With 2012 Budget in Brief

February 2011

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

2011 Posture Statement
Fiscal Year 2012

Budget Priorities

In Fiscal Year 2012, the Coast Guard will focus 

resources on advancing its key strategic imperatives 

through the following FY 2012 budget priorities:

Rebuild the Coast Guard

Sustain Front-line Operations

Enhance Maritime Incident Prevention and Response

Support Military Families

Front cover photo credits: Crewmembers from Coast Guard Cutter 

Harry Claiborne observe the vessel of opportunity skimming 

system collecting oil from the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill. Navy 

photo by PO2 Jonathan Davis / L-Photo by PA2 Jetta H. Disco / 

M-Photo by BM3 Daniel Finke / R-Photo by PA3 Brandyn Hill

Photo credit this page: USCG photo
I am pleased to present the Coast Guard’s 2011 Posture Statement and Fiscal Year 2012 Budget In Brief. For over 

220 years the U.S. Coast Guard has safeguarded the Nation’s maritime interests and natural resources on our rivers 

and ports, in the littoral regions, on the high seas, and around the world. The role of the Coast Guard is enduring by 

providing for and protecting those on the sea, America from threats delivered by sea, and the sea itself. 

Our unique authorities, versatile assets, and dedicated personnel enable us to respond to all threats and hazards in 

a manner that provides exceptional value and service to the American public and global maritime community. 

This past year, the Coast Guard showcased its value as an incident responder and manager by leading America’s 

response to the BP Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and ensuing oil spill disaster. The Service deployed 46 

cutters, 22 aircraft and over 7,000 personnel in order to meet Federal On-Scene Coordinator response requirements 

to provide oversight, logistics, and security of the waterways in and around the oil spill. The Coast Guard also 

dispatched the fi rst U.S. assets that provided rescue and relief following the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Our 

value to the Nation is providing this unique capability in the maritime domain, and it is our commitment to enhance 

our ability to respond to and manage future incidents.

Throughout our Haiti and BP oil spill responses, the Coast Guard continued to serve the American people by 

performing our ‘every day’ missions, including Search and Rescue, enforcing immigration laws, interdicting illegal 

drugs, protecting living marine resources, and ensuring resiliency of our nation’s maritime transportation system. 

These operations, however, further stressed our assets and personnel and highlighted our readiness challenges and 

ability to meet expanded mission requirements or sustain responses to simultaneous, large-scale operations without 

degrading mission performance in other areas. 

To ensure the future readiness and viability of the Coast Guard, we will continue to focus resources on recapitalizing 

our ships and aircraft, replacing our command and control systems, and supporting shore infrastructure —these 

are the foundational assets for carrying out our missions. The initiatives contained in our Fiscal Year 2012 Budget 

request will enable us to continue fi elding new assets through our acquisition programs. While rebuilding the Coast 

Guard is imperative, we must also sustain front-line operations. The FY 2012 budget requests funding to support 

our workforce, complete critical depot level maintenance on in-service assets, and operate new assets delivered 

through our acquisition programs. 

To keep pace with the Maritime Industry’s growth and increasing regulatory oversight requirements, we continue 

to improve Marine Safety mission performance through key initiatives that enhance workforce competencies and 

capacities. Additionally, the Deepwater Horizon incident demonstrated the importance of federal oversight to 

prevent these accidents, and the necessity of a timely, capable federal response when incidents occur. Investments 

contained in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget request are essential to ensuring the Coast Guard can respond to major 

incidents in the maritime domain and continue to ensure America’s safety, economic and national security. 

Please visit our website, www.uscg.mil, to learn more about the Coast Guard, our performance record, or how we are 

serving the American Public, maritime community and preparing for the demands of future. 

Semper Paratus!

R. J. PAPP, JR

Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard

THE COMMANDANT OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Fiscal Year 2010 

Performance Highlights

In 2010, over 43,000 active duty members, 8,100 reservists, 8,100 civilian employees,

and 33,000 volunteer Auxiliarists of the Coast Guard...

Conducted over 41,000 recreational vessel 

boardings, issued over 7,000 citations, and 

visited 2,000 recreational boat manufacturers to 

provide education and ensure compliance with 

federal regulations. Photo by PA3 Nathan

Littlejohn

4 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Continued the deployment of six Patrol 

Boats and 400 personnel to protect Iraqi 

critical maritime oil infrastructure and 

train Iraqi naval forces in support of 

Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by Lt. 

Cmdr. Jim Hotchkiss

Screened over 257,000 commercial 

vessels and 71 million crewmembers and 

passengers prior to arrival in U.S. ports; 

identifi ed 61 individuals with terrorism

associations for further vetting. Photo by 

PA3 Casey Rane

Led the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the fi rst-ever Spill of National 

Signifi cance and one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The Coast Guard’s 

response included establishment of the fi rst-ever National Incident Command, providing 

federal oversight and direction for over 48,000 response personnel and 4,340 response 

vessels. The Coast Guard deployed 7,000 people, 46 cutters and 22 aircraft during this 

unprecedented response operation. Photo by PA3 Patrick Kelley

Responded to more than 22,000 Search 

and Rescue cases and saved more than 

4,300 lives. In July, the Coast Guard 

worked with the U.S. Navy and other fi rst 

responders to rescue passengers of a 

capsized amphibious tour boat in the 

Delaware River near Philadelphia. U.S. 

Navy photo by PO1 Timothy Miller
Investigated 4,650 marine casualties, 

including 2 marine boards of 

investigation. In Jan 2010, investigators 

responded to a collision between the 

towing vessel Dixie Vengeance and 

tank ship Eagle Otome near Port Arthur, 

Texas. USCG photo

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 5

Conducted more than 11,000 inspections 

on U.S. fl ag vessels and 9,000 Port State 

Control safety and environmental exams 

on foreign vessels. Photo by PA3 Tom 

Atkeson

Christened the National Security Cutter 

Stratton, named in honor of Captain 

Dorothy Stratton, the fi rst woman 

accepted into the Coast Guard Women’s 

Reserve in 1946. In July, First Lady 

Michelle Obama christened the cutter by 

breaking a champagne bottle over the 

bow. Photo by PA3 Casey Ranel

Seized 37,739 pounds of marijuana bound 

for the United States. In June, crewmembers 

from Coast Guard Cutter Sitkinak intercepted 

smugglers with nearly 1,000 pounds of 

marijuana. Photo by PA3 Sabrina Elgammal

Interdicted more than 2,000 undocumented migrants attempting to illegally enter the United 

States. In April, crewmembers from Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous interdicted 90 Haitian 

migrants. USCG photo
Photo by PA1 Sara Francis
Contents

Photo by PA3 Henry Dunphy

Fiscal Year 2010 Performance Highlights ....................................................4

The Role of the Coast Guard .........................................................................8

America’s Maritime Incident Responder and Manager .............................10

 SECTION I: COAST GUARD PROGRAMS AND MISSIONS ......................13

Maritime Security Operations...............................................................15

Maritime Law Enforcement ...................................................................16

Maritime Prevention ..............................................................................17

Maritime Response................................................................................18

Defense Operations...............................................................................19

Marine Transportation System Management ......................................21

SECTION II: STRATEGIC PRIORITIES ........................................................27

Sustain Mission Excellence..................................................................28

Recapitalize and Build Capacity ..........................................................29

Enhance Crisis Response and Management ......................................30

Prepare for the Future ...........................................................................32

SECTION III: FY 2012 BUDGET IN BRIEF ...................................................37

Rebuild the Coast Guard ......................................................................38

Sustain Front-Line Operations .............................................................40

Enhance Maritime Incident Prevention and Response ......................41

Support Military Families ......................................................................42

FY 2012 Decommissionings, Effi ciencies, and Savings ....................42

Administrative Savings Initiatives .......................................................43

Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriation Summary ...........................................45
The Coast Guard ensures the Safety, Security 

and Stewardship of U.S. maritime interests. 

We are the lead federal agency in the maritime 

domain for law enforcement, incident response, 

homeland security, and disaster management.

Value to the Nation

Since 1790, the Coast Guard has safeguarded our Nation’s maritime interests 

and natural resources on our rivers, in the ports, in the littoral regions, on the 

high seas, and in theaters around the world. The Coast Guard is an adaptable, 

responsive, military force of maritime professionals whose broad legal 

authorities, capable assets, geographic diversity and expansive partnerships 

provide a persistent presence in the inland waters, ports, coastal regions and 

far offshore areas of operations. Coast Guard presence is local, regional, 

national and international. These attributes make the Coast Guard a unique 

instrument of maritime safety and security.

 Photo by PA2 Matthew Schofi eld

Photo by Ensign Shea Winterberger

The Role

Of The Coast Guard

Photo by OS3 Michael Danvers Photo by MK2 Vincent Bucaneg

8 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement
What We Do

We Protect Those on the Sea: leading responses to maritime disasters 

and threats, ensuring a safe and secure maritime transportation system, 

preventing incidents and rescuing those in distress.

We Protect America From Threats Delivered by the Sea: enforcing laws 

and treaties, securing our ocean resources, and ensuring the integrity of 

our maritime domain from illegal activity. 

We Protect the Sea Itself: regulating hazardous cargo transportation, 

holding responsible parties accountable for environmental damage and 

cleanup, and protecting living marine and natural resources.

