Maritime Safety and Security: The Admiral Perspective

Summary

A panel discusses maritime safety and security, focusing on the contested nature of oceans. The panel consists of Vice Admiral Linda Fagan, Vice Admiral Robert Sharp, and Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, each sharing insights into their roles and responsibilities in ensuring maritime security.

Highlights

Coast Guard’s mission spans various activities including drug interdiction, protecting critical infrastructure, ice-breaking, search and rescue, and fisheries enforcement.

Pacific Area, under Coast Guard’s jurisdiction, covers vast ocean territories, engaging in operations like drug interdiction in the Eastern Pacific, combating IUU fishing in the Indo-Pacific, and asserting presence in the High Latitudes.

Challenges include combating transnational criminal organizations trafficking illegal narcotics, protecting sovereignty of small island nations from economic coercion, and addressing strategic competition in the Arctic.

Coast Guard collaborates with international partners and agencies like SOUTHCOM and DHS to enhance maritime security and combat illicit activities.

Utilization of assets like national security cutters and fast response cutters to patrol and maintain presence in critical maritime regions.

Coast Guard’s efforts contribute significantly to national security by preventing illicit drugs from reaching the streets, safeguarding economic interests, and upholding sovereignty.

Ongoing efforts focus on capacity building and partnership with vulnerable nations to enhance their maritime capabilities and resist external pressures.