead time) for the fifth cutter are under contract. 

We continue to deliver new and refurbished aircraft 

and upgraded communications systems like Rescue 21 

to Coast Guard air stations and sectors around the 

country, respectively. None of this would be possible 

without the tremendous work of our people, who have 

been solving tough problems, finding ways to deliver 

capability with the resources we have and always 

ensuring the capability meets the needs of the operators and sustainers. 

We’ve strengthened and improved the usability of 

contracting and procurement policy for both headquarters and the field. Our revised MSAM; our 

Acquisition Human Capital Strategic Plan for planning, 

developing and managing our acquisition workforce; 

and our updated strategic plan, the Blueprint for 

Continuous Improvement, purposefully set the bar 

high. These tools urge us to achieve even better performance, improving our processes and accountability. 

Delivering new or upgraded assets and services so 

that we can support our Coast Guard colleagues effec 

tively and efficiently is truly a team effort. The 

Acquisition Directorate is extremely proud to be a key 

part of the mission support team. As our motto states, 

“Mission execution begins here.” �
Upgraded MH-60T 

Helicopters 

Provide More 

Capabilities 

by Linda M. Johnson, Acquisition Directorate 

Office of Strategic Planning and Communications 

T

he Coast Guard’s Medium Range Recovery 

Helicopter conversion project has been 

upgrading the service’s HH-60Js to MH-60Ts by 

installing new avionics suites that greatly 

increase their operational capabilities. 

Developed to boost the multi-mission readiness of 

the Jayhawk fleet, the MH-60T conversion project 

includes a number of upgrades that improve reliability 

and mission performance while also adding new capabilities, including a communications package and sensor system. Although the H-60s’ outward appearance 

will not change significantly, it will be a completely different aircraft on the inside. 

The Coast Guard began converting its 42 in-service 

HH-60J helicopters to MH-60Ts in January 2007. All 

Jayhawks are expected to complete the avionics suite 

and electro-optic sensor system upgrades, which are 

being done in discrete segments, by the end of 2014. 

The upgraded helicopters will have a range of 300 nautical miles and a crew of four—two officers and two 

enlisted. 

Lt. Cmdr. Walter Horne, who is the H-60 platform 

manager in the Office of Aviation Forces, talked about 

how the MH-60Ts are much better equipped to carry out 

the Coast Guard’s many missions in challenging environments, especially in the harsh conditions of Alaska, 

where it recently performed several successful missions. 

“The MH-60T is a dramatic improvement over the H60J that has been flying in Alaska since the mid-1990s,” 

Horne said. “The graphics and the visuals and just the 

technology are so much more advanced than the old 

system that it provides a lot better capability. We now 

have a moving map digital display that can provide 

some awareness as far as the elevation of terrain within 

the vicinity of the aircraft so pilots now have that information right in front of them when they’re flying.” 

Equipment Upgrades 

Discrete Segment 1 of the MH-60T conversion project includes a common avionics architecture system 

(CAAS) in the cockpit, which provides fully integrated 

flight and mission management capabilities. Using five 

multi-function display screens, aircrews can display 

radar and forward-looking infrared data, monitor the 

traffic collision avoidance system and view imagery fed 

into the cockpit from the rescue hoist camera. 

The MH-60T has many of the same mission system 

components as the MH-65C Dolphin Multi-Mission 

Cutter Helicopter, and its CAAS is similar to the cockpit 

avionics installed on the HC-144A Ocean Sentry 

Maritime Patrol Aircraft and the HC-130J Hercules Long 

Range Surveillance Aircraft. These common systems 

afford improvements in aircraft logistics, training and 

maintenance. 

The Airborne Use of Force (AUF) upgrade—which 

equips the aircraft with a 7.62 mm machine gun for firing warning shots and a .50-caliber long-range rifle for 

precise targeting, such as disabling the outboard 

engines on a non-compliant go-fast boat—has been 

completed on all aircraft under a separate project. The 

AUF package also provides ballistic armor for aircrew 

protection and upgraded communications sub-systems 

for better interoperability with other Department of 

Homeland Security components. 

Discrete Segment 2 includes a fully integrated electro-optical/infrared sensor system (ESS) with a new 

Trakkabeam searchlight permanently mounted outside 

the pilot’s door. “In the past, we had a forward-looking 

infrared system that we could put on the aircraft but it 

took up a lot of space in the cabin and limited what you 

could carry and how many people you could carry,” 

Horne explained. 