Why We Matter

The United States is a Maritime Nation. With nearly 90% of global trade moving 

by sea, much of it fueling U.S. jobs and industry, our nation’s economy and 

security are inextricably linked to the sea, our ports and our waterways.

The sea, our ports and our waterways also serve as gateways for multiple 

challenges to our nation’s safety and security, including: mass migration; 

smuggling of drugs, illegal aliens and contraband; energy exploration; increases 

in commercial maritime trade and global shipping; and catastrophic weather 

events. This growth in activity and threat vectors brings a corresponding demand 

for USCG authorities, capabilities, competencies, capacity and partnerships.

USCG photo

Photo by PA1 Thomas Blue

Photo by PA3 George Degener

Photo by PA3 Tara Molle

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 9
America’s Maritime 

Incident Responder

and Manager

On any given day, there is a Coast Guard High Endurance Cutter 

with an embarked helicopter patrolling the waters of the Bering Sea 

enforcing fi sheries law, a Maritime Safety and Security Team conducting 

Ports, Waterways and Coastal Security missions in coastal waters of 

the Pacifi c, a HC-130 aircraft carrying out counter-drug operations 

in the Caribbean basin, icebreakers supporting the year-round fl ow 

of commercial goods on the Great Lakes and in the Northeast, and 

command centers monitoring vessel movements and mariner distress 

calls. Through this geographic diversity and broad set of competencies, 

combined with the Coast Guard’s “bias for action,” the Coast Guard is 

always ready as America’s incident responder in the maritime domain. 

The entire world witnessed this value in the aftermath of the magnitude 

7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12th, 2010. The Coast 

Guard Cutter Forward was diverted from a law enforcement patrol in 

the Caribbean and arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti within 17 hours of the 

disaster. The Cutter Forward provided the world with fi rst hand images 

and reports of the devastation that had struck the impoverished nation. 

The fi rst helicopters on scene were from Coast Guard units deployed 

to the Turks and Caicos Islands for counter-narcotics operations. 

Additional Coast Guard cutters and aircraft arrived within hours to 

assist thousands of injured Haitians, evacuate American citizens, 

deliver medical and other critical supplies and begin to restore vital port 

infrastructure and facilitate the larger-scale federal and international 

response.

Two crewmembers from the Coast Guard Cutter 

Tahoma help prepare a critically injured man for 

medical evacuation. Photo by SN Melissa

Cardwell

A Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter fl ies 

overhead as Coast Guard Cutter Resolute steams 

near the Deepwater Horizon spill site. Resolute 

served as an incident response, search and rescue, 

and command and control platform responding to 

the largest oil spill response in U.S. history. Photo 

by PA1 Matthew Belson

Coast Guard Lt. Teresa Wolf (left), a physician 

assistant assigned to Port Security Unit (PSU) 

307, and Methelus Edelette, a Haitian Coast Guard 

corpsman, provide medical attention and medicine 

during an orphanage relief project. Photo by PA2 

Eric Chandler

10 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement
On April 20th, 2010 the Coast Guard responded to the distress call 

following an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. During the 

initial Search and Rescue response, more than 100 people were 

rescued. As the scope and focus of the incident expanded and shifted 

to the ensuing oil spill, the Coast Guard led the monumental Federal 

response to the fi rst-ever Spill of National Signifi cance and one of 

the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The scope of the 

unprecedented response involved over 7,000 Coast Guard personnel, 

46 cutters and boats and 22 aircraft. Throughout the incident, the Coast 

Guard led a whole of government and industry response to secure the 

well-head, contain and clean up the spill, and protect the Gulf Coast 

ecosystem. 

These incidents clearly demonstrate how the Coast Guard’s assets, 

competencies, capabilities, authorities, and partnerships bring forth a 

unique ability to serve as a leading maritime responder and incident 

manager within government. Every day the Coast Guard saves 

lives, leads humanitarian missions, defends the nation, protects the 

environment and ensures the safety and security of the American 

people. 

The Coast Guard’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget request advances our 

Nation’s maritime response posture with funding to acquire new 

assets and improved command and control systems, sustain front-line 

operations, and enhance maritime safety and marine environmental 

response capabilities. These budget initiatives will help ensure the 

Coast Guard remains “Always Ready” to meet the most challenging 

demands of the Nation.

Coast Guard Health, Safety and Environment 

workers place oil containment boom on low areas 

of a beach in Fourchon, LA, to prevent oil from 

getting into nearby marshes. Photo by PA3 Patrick 

Kelley

An MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard 

Sector San Diego, Calif escorts the cruise ship 

Carnival Splendor into the Port of San Diego Bay. 

The cruise ship became disabled 150 miles south of 

San Diego after a fi re in the engine room. Photo by 

PA2 Jetta Disco

The 738-foot bulk carrier 

Golden Seas was in danger 

of running aground after 

becoming disabled in the 

Bearing Sea. The Coast 

Guard provided critical 

support to assist the towing 

operation by the Tor Viking 

II during the four day 

incident until the vessel 

reached Dutch Harbor, 

Alaska. Photo courtesy of 

Tor Viking II

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 11
Photo by AMT2 Nicholas Mendes
U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 13

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

Section I

Photo by IT1 Matthew Luce Photo by YN3 Tyler Pepin Photo by MEC Carl Shipley

MARITIME SECURITY OPERATIONS ........................................................................................... 15

MARITIME LAW ENFORCEMENT ................................................................................................. 16

MARITIME PREVENTION ............................................................................................................. 17

MARITIME RESPONSE .................................................................................................................. 18

DEFENSE OPERATIONS ............................................................................................................... 19

MARINE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT ............................................................. 21
14 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

Photo by AMT1 Nicholas Mendes

The Coast Guard delivers value to the 

public through the execution of its 11 

statutory missions. Performance of 

these inter-related missions ensures the 

maritime domain is safe and secure, and 

the marine environment is protected. 

The role of the Coast Guard in the 

maritime domain is enduring – with 

long-standing responsibilities accrued 

over more than two centuries of service. 

As part of the Department of Homeland 

Security’s (DHS) 2010 Bottom Up 

Review, the Coast Guard baselined its 

mission execution and support activities 

critical to performing its 11 statutory 

missions. As part of this process, the 

DHS Programs USCG Statutory Missions

Maritime Security Operations Ports, Waterways and Coastal Security (PWCS) - Operational 

Activities

Maritime Law Enforcement

Drug Interdiction

Migrant Interdiction

Living Marine Resources (LMR)

Other Law Enforcement (OLE)

Maritime Prevention

Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security (PWCS) - Prevention 

Activities

Marine Safety (MS)

Marine Environmental Protection (MEP) - Prevention Activities

Maritime Response

Search and Rescue (SAR)

Marine Environmental Protection (MEP) - Response Activities

Defense Operations Defense Readiness

Marine Transportation System Management

Aids to Navigation (AtoN)

Domestic Ice Operations
U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 15

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

Coast Guard identifi ed six groupings of activities across the 11 

statutory missions in support of the Department’s missions and 

the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) priorities. 

It was these six groupings that formed the basis for establishing 

new DHS programs. These programs, implemented through 

execution of the Coast Guard’s 11 statutory missions, are critical 

to advancing National priorities. The initiatives in the Coast 

Guard’s FY 2012 budget are crucial to the effective achievement 

of these priorities. 

MARITIME SECURITY OPERATIONS

Maritime Security Operations activities detect, deter, prevent, 

and disrupt terrorist and other criminal acts in the maritime 

domain. This program includes execution of antiterrorism, 

response and recovery operations, and related preparedness 

activities. Through this program, the Coast Guard mitigates the 

overall risk to Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR), 

and leverages the Maritime Operation Threat Response Plan, 

which ensures a coordinated response to threats against the United 

States, its Marine Transportation System (MTS), and interests 

in the maritime domain. Coast Guard’s statutory missions that 

support the Maritime Security Operations program include:

• Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security (PWCS) —

Operational Activities

Members from the Maritime Security 

Response Team (MSRT) based in 

Chesapeake, Va., underway in 25-foot 

Response Boats for maritime security 

training in San Diego Bay. Photo by PA1 

Allyson Conroy

Members from Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) 91109 conduct tactics 

training in San Diego Bay. Photo by PA1 Allyson Conroy

Fireman Robert Arambula, a member 

of a Sector San Francisco Boarding 

Team, conducts a security check of the 

cruise ship Balmoral on its transit into 

San Francisco Bay. Photo by PA3 Erik 

Swanson

A Coast Guard security team with a K-9 

specially trained in explosive detection, 

patrol the New Orleans Riverwalk. Photo 

by PA1 Thomas Blue
16 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

In 2010 the Coast Guard conducted...

• 16,926 security boardings of small vessels in and around 

U.S. ports, waterways, and coastal regions.

• 52,018 waterborne security patrols projecting presence 

near maritime Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources 

(CIKR).

• 19,407 waterborne patrols of fi xed security zones.

• 847 escorts of vessels carrying certain dangerous cargoes.

• 3,168 escorts and boarding of high-capacity passenger 

vessels such as ferries and cruise ships to ensure the 

safety of passengers.

• 1,399 escorts of high-value naval vessels transiting U.S. 

waterways.

