Coast Guard focuses more on security, illegal immigration

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard is cutting back on boat rescue missions as it shifts priority toward protecting waterways and stopping people from sneaking into the country, a new report says.
Since the 9/11 attacks, there has been a "clear trend toward emphasizing the homeland security missions" of the Coast Guard, the Homeland Security Department inspector general said in a report Thursday. That emphasis "will lead to continuing difficulty" for the Coast Guard in doing work not related to homeland security, such as improving boater safety and dealing with hazardous spills.

The Coast Guard disputed the report and said it is misleading to look at the number of hours the agency reports spending on various tasks.

"There's definitely an emphasis on homeland security," Cmdr. Jon Spaner said. But, he said, Coast Guard vessels, helicopters and airplanes often diverge from their missions, so that a boat assigned to patrol for illegal drug shipments might end up rescuing distressed fishermen.

Coast Guard activities are driven partly by events, and fewer boating emergencies may lead to fewer rescues, Spaner said.

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"Our priority has always been and will continue to be saving lives," said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Christopher O'Neil.

The report reflects challenges the Coast Guard faces in balancing duties, which range from breaking up ice in frozen rivers to protecting U.S. ports. The agency moved from the Transportation Department to Homeland Security in 2003, and has grown to a record 41,000 uniformed members, up from 35,000 at the time of 9/11, according to figures from the Coast Guard.

The number of hours the Coast Guard spends in rescue operations fell to 60,000 in 2007 from about 84,000 in 2001, the inspector general said. The report gave no information to suggest that boaters are less likely to be rescued.

Virgil Chambers, executive director of the National Safe Boating Council, said his group and others have been telling boaters to take more precautions, such as wearing life vests and reducing alcohol consumption on the water.

"We're trying to make boaters aware there is less time for the Coast Guard to do the kind of rescues they might think will happen," Chambers said.

The inspector general found the Coast Guard increased the time it spent on catching people sneaking into the USA, from about 21,000 hours in 2001 to nearly 100,000 hours in 2007.

The Coast Guard also nearly doubled the hours it spends keeping foreign ships out of U.S. fishing areas. The number of incursions into these offshore zones fell from 212 in 2001 to 119 in 2007, the report said.
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