“Previously, the old searchlight was mounted where 

56 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
MH-60T Jayhawk rescue helicopter. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas M. Blue. 

the fuel tank would be mounted, so you had an 

option—you could take a searchlight or a fuel 

tank, but you couldn’t take both,” Horne said. “We 

didn’t have the ability to put all of the sensors on 

there all of the time. With the MH-60T, we have 

the capability to carry all of the equipment at the 

same time.” 

The ESS provides aircrews with enhanced 

capabilities to locate, identify and track surface 

targets day or night, which is a critical capability 

for both search and rescue and law enforcement 

missions. Enhanced radar and optical sensors 

also contribute to an improved common operating picture and increased maritime domain 

awareness. In order to provide a common system 

across the service’s rotary-wing fleet, a new ESS 

package is also being installed in the MH-65C. 

The ESS package also includes “flight plan 

checkpoints that give pilots more situational 

awareness, and, in a crosswind, allow pilots to 

see where the aircraft is supposed to go as 

opposed to where the aircraft’s nose may be 

pointed,” Horne noted. 

Other upgrades that are part of Discrete 

Segment 2 but are still being implemented 

include the Helicopter Integrated Data Storage, 

which stores information from the ESS, and the 

Helicopter Airborne Video System, which records 

audio and video from the ESS and the hoistmounted camera that covers the hoisting 

area. 

Right now, Discrete Segment 2 upgrades 

have been installed on all MH-60T aircraft at air 

stations Elizabeth City, N.C.; San Diego; and Sitka, 

Alaska. Station Cape Cod, Mass., is currently 

undergoing its transition. Beginning this summer, Kodiak, Alaska, will be the next air station to 

receive its full complement of four MH-60Ts. 

Discrete Segment 3 will upgrade the helicopter’s 

search radar sensor system and will involve 

developing and testing a prototype aircraft. 

Discrete Segment 4 will incorporate an advanced 

command-and-control suite. 

Recent Mission Successes 

The MH-60T performed admirably in several 

search and rescue and law enforcement cases in 

2010. In October, two MH-60Ts from Air Station 

Sitka helped medically evacuate a 53-year-old 

injured man off a freighter about 250 miles 

southwest of the station. In September, an aircrew used the MH-60T’s new Trakkabeam spotlight to illuminate a vessel that had gone 

aground in Sitka Sound and safely transferred 

the vessel’s captain to a rescue boat. 

That same month off the coast of San Diego, 

an MH-60T equipped with the ESS and a new 

searchlight helped locate a go-fast boat heading 

for a beach with about 20 migrants from Mexico. 

Once the boat was spotted, the Coast Guard 

called U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 

the local sheriff, who detained the individuals. 

Last June, a Sitka aircrew found a lost hunter 

at night in Alaska using the MH-60T’s ESS in combination with night-vision goggles. 

As these cases show, the MH-60T has proven 

itself to be a valuable asset in a number of situations, especially in Alaska’s challenging terrain. 

Visit the MH-60T project online at 

http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/mrr. �

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 57
 
Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandyn Hil. 

58 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines
 
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Surge Staffing 

Branch 

by Rear Adm. Daniel May, Commander, Personnel Service Center 

During 2010, the Personnel Service 

Center’s Personnel Service Division Surge 

Staffing Branch (PSD-SSB) responded to 

the largest series of peacetime contingency requests for forces in Coast Guard 

history. In partnership with Atlantic Area, Pacific Area, 

Force Readiness Command (FORCECOM), districts 

and the mission support organization’s logistics and 

service centers, PSD-SSB consistently delivered the 

people needs of the operational commander in two 

major national contingency operations. 

Beginning with the Haitian earthquake in January 

and continuing with the response to the Deepwater 

Horizon oil spill that began in April, the surge staffing 

process filled approximately 9,425 mission-critical 

requirements in support of Coast Guard operational 

missions. To put this figure in perspective, this is near 

ly 25 percent of the entire Coast Guard and about the 

same number of personnel that would transfer for a 

permanent change of station in any normal year. 

Taken in total, this figure represents the delivery of 

approximately 400,000 workdays of additional operational and support capacity, and is three times the 

number of personnel requirements sourced to 

Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

This level of mission support activity consisted of: 

•	 1,350 responders for the Haitian earthquake and 

Operation Vigilant Sentry; 

•	 7,675 responders in support of Deepwater 

Horizon; and 

•	 400 temporary duty augmentation requests filled 

to support other mission areas throughout the 

Coast Guard. 