MARITIME LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Maritime Law Enforcement program preserves America’s 

jurisdictional rights within our maritime borders and 

suppresses violations of U.S. federal law on, under and over the 

high seas. The Coast Guard is the lead federal maritime law 

enforcement agency and the only agency with both the authority 

and capability to enforce national and international law on the 

high seas, outer continental shelf, and throughout the entire 

U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Coast Guard statutory 

missions that support the Maritime Law Enforcement program 

include:

• Drug Interdiction

• Migrant Interdiction

• Other Law Enforcement (OLE)

• Living Marine Resources (Fisheries Law 

Enforcement)

USS Freedom with embarked USCG LEDET seized 3.7 metric tons of cocaine in two 

separate Go-fast events. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Ed Early

A Coast Guard precision marksman 

explains the weaponry available on 

the MH-65 helicopter at the Helicopter 

Interdiction Tactical Squadron. Photo by 

PA1 Bobby Nash

Members of Coast Guard Tactical Law 

Enforcement Team (TACLET) South 

perform a vessel compartment search 

exercise in Miami. Photo by PA3 Nick 

Ameen

Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket 

interdicting illegal migrants.

Photo by BM1 Jason Kuzmicki
U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 17

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

In 2010 the Coast Guard ...

• Removed a total of 202,439 pounds of cocaine, and 36,739 

pounds of marijuana; seized 56 vessels, and detained 

229 suspected smugglers. Deployed Law Enforcement 

Detachments (LEDETs) aboard US Naval and partner 

nation warships removed over 61,000 pounds of cocaine, 

2,000 lbs of marijuana, detained 74 suspected smugglers, 

and seized 13 vessels.

• Interdicted 2,088 undocumented migrants attempting to 

illegally enter the United States.

• Increased Coast Guard presence around Haiti following 

its devastating earthquake to deter mass illegal migration 

and reduce loss of life associated with attempts to illegally 

enter the U.S. by sea.

• Using Biometrics at Sea System (BASS), identifi ed 143 

felons and repeat offenders attempting to enter the country 

illegally via the Mona Passage and the Florida Straits. 54 

were prosecuted by the U. S. District Attorney’s Offi ce. 

MARITIME PREVENTION 

The Maritime Prevention program reduces personnel casualties 

and property losses, minimizes security risks, and protects the 

marine environment. The Coast Guard develops and enforces 

federal marine safety, security, and environmental regulations. 

It reviews vessel and maritime facility security plans, conducts 

security inspections, and enforces Transportation Worker 

Identifi cation Credential regulations. The Coast Guard conducts 

compulsory, as well as voluntary vessel safety exams and 

inspections; certifi es and licenses U.S. mariners; and promotes 

best practices by investigating marine casualties and sharing 

its fi ndings. It provides grants to states to improve recreational 

boating safety, and supports a variety of government and nongovernment boating safety efforts in partnership with other 

federal agencies, state and local governments, and marine 

industries and associations. The Coast Guard is the primary 

U.S. representative to the International Maritime Organization 

(IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that develops 

the international regulatory framework that governs every facet 

of shipping. The Coast Guard is the primary agency responsible 

for developing and enforcing federal marine safety, security and 

environmental protection regulations. Coast Guard statutory 

missions that support the Maritime Prevention program include:

• Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security (PWCS)— 

Prevention Activities

• Marine Safety 

• Marine Environmental Protection

Coast Guard Cutter Dallas interdicted a 

35-foot Self-Propelled Semi-Submersible 

(SPSS) vessel in May 2010 illegally 

smuggling approximately 3 metric tons 

of cocaine. Photo by BMC James Moerls

Royal Navy Frigate HMS Iron Duke with 

a Coast Guard LEDET aboard interdicts 

a boat carrying bales of cocaine worth 

an estimated $55 million off the coast of 

Venezuela. Photo courtesy of HMS Iron 

Duke

The Coast Guard inspects the certifi cate 

of a tugboat pilot in Chicago. Photo by 

PA3 William Mitchell
18 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

In 2010 the Coast Guard ...

• Conducted over 40,000 U.S. commercial vessel inspection 

activities. 

• Conducted more than 9,000 Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 

Port State Control safety and security exams on foreign 

fl ag vessels.

• Enhanced maritime safety and security through the 

administration of the National Recreational Boating 

Safety Program in conjunction with state law enforcement; 

conducted over 1.5 million vessel boardings, yielding over 

113,000 citations and 300,000 warnings to reduce safety 

and security risks. 

• Completed over 24,400 container inspections, identifying 

more than 4,100 defi ciencies that led to 750 cargo or 

container shipments being placed on hold until dangerous 

conditions were corrected.

• Performed over 14,800 inspections at facilities, identifying 

over 5,400 defi cient conditions with safety, security, and 

environmental protection regulations.

• Conducted 1,400 transfer monitors of oil and hazardous 

substances to ensure compliance with environmental 

protection regulations and operating procedures.

• Conducted over 8,398 voluntary dockside Commercial 

Fishing Vessel safety examinations.

• Helped lead efforts that prompted action from IMO to 

bring into effect the Wider Caribbean Region Special 

Area. This ecologically and economically important area, 

which largely includes the Gulf of Mexico, will be subject 

to stringent rules regarding the overboard discharge of 

shipboard generated garbage, greatly improving water 

quality and marine habitats.

MARITIME RESPONSE

The Maritime Response program mitigates the consequences of 

marine casualties and disastrous events. Through the Maritime 

Response program, the Coast Guard searches for and rescues 

persons in distress in the maritime environment. Coast Guard 

preparedness efforts for all threats and all hazards ensures 

incident response and recovery resources are fully ready and 

capable of scalable mobilization in coordination with and 

support of local, state, Federal, international and private sector 

stakeholders to minimize the impact of disasters on people, the 

environment and the economy. The Coast Guard minimizes 

loss of life, injury, and property in the maritime domain. Coast 

Guard statutory missions that support the Maritime Response 

program include:

• Search and Rescue

• Marine Environmental Protection—Response 

Activities

Coast Guard marine inspectors conduct 

an inspection of the aft section of a deck 

barge being constructed at Brady Island 

Southwest Shipyard in Houston, Texas. 

Photo by CWO4 Jack Quassa

A Coast Guard Marine Science 

Technician conducts a Port State Control 

exam on the Panamanian-fl agged 

chemical and oil tanker, Royal Stella, 

to ensure compliance with safety and 

security guidelines. Photo by PA3 Caleb 

Critchfi eld

The Coast Guard responded to the 

grounding of the 523-foot chemical 

tanker Isabel Knutsen in the Houston 

Ship Channel. The ship was refl oated 

with no damage to the vessel and no 

impact to the environment. USCG photo
U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 19

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

In 2010 the Coast Guard ...

• Responded 22,220 times to people and vessels in distress 

resulting in 4,329 lives saved and nearly $86M in property 

preserved.

• Led the Federal response to the Deepwater Horizon oil 

spill, the fi rst-ever Spill of National Signifi cance (SONS) 

and the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. 

• Provided the fi rst “on-scene” assets following the 

devastating earthquake in Haiti. Over 800 Coast Guard 

personnel, cutters and aircraft were involved in response 

and relief efforts, including operations to evacuate injured 

personnel, U.S. citizens, and delivery of aid. Coast Guard 

cutters and personnel also completed port assessments and 

developed plans to reconstitute port operations, allowing 

for safe transit of humanitarian supplies from relief ships 

to coastal logistics staging points. 

• Enhanced ability to detect and locate persons in distress 

with continued installation of Rescue 21, now covering 26 

major coastal areas encompassing over 35,000 miles of the 

Nation’s coastline.

DEFENSE OPERATIONS

As one of the Nation’s fi ve armed services, the Coast Guard, via 

its Defense Operations program, provides unique authorities 

and capabilities to support the National Military Strategy. 

Specifi c objectives include defending the homeland, promoting 

international security, deterring confl ict, and winning our 

Nation’s wars. The Coast Guard has the authorities, capabilities 

and capacity to carry out homeland security and defense 

operations whether under Coast Guard control or under 

the control of a Department of Defense (DOD) Geographic 

Combatant Commander. The Coast Guard maintains a level of 

readiness and training that allows for immediate integration 

with DOD forces for peacetime operations or during times of 

war. This supports U.S. national interests abroad, as well as 

facilitating DOD support to DHS for the integration of Homeland 

Defense and Homeland Security. The Coast Guard statutory 

mission that supports the Defense Operations program is:

• Defense Readiness

In 2010 the Coast Guard ...

• Continued the deployment of six patrol boats and their 

supporting and command elements to U.S. Central Command 

(CENTCOM).

• Deployed Cutter Mohawk for over three months to West 

Africa in support of U.S. Africa Command’s (AFRICOM) 

African Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP) 

program, conducting extensive joint maritime training 

operations with West African naval forces.

An HH-60 aircraft crew medevacs 

multiple survivors from the mobile 

offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon 

after an explosion and fi re. Photo by PA3 

Tom Atkeson

Coast Guard response personnel 

conduct a Port Coordination Meeting in 

Port-Au-Prince under Operation Unifi ed 

Response to provide aid to Haitian 

earthquake survivors. USCG Photo

Members from the Coast Guard Cutter 

Mellon, USS Vandegrift and Indonesian 

Navy participate in Naval

Engagement Activity (NEA) Indonesia

combined operations in the Java 

Sea. U.S. Navy photo by PO2 David 

Brandenburg
20 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

• Continued deployment of personnel to the port of 

Umm Qasr to train and advise the Iraqi Ministry of 

Transportation in International Ship and Port Facility 

Security Code (ISPS) compliance and support efforts 

to establish a US / IRAQ Maritime Academy exchange 

program. 

• Deployed Port Security Units (PSU) to the Middle East 

with U.S. Navy Maritime Security Squadrons to support 

point defense and harbor security operations in Kuwait in 

support of Overseas Contingency Operations.

• Delivered maritime capacity-building assistance to 51 

nations, training a total of 2,503 host country participants.

• Deployed Cutter Mellon for 5 months to Southeast 

Asia in support of U.S. Pacifi c Command’s (PACOM) 

Cooperative Afl oat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 

security cooperation exercises. During the deployment, 

Cutter Mellon conducted exercises with Brunei, Thailand, 

Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia forces.

• Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDET) 

deployed in support of CENTCOM’s Combined Task Force 

151 to conduct boardings and training with Navy Visit 

Board Search and Seizure teams in the Gulf of Aden.

Members from the Maritime Safety 

and Security Team (MSST) 91103, Los 

Angeles-Long Beach, perform maritime 

anti-terrorism and force protection 

duties in support of Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo Bay. Photo by PA1 Allyson 

Conroy

Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk near the 

Senegalese fi shing vessel Onudak 

I during a joint USCG-Senegal Navy 

boarding in support of the African 

Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership 

operation. Photo by PA3 Victoria Bonk

Elements of the Coast Guard’s 

Deployable Specialized Forces are 

deployed to U.S. Central Command in 

support of Combined Task Force 151, 

a multinational force that conducts 

counter-piracy operations in and around 

the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian 

Ocean and the Red Sea. U.S. Navy photo 

by PO1 Class Herbert Banks

The instructors, some of whom were U.S. Coast Guard members, and graduates of 

Iraq’s fi rst Port Facility Security Offi cer Training Course, stand proudly at the entrance 

to the Arabian Gulf Maritime Academy in Basra, Dec. 7. The PFSOs completed the 

course and will return to their respective port facilities to implement the International 

Ship and Port Facility Security Code. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Cody Harding
U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 21

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

MARINE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM 

MANAGEMENT

The Marine Transportation System Management program 

ensures a safe, effi cient and environmentally sound waterways 

system. The Coast Guard minimizes disruptions to maritime 

commerce by assessing and mitigating risks to safe navigation 

and by providing waterways restoration capabilities after 

extreme weather events, marine accidents, or other maritime 

incidents. The Coast Guard works in concert with other Federal 

agencies, state and local governments, marine industries, 

maritime associations, and the international community to 

maintain a healthy balance among competing interests in the 

use and development of the Nation’s marine transportation 

system. Coast Guard statutory missions that support the 

Marine Transportation System Management program include:

• Aids to Navigation

• Ice Operations

In 2010 the Coast Guard ...

• Managed nearly 1.4 million commercial vessel transits in 

12 of the Nation’s highest traffi c ports.

• Cutter Oak, a 225-foot sea going buoy tender, personnel 

from the Maritime Transportation Recovery Unit 

(MTSRU), and Port Security Unit 307 completed 

port assessments and developed plans to reconstitute 

operations in the port of Port Au Prince, allowing for safe

Aids to Navigation Team San Diego 

conducts repairs on a navigation light. 

Photo by PA2 Jetta Disco

Coast Guard Cutter George Cobb, a 175-foot buoy tender homeported in San Pedro, 

Calif., prepares to service a buoy for maintenance in San Diego Bay. Photo by PA1 

Allyson Conroy

Coast Guard Cutter Sledge, a 75-foot 

construction tender homeported in 

Baltimore, departs after releasing a 

buoy for the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration in the 

Potomac River, MD. Photo by PA3 Robert 

Brazzell

Aids to Navigation Team Humboldt Bay 

servicing an aid. Photo by Lt. Todd 

Vorenkamp
22 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Coast Guard Programs and Missions

transit of humanitarian supplies from relief ships to 

coastal logistics staging points. 

• Diverted eight 225-foot Seagoing Buoy Tenders and four 

175-foot Coastal Buoy Tenders, forty percent of the Coast 

Guard buoy tender fl eet, to support the nation’s response 

to the Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil spill in the Gulf of 

Mexico.

• Processed 113 drawbridge regulatory actions and issued 

52 bridge permits nationwide to facilitate safe and effi cient 

movement of vessels along U.S. navigable waterways.

• Provided an ice-capable platform (Cutter Healy) to support 

federal science and research projects in the Arctic. 

• In a joint partnership with the Canadian Coast Guard on 

the Great Lakes, conducted major icebreaking operations, 

assisting over 200 vessel transits and facilitating the 

shipment of $2 billion of raw materials vital for U.S 

manufacturing, electricity production, construction and 

road maintenance.

• Provided icebreaking services in New England and New 

York, allowing safe winter shipping of over 12 million 

barrels of petroleum products valued at over $1.5 billion.

Coast Guard Cutters Mackinaw and Neah 

Bay break track lines for commercial 

vessels in Lake St. Clair. Photo by 

Ensign Guillermo Colom

A view of the Arctic through a forward porthole of the Coast Guard Cutter Healy during their Arctic West Summer 2010 patrol. Photo 

by Lt. j.g. Emily Kehrt

Coast Guard Cutter Willow, homeported 

in Newport, R.I., conducts an icebreaking 

operation on the Hudson River Jan. 9, 

2010. Photo by Lt. Cmdr. Douglas Wyatt
Photo by PA2 Patrick Kelley
Photo by BM2 William Parkinson

Photo by Auxiliarist Stephen Lee
Strategic Priorities

Section II

SUSTAIN MISSION EXCELLENCE .................................................................................................28

RECAPITALIZE AND BUILD CAPACITY ........................................................................................29

ENHANCE CRISIS RESPONSE AND MANAGEMENT ..................................................................30

PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE ........................................................................................................32

Photo by Ensign Jason Radcliffe Photo by SN Benjamin Wilson Photo by Lt. Todd Vorenkamp
Strategic Priorities

28 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

SUSTAIN MISSION EXCELLENCE 

Our operating environment requires that front-line 

personnel maintain true profi ciency in their specialty 

skills. We will provide clear policy and doctrine, superb 

training, equipment, tactics, techniques and procedures, 

and leadership for all mission areas. This is our 

essential foundation. We will be consummate maritime 

professionals. 

Sustain Front-Line Operations

To ensure the Coast Guard is able to meet the needs of 

the Nation, the FY 2012 budget provides resources to 

replace ships, aircraft, boats, and infrastructure to sustain 

front-line operations. The FY 2012 President’s Budget 

provides new funding to: sustain our workforce, including 

military pay and benefi t increases; complete critical depot 

level maintenance on in-service assets; and operate new assets delivered through our acquisition 

programs. The FY 2012 President’s Budget also directly funds operation and maintenance of the polar 

icebreaking program. 

Strong partnerships with the public and private sector are a force-multiplier for the Coast Guard. 

Public support helps improve voluntary compliance, and public watchfulness aids in detecting and 

deterring non-compliance. The Coast Guard relies on effective industry and agency relationships to 

achieve results, and many of our performance initiatives depend on coordinated efforts with external 

stakeholders. The Coast Guard will continue to integrate our operational capabilities and activities 

across the whole of government and with the private sector to improve unity of effort. The FY 2012 

The Coast Guard, through its Fiscal Year 2012 budget 

initiatives will pursue strategic priorities across all 

mission programs to:

Sustain Mission Excellence

Recapitalize and Build Capacity

Enhance Crisis Response and Management

Prepare for the Future

Crewmembers aboard Coast Guard Cutter 

Jefferson Island, homeported in Portland, 

Maine, discuss their upcoming schedule while 

at anchor in Casco Bay, ME. Photo by Lt. Chris 

Nolan
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 29

President’s budget provides funding to operate information 

sharing systems at Interagency Operations Centers in highpriority ports consistent with the SAFE Port Act.

The Coast Guard is singular among 17 agencies that comprise 

the Intelligence Community (IC) for its national and law 

enforcement intelligence statutory authorities in the maritime 

domain. Thus, the Coast Guard is uniquely positioned to 

provide actionable, timely, and fused intelligence to its 

operational commanders and IC partners. The Coast Guard 

is the lead maritime agency within DHS, providing support 

for the execution of all Coast Guard missions, while achieving 

a secondary goal of enhancing broader IC efforts. The Coast 

Guard maintains a robust Counterintelligence Service and the 

only Signals Intelligence capability within DHS. This broadens 

maritime domain awareness (MDA) in the execution of our 

homeland security missions.

RECAPITALIZE AND BUILD CAPACITY

Recapitalization is vital to improve mission readiness by 

replacing aged, obsolete, and unreliable assets. Investment in 

Coast Guard recapitalization is the Service’s top budget priority 

and is essential to mission execution. 