The branch’s function is clear—to source the mission-critical personnel requirements needed by operational commanders to execute their mission. In 

meeting this mandate, the PSD-SSB has benefited 

from collaboration with operational partners on the 

area and district staffs, in FORCECOM, and within the 

mission support organization at the logistics and ser 

vice centers. Not only has the PSD-SSB been able to 

meet its mission, but operational and support part 

ners’ validation of the procedural and functional 

requirements necessary to properly execute the 

surge staffing function have enhanced the branch’s 

service line. 

Service Line Enhancements 

These enhancements included identifying and 

implementing numerous revisions to the 

Mobilization Readiness Tracking Tool (MRTT), thus 

maintaining a high degree of accuracy in the selec 

tion of response candidates. Improvements to other 

Coast Guard enterprise systems—such as Direct 

Access, Coast Guard Business Intelligence and the 

Training Management Tool—offered an unprecedented ability to rapidly identify competent populations residing at each sourcing partner, ensuring an 

equitable sourcing distribution. 

In addition, using version 4.0 of the Coast Guard 

Message System (CGMS) to transmit message orders 

mitigated a potentially daunting workload at the 

Servicing Personnel Offices responsible for issuing 

orders. On average, it took branch staff just over one 

working day to receive a request for forces, advertise 

the positions via CGMS, coordinate the identification 

of suitable candidates and order responders via the 

MRTT and CGMS. 

The branch excels at executing its mission with a 

staff of just six personnel. This is approximately 10 

percent of the total number of personnel whose primary duties were involved in the process prior to misson support modernization. 

Surge Staffing Study 

The Personnel Service Center also played an 

instrumental role in a collaborative study, led by the 

director of operational logistics for Deepwater 

Horizon mission support, to identify and implement 

enhancements to the surge staffing process. Working 

Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 59
 
60 • Spring 2011 - Service Lines

in partnership with the Unified Area Command and

staffs from both Pacific and Atlantic Areas and FORCECOM, the study’s conclusions were unanimously

accepted in August 2010. 

This resulted in clearly articulated roles and

responsibilities, not only for requirements sourcing

exercised by the branch, the Reserve Force Readiness

Division and their sourcing partners, but also for

requirements management exercised by the operational chain of command. These latter enhancements

to the operational commander’s requirements management capabilities offered significant additional

capacity to plan, develop and forecast accurate force

structures, sharpen and track competency requirements, account for and reassign responders already in

theater, and develop suitable personnel sustainment

plans.

The success in capturing and articulating the roles

and responsibilities for the requirements sourcing and

requirements management functions offered immediate improvements following their implementation in

September 2010. The new means to communicate

strategic and operational objectives, and the strengthened ability to plan, identify and prioritize competency

requirements, allowed more effective synchronization

and a sequencing of personnel sourcing, training and

support. In turn, these successes strengthened the

unity of effort and afforded a more flexible and responsive surge staffing process.

Lessons Learned

Since its establishment in September 2009, the

branch has proved effective in responding to and

meeting an unprecedented level of contingency force

requirements. The lessons learned from these significant accomplishments are already directing policy and

process improvement efforts in requirements management, requirements sourcing, personnel support and

training delivery. Ultimately, these improvements will

deliver more robust doctrine for future versions of contingency operational and support plans, as well as

reserve mobilization procedures. 

Coast Guard personnel can identify and apply for volunteer opportunities with the Surge

Staffing Branch through the Mobilization Readiness Tracking Tool Volunteer Bulletin Board

(MRTT VBB) at https://www.uscg-mrttcpms.net/uscg.mrtt/mod.vm/home.aspx. Applications

are subject to command endorsement provided through the MRTT VBB.

Fire boat response crews

battle the blazing remnants

of the offshore oil rig

Deepwater Horizon in April

2010. Multiple Coast Guard

helicopters, planes and cutters responded to rescue the

rig's 126-person crew. U.S.

Coast Guard photo.

Want to Volunteer? Here’s How
Spring 2011 - Service Lines • 61

Lt. j.g. Jesse Stewart, an 11th Coast Guard District Response Advisory Team member, examines his gloves covered with crude oil after bringing a skimming system back on board the

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harry Claiborne , a coastal buoy tender, in May 2010. The system

was used to help remove oil from the Gulf of Mexico’s surface following the Deepwater

Horizon oil rig explosion. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathen E. Davis.