Rebuild the Coast Guard

The FY 2012 President’s Budget focuses resources to 

recapitalize cutters, boats, aircraft, Command, Control, 

Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, 

and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, and supporting shore 

infrastructure. Continued investment in modernized assets 

and systems is the Coast Guard’s top budget priority and is 

critical to ensure the Service has the foundational capabilities to 

achieve mission objectives—today and for the future. 

The FY 2012 President’s Budget provides funding to complete 

production and delivery activities for the fi fth National Security 

Cutter (NSC). To ensure the best value for the Government, 

the Service has transitioned the NSC project to a fi xed-price 

contract structure at the same time disaggregating it from 

the commercial Lead System Integrator contract in a similar 

manner as other legacy projects for the collective program 

formerly known as Deepwater. 

The FY 2012 Budget also includes funding to acquire two HC144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), six 154-foot Sentinelclass Fast Response Cutters (FRC), forty 45-foot Response 

Boats-Medium (RB-M), and one H-60 aircraft, to replace aging 

assets. The FY 2012 President’s Budget also invests in various 

surface and air asset sustainment projects, and infrastructure 

The Coast Guard is replacing its aged, 

obsolete fl eet of Falcon HU-25 aircraft 

with the HC-144 Maritime Patrol Aircraft. 

This asset is critical for effective law 

enforcement and search and rescue 

mission execution. Eleven HC-144A 

Maritime Patrol Aircraft have been 

delivered. Photo by PA3 Walter Shinn

The Response Boat - Medium Project 

is leveraging two production lines to 

recapitalize the utility boat fl eet on 

schedule. Photo by PA2 Bill Colclough

A smallboat crew from Coast Guard 

Cutter Tahoma stops illegal migrants 

south of Acklins Island, Bahamas. 

The crew uses biometrics to identify 

criminals attempting to enter the United 

States. USCG photo
Strategic Priorities

30 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

improvements to hangars and moorings necessary to operate 

these assets. Replacement assets such as the NSC, MPA, FRC, 

and RB-M provide vastly improved capabilities over the legacy 

assets they are replacing.

The President’s request for Coast Guard acquisition programs is 

detailed in the enclosed Budget in Brief (Section III).

ENHANCE CRISIS RESPONSE AND 

MANAGEMENT

Crisis leadership, management, and command and control are 

Coast Guard core competencies. Every Coast Guardsman is 

trained for incident response. We will ensure an adequate mix 

of crisis response skills throughout the organization. We will 

enhance our ability to manage complex, interagency operations, 

and systematically incorporate the lessons learned from 

Deepwater Horizon, the Haiti Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, 

and other large scale crises and exercises.

Coast Guard crews from Hawaii and Alaska came to the aid of the 28-member crew of the fi shing vessel Hou Chun 11 after their 

vessel caught fi re 900 miles southwest of Honolulu, Feb. 8, 2010. USCG photo

A Coast Guard Strike Team member 

prepares a hydrolab to analyze water 

temperature and pH levels in the Gulf of 

Mexico, May 27, 2010. Using fl uorometer 

technology, the team collects water 

samples and fi eld data, which helps 

environmental scientists determine how 

oil is broken down. Photo by PA1 Luke 

Pinneo
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 31

Enhance Maritime Incident Prevention and Response

As maritime commerce and the methods for transporting goods 

and exploring our oceans evolve and become more sophisticated, 

so must the Coast Guard’s marine safety workforce. The Coast 

Guard is the primary agency responsible for developing and 

enforcing Federal marine safety regulations, certifying and 

licensing over 200,000 mariners, promoting safe practices by 

investigating commercial marine casualties and sharing its 

fi ndings, and conducting compulsory as well as voluntary safety 

exams and inspections. The FY 2012 President’s budget includes 

provisions to enhance Marine Safety and Marine Environmental 

Response mission performance, capacity, capability, and 

competencies by adding inspectors, investigators, National 

Strike Force experts and incident management personnel. 

As witnessed on a national scale during the response to the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill, when maritime emergencies occur, 

Coast Guard incident responders rapidly establish and execute 

the Incident Command System to lead an effective, unifi ed 

effort. In FY 2012 the Coast Guard will enhance these core 

competencies to keep pace with an ever-growing and evolving 

maritime industry and ensure continued proactive leadership 

to prevent disasters on the Nation’s waters, remaining ready to 

respond to them when they occur. This investment will enable 

the Coast Guard to overcome capacity and competency gaps to 

perform essential Federal oversight responsibilities. The FY 

2012 President’s budget also enhances Coast Guard prevention 

and response capabilities and leadership in the maritime 

environment in support of the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization 

Act.

A command duty offi cer gives a 

presentation about Rescue 21 that was 

installed at Sector Baltimore Aug 19, 

2010. Photo by PA2 Brandyn Hill

A marine science technician checks 

the expiration date on an emergency 

positioning-indicating radio beacon 

while conducting a voluntary fi shing 

vessel safety examination. Photo by PA3 

Jonathan Lally

A Senior Marine Inspector from the Coast Guard Cruise Ship National Center of Expertise provides instruction during a cruise ship 

inspection. Photo by PA3 Nick Ameen
Strategic Priorities

32 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

The Coast Guard is continually improving its ability to rescue 

mariners in distress by leveraging new technologies and more 

capable assets. The FY 2012 President’s Budget includes 

funding to begin the interagency effort to replace the Search 

and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system with 

the Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS). SARSAT has 

reached the end of its service life and will be deactivated in 

2017. DASS is the next generation in space-based distress 

alerting, and will increase distress positioning accuracy by 80 

percent and provide near real-time distress notifi cation. The FY 

2012 Budget also continues deployment of the Rescue 21 system 

as a cornerstone of maritime response.

PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE

Tomorrow’s world will be increasingly reliant on and active in 

the maritime domain. This drives the need to continuously 

review our response, mitigation, regulatory, law enforcement, 

inspection, and monitoring capabilities. As maritime activities 

expand further offshore and into more remote areas, our ability 

to meet our responsibilities will hinge on the development and 

deployment of new technologies, partnerships, competencies and 

assets. 

Support For Military Families — Childcare, Work Life and 

Housing

The Department and the Coast Guard are committed to 

improving the quality of life for military members and their 

families. The health and welfare of families is the heart of 

operational readiness. In FY 2012, the Coast Guard will 

help with the Administration’s efforts to improve the quality 

of life for military families. Specifi c emphasis will be placed 

on increasing child care capacity for Coast Guard and DOD 

families. The FY 2012 President’s budget increases access to 

child care services for Coast Guard families with dependents 

younger than 12 years old and funds new positions critical 

to ensuring accreditation by the National Association for the 

Education of Young Children for the Coast Guard’s nine child 

development centers.

It is also imperative that the Coast Guard has the ability to 

provide appropriate housing for its members. The FY 2012 

President’s budget requests $20 million to improve military 

housing in Cape Cod, Mass, and Astoria, Ore., two areas with 

signifi cant shortfalls in suitable private sector housing.

Coast Guard Work-Life programs provide organizational, 

individual and family support services that positively contribute 

to mission readiness, execution and effectiveness. Actively 

supporting their use and improving the services provided 

After a fi ve-month deployment, Cmdr. 

Jadon Klopson, executive offi cer of the 

Coast Guard Cutter Mellon, receives 

a warm welcome home from family in 

Seattle. Photo by PA3 Colin White

Seaman Jared Weeks shares a moment 

with his 5-week-old daughter, Kathleen, 

before watching the Coast Guard 

Festival fi reworks from Station Grand 

Haven, Mich. Photo by PA2 Lauren 

Jorgensen

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk from Air 

Station Kodiak, Alaska is airborne for a 

search and rescue case near Cordova. 

Photo by AST1 Chuck Ferrante
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 33

promotes the well being of our families. To enhance the worklife programs and services offered to our personnel and their 

families, a work-life program customer satisfaction survey will 

be conducted to identify opportunities to improve accessibility 

and delivery of those services. Efforts will also continue to 

enhance program awareness and communication through 

marketing initiatives and website improvements. 

Arctic Operations

The reduction in the extent and thickness of summer sea 

ice cover has become an increasingly apparent feature in a 

changing Arctic environment. Projections that the Arctic Ocean 

is slowly moving toward an ice-diminished condition portends 

greater marine access to and through the region in the coming 

decades, which would result in longer seasons of navigation, and 

potentially more hazardous conditions for marine operations in 

broken ice packs. Several federal agencies, including the Coast 

Guard, expect to see their missions in the Arctic increase in 

terms of range and tempo. 

Maritime operations in the Arctic face additional hazards from 

inadequate charts and hydrographic data, limitations to radio 

and satellite communications, absence of ports of refuge, vast 

distances, harsh operating conditions, and the lack of on-shore 

infrastructure to support normal shipping and emergencies. 

The Coast Guard is an active participant on several interagency 

committees and workgroups that are addressing these 

Coast Guard divers train in the Northwest Passage during Exercise Natsiq, a joint operation involving forces from the U.S. Coast 

Guard, U.S. Navy, the Canadian Navy and Coast Guard, and the Royal Danish Navy, founded on enhancing Arctic operations and 

developing multi-national capabilities for future operations in the Arctic domain. USCG photo

Vice Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara (left), on 

the open ramp of a C-130, watches as 

the Coast Guard Cutter Healy breaks 

ice approximately 560 nautical miles 

North of Barrow, Alaska, Sept. 3, 2010. 

Vice Adm. Brice-O’Hara led a crossgovernment team that included Interior 

Secretary Ken Salazar to view the region 

and meet with local offi cials and industry 

in the North Slope. USCG photo
Strategic Priorities

34 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

challenges. Internationally, the Coast Guard is a leader under 

the auspices of the Arctic Council to establish a multilateral 

Search and Rescue agreement among the Arctic maritime 

nations that will leverage scarce search and rescue assets in the 

region. The Coast Guard is also actively engaged in initiatives 

at the International Maritime Organization to update and 

strengthen measures applicable to vessels operating in the 

Arctic region. These initiatives and operations advance the 

requirements of NSPD-66/HSPD-25 of 9 January 2009, “Arctic 

Region Policy,” and Executive Order 13547 of 19 July 2010, 

“Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes,” 

and its emphasis on responding to the changing conditions in 

the Arctic.

Legislative Initiatives

Looking forward, the Coast Guard will seek legislative 

authorities during the 112th Congress to enhance our ability to 

effectively carry out our statutory missions, manage our assets, 

and support our people. For example, the Coast Guard will seek 

new authorities to dispose of decommissioned legacy vessels 

(also addressed in the FY 2012 President’s Budget), provide for 

A polar bear sniffs at the water near 

Coast Guard Cutter Healy north of the 

Arctic Circle during the cutter’s Arctic 

West Summer patrol. Photo by Lt j.g. 

Emily Kehrt

Crewmembers of the Coast Guard Cutter James Rankin, a 175-foot buoy tender homeported at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, 

MD, service a buoy in upper Chesapeake Bay that helps ensure the safe fl ow of maritime commerce. Photo by Auxiliarist Caryl P. 

Weiss
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 35

the health care of foreign cadets at the Academy, and maintain 

aids to navigation.

Coast Guard Reserve 

Coast Guard reservists routinely support the Nation during 

short-duration incidents, as well as during sustained activations 

and deployments—notably, in response to Hurricane Katrina 

(2005), Hurricanes Gustav and Ike (2008), and Deepwater 

Horizon (2010). The recent experience with relatively long 

duration surges in rapid succession highlight potential 

limitations of calls to service under Title 14. The Coast Guard 

will work with the Administration and 112th Congress to 

address this issue.

Sportfi shing and Recreational Boating Safety Act

The Coast Guard’s recreational boating safety program seeks 

to maximize safe use and enjoyment of U.S. waterways by the 

boating public, as well as minimize the loss of life, personal 

injury, property damage, and environmental impact associated 

with the use of recreational boats. This Coast Guard legislative 

priority would reauthorize the various uses of the Sportfi shing 

and Recreation Boating Safety Trust Fund and possibly 

modify the distribution of the funds to better serve the boating 

community.

Coast Guard Academy cadets working 

aboard Cutter Eagle, homeported in New 

London, CT, during their summer training 

in the Caribbean Sea. Photo by PA2 Jetta 

Disco

Petty Offi cer April Rex (center), a 

reservist from Port Allerton, MA, helps 

deploy an oil skimmer during a training 

exercise aboard a converted commercial 

shrimping vessel, June 27. Thousands 

of reservists, like Rex, played an integral 

role in the response to the Deepwater 

Horizon oil spill. Photo by Isaac Pacheco

A Coast Guard Auxiliary crewmember 

on a boating safety patrol in Cape May 

Harbor Inlet, NJ. Photo by Auxiliarist 

Joseph Giannattasio
Crewmen on the Coast Guard Cutter George Cobb with Coast Guard 

Auxiliary members preparing to conduct a Patrol off Catalina Island, 

CA. Photo by Auxiliarist Ramon Evans
FY 2012 Budget In Brief

Section III

Photo by Lt. Todd Vorenkamp Photo by Eugene Nieminen Photo by Ensign Jason Radcliffe

REBUILD THE COAST GUARD ..................................................................................................... 38

SUSTAIN FRONT-LINE OPERATIONS .......................................................................................... 40

ENHANCE MARITIME INCIDENT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE ............................................ 41

SUPPORT MILITARY FAMILIES .................................................................................................... 42

FY 2012 DECOMMISSIONINGS, EFFICIENCIES, AND SAVINGS ............................................... 42

ADMINISTRATIVE SAVINGS INITIATIVES .................................................................................... 43

FISCAL YEAR 2012 APPROPRIATION SUMMARY ...................................................................... 45
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 38

FY 2012 Budget In Brief

38 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

REBUILD THE COAST GUARD

The Coast Guard’s FY 2012 budget requests $1.4 billion to continue recapitalization of cutters; 

boats; aircraft; Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and 

Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems; and infrastructure to improve mission readiness by replacing 

aged, obsolete, and unreliable assets. The FY 2012 budget requests funding for 40 Response Boats 

and six Fast Response Cutters, as well as a sizable investment in the renovation and restoration of 

shore facilities. This budget also provides resources to ensure that the Coast Guard’s aviation fl eet 

is mission-ready through the acquisition of two Maritime Patrol Aircraft, one HH-60 helicopter, and 

conversion and sustainment projects of multiple aircraft. Investment in Coast Guard recapitalization 

is the Service’s top budget priority and is essential to mission execution. 

Surface Assets

$642M (0 FTE)

The budget provides $642 million for surface asset recapitalization and sustainment initiatives, 

including:

• National Security Cutter (NSC) – Fully funds NSC-5 (anticipates $615 million provided for 

NSC-5 in 2011). The NSC is replacing the High Endurance Cutter class.

• Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) – Sustains initial acquisition work and design of the OPC. The 

OPC will replace the Medium Endurance Cutter class to conduct missions on the high seas and 

coastal approaches. 

• Fast Response Cutter (FRC) – Provides production funding for six FRCs to replace the 110-ft 

Island Class Patrol Boat.

• Response-Boat Medium (RB-M) – Provides production funding for 40 boats.

In Fiscal Year 2012, the Coast Guard will focus resources 

to advance strategic priorities. Through tough decisions 

and diffi cult resource trade-offs, the Coast Guard’s FY 2012 

budget leverages savings generated through management 

effi ciencies and offsets, and allocates funding toward higher 

order needs to preserve front-line operations. These offsets 

and reductions required diffi cult, albeit necessary, trade-offs to 

implement the following FY 2012 budget priorities:

Rebuild the Coast Guard

Sustain Front-line Operations

Enhance Maritime Incident Prevention and Response

Support Military Families
FY 2012 Budget In Brief

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 39

• Medium Endurance Cutter (MEC) – Provides for operational enhancement of fi ve MECs at 

the Coast Guard Yard through the Mission Effectiveness Program.

Air Assets

$289.9M (0 FTE)

The budget provides $289.9 million for the following air asset recapitalization or enhancement 

initiatives, including:

• MH-60T – Replaces one Jayhawk lost in an operational crash in 2010.

• HC-144 – Funds production of two Maritime Patrol Aircraft and procurement of up to fi ve 

Mission System Pallets and associated spare parts to complete outfi tting of the fl eet.

• HH-60 – Funds service life extension and component upgrades for eight aircraft.

• HH-65 – Funds sustainment of key components.

• HC-130H – Funds Avionics Upgrade and Center Wing Box (CWB) replacements.

Asset Recapitalization – Other

$166.1M (0 FTE)

The budget provides $166.1 million for the following equipment and services:

• Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and 

Reconnaissance (C4ISR) – Deploys standardized C4ISR capability to newly fi elded NSCs 

and MPAs, and develops C4ISR capability for the OPC. Interoperable and integrated C4ISR is 

essential to the effi cient and effective operation of these assets.

• CG-Logistics Information Management System – Continues development and prototype 

deployment to Coast Guard operational assets and support facilities.

• Rescue 21 – Completes deployment at Sectors Lake Michigan, San Juan, PR, Honolulu, HI, 

Guam; and continues replacement of legacy VHF systems in the Western Rivers.

• Interagency Operations Center (IOC) – Deploys Watchkeeper Information Sharing 

capability to three IOC locations. Commences deployment of the sensor management capability; 

resulting in improved capability to see, understand, and share tactical information critical to 

security and interagency coordination in vulnerable ports and coastal areas. 

Shore Units and Aids to Navigation (ATON) 

$193.7M (0 FTE)

The budget provides $193.7 million to recapitalize fi xed infrastructure for safe, functional and modern 

shore facilities that effectively support Coast Guard assets and personnel:

• Cape May, NJ – Replaces a condemned pier critical to execution of patrol boat missions.

• Corpus Christi, TX – Implements Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi consolidation in order to 

properly hangar, maintain, and operate MPA and enhance mission effectiveness.

• Chase Hall Barracks, New London, CT – Continues renovations at the Coast Guard Academy by 

modernizing cadet barracks.

• Commences construction of the #3-6 FRC homeports, C4ISR training facility, and continues 

modifi cations to Air Station Miami to accommodate new MPA.

• Station Memensha Boathouse, Chilmark, MA – Replaces the boathouse destroyed by a fi re in 

July 2010 essential to supporting coastal law enforcement, security and safety operations.

• TRACEN Petaluma, CA Wastewater Treatment Plant – Recapitalizes and expands the capability 

of the Wastewater Treatment Plant to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.

• Station Fairport, Ohio – Recapitalizes multi-mission boat station, originally constructed in 1918, 
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 40

FY 2012 Budget In Brief

40 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

to facilitate current-day operations. 

• ATON Infrastructure – Improves short-range aids and infrastructure to promote the safety of 

maritime transportation. 

Personnel and Management

$110.2M (794 FTE)

The budget provides $110.2 million to provide pay and benefi ts for the Coast Guard’s acquisition 

workforce. The budget includes additional resources to support the government-wide Acquisition 

Workforce Initiative to bolster the professional development and capacity of the acquisition workforce.

SUSTAIN FRONT-LINE OPERATIONS

To ensure the Coast Guard is able to meet the needs of the Nation, the FY 2012 budget balances 

resources between investing in capital assets, initiatives to sustain front-line operations, and 

measures to enhance mission execution.

Pay & Allowances

$66.1M (0 FTE)

The budget provides $66.1 million to maintain parity of military pay, allowances, and health care with 

the Department of Defense (DOD). As a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, the Coast 

Guard is subject to the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes 

pay and personnel benefi ts for the military workforce.

Annualization of Fiscal Year 2011

$53.9M (194 FTE)

The budget provides $53.9 million to continue new initiatives begun in the prior year, including 

increased counternarcotics enforcement through enhanced Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 

capacity and follow-on funding for new assets (e.g., NSC, FRC, MPA, etc.).

Surface and Air Asset Follow-on

$50.8M (220 FTE)

The budget provides a total of $50.8 million to fund operations and maintenance of cutters, boats, 

aircraft, and associated subsystems delivered through major cutter, aircraft, and associated C4ISR 

acquisition efforts. Funding is requested for the following assets:

• RB-M – Funding for maintenance, repair and operational costs.

• FRC – Operating and maintenance funding for FRCs #6-8 and funding for crews #9-10. These 

assets will be homeported in Miami and Key West, FL. Funding is also requested for shore-side 

maintenance personnel needed to support FRCs.

• NSC – Signals Intelligence Capability follow-on and Crew Rotational Concept implementation 

for three NSCs located in Alameda, CA.

• HC-144A MPA – Operating and maintenance funding for aircraft #14; support and maintenance 

of Mission System Pallets 1-12.

• C4ISR Follow-on – Funding to maintain more than 200 C4ISR systems deployed and delivered 

by the Coast Guard C4ISR Program.

• Helicopter Systems – Funding to operate and maintain communications and sensor systems for 

HH-60 and HH-65 helicopters.
FY 2012 Budget In Brief

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 41

• Asset Training System Engineering Personnel - Funding to support NSC and FRC training 

requirements at Training Center Yorktown.

Polar Icebreaking Program

$39M (180 FTE)

The budget requests $39 million in polar icebreaking budget authority. Funding will support the 

operation and maintenance of CGC HEALY and prepare for the operational reactivation of CGC 

POLAR STAR. The Coast Guard plans to decommission CGC POLAR SEA in FY 2011 and transition 

her crew to CGC POLAR STAR, enabling effi cient transition to CGC POLAR STAR and facilitating 

her return to operations in FY 2013.

Critical Depot Level Maintenance

$28.7M (0 FTE)

The budget provides $28.7 million for critical depot level maintenance and asset sustainment for 

vessels, aircraft, and shore infrastructure. Funding will increase support levels for the 140-, 175-, 

and 225-foot classes of cutters, restore aircraft spare parts and provide sustainment for aging shore 

infrastructure.

Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS)

$6.3M (1 FTE)

The budget provides $6.3 million to begin replacement of the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided 

Tracking (SARSAT) system with the Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS). This multi-agency 

partnership also includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Recapitalization 

of the SARSAT system beginning in FY 2012 is critical to ensure no loss of coverage in distress 

notifi cation and life saving response during the planned deactivation of the legacy SARSAT system.

Coast Guard Network Security

$8.6M (0 FTE)

The budget provides funding for the Coast Guard to transition from its commercially provided 

Internet Access Points (IAPs) to DOD IAPs via the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to 

ensure security of vital networks.

ENHANCE MARITIME INCIDENT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

Coast Guard Marine Safety and Environmental Response personnel provide value to the Nation by 

establishing a regime for safe and effi cient maritime travel, the fl ow of commerce in the maritime 

domain, and protection of our natural resources. The Coast Guard continues to implement the Marine 

Safety Performance Plan, a multi-year strategy to improve workforce competency and capacity in 

order to effectively regulate industry, monitor the safety and security of the maritime supply chain, 

and improve the ability to prevent incidents in the maritime domain. As witnessed on a national 

scale during the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, when maritime emergencies occur, Coast 

Guard incident responders rapidly establish and execute the Incident Command System (ICS) to lead 

an effective, unifi ed effort. The Coast Guard will enhance these core competencies in FY 2012 to keep 

pace with an ever-growing and evolving maritime industry and ensure continued proactive leadership 

to prevent disasters on the Nation’s waters, and remain ready to respond to them when they occur. 
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 42

FY 2012 Budget In Brief

42 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Marine Safety Enhancement

$10.7M (53 FTE)

The budget provides $10.7 million and 105 personnel to implement the next segment of the Marine 

Safety Performance Plan by investing in Marine Safety Inspectors, Investigators, and Fishing Vessel 

Safety Examiners at Coast Guard Sectors. This initiative furthers the Coast Guard’s efforts to achieve 

an appropriate mix of military and civilian personnel with the necessary skill-sets and experience to 

perform Marine Safety inspections and investigations.

Marine Environmental Response Enhancement

$11.5M (44 FTE)

The budget provides $11.5 million and 87 personnel to enhance Marine Environmental Response 

(MER) capacity. This initiative supports the Marine Environmental Protection Mission by providing 

funding for a new MER Incident Management and Assist Team (IMAT) and by increasing technical 

expertise and strengthening MER career paths at Coast Guard Sectors and Strike Teams. This 

request will improve mission performance in accordance with the MER Mission Performance Plan. 

SUPPORT MILITARY FAMILIES

The Department and the Coast Guard are committed to improving the quality of life for military 

members and their families. The health and welfare of families is the heart of operational readiness. 

The FY 2012 budget focuses resources to address critical housing shortfalls and improve access to 

affordable, quality childcare. These initiatives will ensure Coast Guard members are Semper Paratus

for all hazards and all threats.

Child Development Services

$9.3M (6 FTE)

The budget provides $9.3 million to increase access to child care services for Coast Guard families 

with dependents under the age of 12, better aligning the Coast Guard with the Department of 

Defense (DOD) child care standards. Additionally, this request funds 12 new positions critical to 

ensuring continued accreditation of the Coast Guard’s nine child development centers by the National 

Association for the Education of Young Children. 

Military Housing

$20.0M (0 FTE)

The budget provides $20.0 million to build family housing units at Sector Columbia River and 

recapitalize the Air Station Cape Cod Unaccompanied Personnel Housing, the highest priority housing 

projects, critical to the well-being of military personnel and their families assigned to these geographic 

regions.

FY 2012 DECOMMISSIONINGS, EFFICIENCIES, AND SAVINGS 

High Endurance Cutter Decommissioning

-$6.7M (-92 FTE)

The Coast Guard will decommission one High Endurance Cutter (HEC) in FY 2012. As part of its 

long-term recapitalization plan, the Coast Guard is decommissioning HECs as NSCs are delivered 
FY 2012 Budget In Brief

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 43

and made operational. The average age of the HEC fl eet is 43 years and these assets are failing at an 

increased rate resulting in lost operational days and increased maintenance costs.

PC-179 Patrol Coastal Decommissioning

-$16.4M (-108 FTE)

The three remaining 179-foot Patrol Coastal (PC) vessels will be decommissioned per a January 2007 

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the U.S. Navy. These vessels will be returned to the U.S. 

Navy in FY 2012.

Standard Workstation Help Desk consolidation

-$6.9M (0 FTE)

Consolidates computer workstation support into two regional centers, eliminating 56 contractors.

Program Support Reduction

-$13.6M (0 FTE)

Reduction in programmatic support across the Coast Guard including support reductions for: small 

boat replacement, reservist and contract support for audit remediation, innovation program funding, 

recruiting, and training opportunities.

ADMINISTRATIVE SAVINGS INITIATIVES

In FY 2012 the Coast Guard will seek effi ciencies and make targeted reductions in order to sustain 

front-line operational capacity and invest in critical recapitalization initiatives.

Management Effi ciencies

-$61.1M (0 FTE)

Consistent with the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Effi ciency Review and building upon efforts 

in previous fi scal years, effi ciencies will be generated by leveraging centralized purchasing and 

software licensing agreements, reductions in printing and publications, reductions in shipping and 

the transportation of things, reductions in advisory and assistance contracts, minimizing purchases 

of supplies and materials, offi ce equipment consolidation, implementing automation and energy 

conservation/savings measures, and limiting government usage of commercial facilities. 

Professional Services Reduction

-$15.2M (0 FTE)

A reduction in professional services contracts for enterprise-wide mission support and operational 

support activities. 

Non-Operational Travel Reduction

-$10.0M (0 FTE)

A 25% reduction in Coast Guard-wide non-operational travel, including travel for training, 

professional development, conferences, and international engagement.
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 44

FY 2012 Budget In Brief

44 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Table 1: Appropriation Summary

1) The Coast Guard budgets by appropriation rather than individual missions. The Coast Guard projects resource allocations by 

mission through use of an activity-based costing system. Actual allocations will vary depending upon operational environment 

and mission need.

2) FY 2010 obligations and FY 2011 estimate include transfers to Operating Expenses (OE) for the National Science Foundation 

(NSF) for Polar Icebreaking.

1) FY 2010 obligations refl ect recissions of $800,000 in AC&I, $2.2 million in OE and $5.9 million in AB from FY 2010 

unobligated balances. AC&I obligations exclude $77.8 million in ARRA funding.

2) FY 2010 obligations and FY 2011 estimate include transfers to Operating Expenses (OE) for the National Science Foundation 

(NSF) for Polar Icebreaking.

Table 2: FY 2012 Net Discretionary Budget Authority - Breakout by Statutory Mission1
FY 2012 Budget In Brief

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 45

FISCAL YEAR 2012 

APPROPRIATION SUMMARY

Table 1, on page 44, provides a summary by 

appropriation of the FY 2012 President’s Budget 

for the Coast Guard. Additional details are listed 

below for each appropriation. Because of the 

Coast Guard’s multi-mission character, funding 

is not appropriated by its 11 statutory missions. 

Instead, the substantial portion of discretionary 

funding is appropriated for Coast Guard 

“Operating Expenses,” which supports all Coast 

Guard missions. Table 2, on page 44, provides an 

estimation of the FY 2010 – FY 2012 budgets by 

mission.

Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriation Details

Operating Expenses (OE)

Actual, FY 2010 $6,872,464

Appropriation, FY 2011 TBD

Budget Estimate, FY 2012 $6,819,505

Appropriation Description

The Operating Expense appropriation provides funding for the operation and maintenance of 

multi-purpose vessels, aircraft, and shore units strategically located along the coasts and inland 

waterways of the United States and in selected areas overseas. This is the primary appropriation 

fi nancing operational activities of the Coast Guard. Table 3, on page 46, provides a detailed 

walkdown to the FY 2012 OE request from an estimated FY 2011 budget derived by annualizing 

the FY 2011 funding provided through March 4, 2011, in Continuing Resolution P.L. 111-242, as 

amended. 

Environmental Compliance and Restoration (EC&R)

Actual, FY 2010 $16,759

Appropriation, FY 2011 TBD

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $16,699

Appropriation Description

The Environmental Compliance and Restoration appropriation assists in bringing Coast Guard 

facilities into compliance with applicable Federal and state environmental regulations; conducting 

facilities response plans; developing pollution and hazardous waste minimization strategies; 

and conducting environmental assessments. These funds permit the continuation of a servicewide program to correct environmental problems, such as major improvements to storage tanks 

containing petroleum and regulated substances. The program addresses Coast Guard facilities 

and third-party sites where Coast Guard activities have contributed to environmental concerns. 

Reserve Training

Actual, FY 2010 $127, 701

Appropriation, FY 2011 TBD

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $136,778

Photo by AMTC Scott Cowan
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 46

FY 2012 Budget In Brief

46 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Table 3: Operating Expenses (OE) FY 2011 to FY 2012 Budget

1) FY 2011 C.R. funding level equals the FY 2010 Enacted.

2) A total of $92.0M for the Administrative Savings Initiative (ASI) is taken across Coast Guard in two accounts: OE and AC&I 

It comprises reductions to the following types of activities: advisory and assistance services; travel of people and things; printing 

and reproduction; and supplies and materials. From OE, this amount is comprised of $83.5M listed above under ASI and $5.7M 

included in the Program Support Reduction listed above. From AC&I $2.8M in Systems Engineering and Integration.
FY 2012 Budget In Brief

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 47

Appropriation Description

The Reserve Training appropriation provides for the training of qualifi ed individuals who are 

available for active duty in time of war or national emergency or to augment regular Coast 

Guard forces in the performance of peacetime missions. Program activities fall into the following 

categories:

Pay, Benefi ts, and Allowances – Funds the costs associated with salaries, benefi ts, and other 

compensation for full-time staff that support members of the Selected Reserve.

Operations, Maintenance, and Administration – Funds the costs related to training Reservists, 

administering the Reserve program, and the portion of organizational costs shared by the Reserve 

Training appropriation for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the Coast Guard Reserve 

program.

Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements (AC&I)

Actual, FY 2010 $1,292,779

Appropriation, FY 2011 TBD

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $1,421,924

Appropriation Description

The Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements appropriation fi nances the acquisition of new 

capital assets, construction of new facilities, and physical improvements to existing facilities 

and assets. The appropriation covers Coast Guard-owned and operated vessels, aircraft, shore 

facilities, and other equipment such as computer systems and personnel needed to manage 

acquisition activities. Table 4, on page 48, provides a detailed breakout of the Coast Guard’s FY 

2012 Capital Investment Plan.

Alteration of Bridges

Actual, FY 2010 $21,000

Appropriation, FY 2011 TBD

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $0

Appropriation Description

The alteration of unreasonably obstructive bridges improves navigational safety and freedom 

of mobility to facilitate commerce, emergency response, and U.S. Government operations, by 

providing suffi cient clearances for the type of vessels that transit through the bridge.

Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E)

Actual, FY 2010 $24,519

Appropriation, FY 2011 TBD

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $19,779

Appropriation Description

The Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation appropriation allows the Coast Guard to 

sustain and enhance mission performance through applied research and development conducted 

at the Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center in New London, CT, as well as through 

partnerships with DHS and DOD.

Health Care Fund Contribution (HFC)

Actual, FY 2010 $263,789

Budget Authority, FY 2011 $265,321

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $261,871
Strategic Priorities

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 48

FY 2012 Budget In Brief

48 • U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement

Table 4: FY 2012 Capital Investment Plan (CIP)

Acquisition, Construction and Improvements

1) For purposes of display, 2011 project funding levels are a distribution of the annualized March 4, 2011 Continuing Resolution 

(H.R. 3082) “top-line” AC&I funding level, which is $156.6 million more than the FY 2011 President’s Budget. The distribution 

of funds to each project is consistent with the FY 2011 President’s Budget.
FY 2012 Budget In Brief

U.S. Coast Guard Posture Statement • 49

Appropriation Description

The Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund Contribution provides funding to maintain the 

cost of accruing the military Medicare-eligible health benefi t contributions to the DOD MedicareEligible Retiree Health Care Fund. Contributions are for future Medicare-eligible retirees 

currently serving on active duty in the Coast Guard, retiree dependents, and their potential 

survivors. The authority for the Coast Guard to make this payment on an annual basis was 

provided in the 2005 Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-375). While this expenditure requires 

no annual action by Congress, it is considered discretionary spending.

Retired Pay

Actual, FY 2010 $1,288,249

Budget Authority, FY 2011 $1,400,700

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $1,400,157

Appropriation Description

The Retired Pay appropriation provides payments as identifi ed under the Retired Serviceman’s 

Family Protection and Survivor Benefi ts Plans, as well as other retired personnel entitlements 

identifi ed under the National Defense Authorization Act. It also provides payments for medical 

care of retired personnel and their dependents.

Boating Safety

Actual, FY 2010 $130,180

Budget Authority, FY 2011 $117,699

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $120,752

Appropriation Description

The Boating Safety appropriation funds the Coast Guard’s Boating Safety program. This program 

minimizes loss of life, personal injury, property damage, and environmental impact associated 

with the use of recreational boats. In its role as the designated National Recreational Boating 

Safety Program Coordinator, the Coast Guard manages dedicated user fee funding to support 

the National Recreational Boating Safety Program provided from the Sport Fish Restoration and 

Boating Trust Fund. Under the provisions of the Sportfi shing and Recreational Boating Safety 

Act of 2005 (Subtitle A, Title X, P.L. 109-59), the Coast Guard receives a percentage distribution 

of total trust fund receipts from the preceding fi scal year, and a portion of the funds drawn out of 

the Boating Safety Account of the trust fund.

Maritime Oil Spill Program (MOSP)

Actual, FY 2010 $708,063*

Budget Authority, FY 2011 $92,000

Budget estimate, FY 2012 $101,000

Appropriation Description

The Maritime Oil Spill Program operates under the authority of Title I of the Oil

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), as amended, which provides for the use of the Oil Spill Liability 

Trust Fund (OSLTF) to pay for federal response to oil spills and claims for uncompensated 

removal costs and damages resulting from such spills. In Section Seven of Executive Order 12777, 

the President delegated management responsibility for these uses of the OSLTF to the Secretary 

of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating. Upon re-delegation by the Secretary, 

the Commandant of the Coast Guard delegated responsibility to the National Pollution Funds 

Center (NPFC), which oversees the OSLTF.

*FY 2010 amount includes $611,706 obligated for Deepwater Horizon.
Coast Guard Dolphin (HH-65) gets airborne off the Coast Guard 

Cutter Vigorous with Coast Guard Cutter Alert in the background 

near the coast of Miami. Photo by OS3 Samuel Clemons
Back cover photo: Cutter Vigilant conducts an “at sea 

replenishment” evolution with Cutter Pea Island.

Photo by OS3 Michael Danvers
On Scene ... In demand ... Always Ready

www.uscg.mil