United States Coast Guard Retiree Council NorthWest PACIFIC CURRENTS NEWSLETTER “They Also Serve” VOLUME XIX ISSUE III 1 SEPTEMBER 2019 th THE NEW COMMANDER 13 Guard Assistant Commandant COAST GUARD DISTRICT, REAR for Response Policy, in this capacity, he was responsible ADMIRAL ANTHONY J. VOGT for the development of U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral strategic response doctrine Anthony J. Vogt assumed the duties as and policy guidance for all Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Coast Guard forces. Prior to Guard District headquartered in Seattle that, he served as the Director on 19 July 2019. He is responsible for of Governmental and Public all Coast Guard operations throughout Affairs for the Coast Guard, the Pacific Northwest which includes where he was responsible for protecting life and property, enforcing external engagement with federal laws and treaties, preserving the living marine resources, Congress, the media, and other and promoting national security. The Thirteenth District spans intergovernmental bodies. over the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana and Originally from Chapel Hill, includes more than 4,400 miles of coastline, 600 miles of inland North Carolina, Rear Admiral waterways, and a 125 nautical mile international border with Vogt is a 1987 graduate of the Canada. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, In order to accomplish the Coast Guard’s missions in the Pacific where he earned a Bachelor’s Northwest, the Thirteenth District is home to approximately degree in Government. After 1,746 active duty, 133 civilian, and 456 reserve personnel, three an assignment as a deck watch Sectors, three Air Stations, a Marine Safety Unit, a Maritime officer and engineer aboard Force Protection Unit, 15 multi-mission small boat stations, four the Coast Guard Cutter Jarvis Aids to Navigation Teams, 12 patrol boats, and three Aids to (WHEC-725), he was selected Navigation Cutters. In addition to maintaining operational control for Naval Flight Training in over all Coast Guard activities in the district, Rear Admiral Vogt is Pensacola, FL, earning his responsible for cultivating efficient and effective relationships with wings in 1990. numerous other federal, state, and local agencies, elected officials, Rear Admiral Vogt served at the tribal nations located in the Pacific Northwest, and with the six Coast Guard Air Stations Coast Guard’s international counterparts. spanning Hawaii, California, Rear Admiral Vogt’s previous Flag Assignments include Coast RADM Vogt Continued on page 2 Visit our Web site at https://www.cgretirenw.org FALL 2019 Visit our Web site at https://www.cgretirenw.org RADM Vogt Continued from page 1 Argument for move: Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida. He was PUT THE COAST GUARD IN THE designated an Aeronautical Engineer in 1994 DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY and served as an aviation engineer in both New Orleans, Louisiana and Clearwater, Florida. By Lieutenant Commander Daniel Wiltshire, U.S. Coast Guard He qualified in HH-65 and HH-60 helicopters and the HC-130 aircraft, received the Federal Executive Board Heroism Award for a rescue in Los Angeles and flew rescue missions during Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, he commanded Air Station Savannah, Georgia from 2006 to 2008 and Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii from 2009 to 2012. His staff assignments include Aviation Resource Division Chief in the Office of Aeronautical Engineering at Coast Guard Headquarters, Chief of Staff for the Seventeenth Coast The Legend-class cutter USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752) Guard District in Juneau, Alaska and Assistant and littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy steam in formation. U.S. Navy (Ryan Riley) in New London, Connecticut. The Coast Guard is at all times an armed He earned a Master of Science Degree in service, but it has been orphaned as the Industrial Administration from Purdue lone military branch residing in non- University and a Master of Science Degree military executive departments—Treasury, in National Resources Strategy from the Transportation, and now Homeland Security. Eisenhower School for National Security and Under such disparate management, two Resources Strategy in Washington, D.C. constants have remained: First, the Coast Guard provides a disproportionate return Rear Admiral Vogt is married to the former on investment, efficiently accomplishing Mary Beth Sedlacek, of Florida, and has four its missions at home and around the world. grown children, Joanna, Hannah, John, and Second, the Coast Guard is consistently Sam. From the USCG Retirees: “Welcome underfunded. To maximize the first and resolve aboard the 13th District Admiral Vogt!” the second, the Coast Guard must permanently reside in the Department of the Navy (DoN) just as the Marine Corps does. The Navy has PRO OR CON: SHOULD THE the acumen to advocate for steady Coast Guard U S COAST GUARD BE MOVED funding, and it possesses the expertise to equip FROM HOMELAND SECURITY TO a maritime armed force. Better alignment DEPARTMENT OF NAVY? with the Navy also would eliminate notable inefficiencies extant in the Coast Guard. Always Under-resourced If it can be said that the Navy has fought the War on Terror with ships procured under the Reagan administration, the Coast Guard has done so with a cutter fleet largely procured Pro or Con Continued on page 3 Page 2 Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest NEWSLETTER PACIFIC CURRENTS Visit our Web site at https://www.cgretirenw.org FALL 2019 Pro or Con Continued from page 2 not the way to win beltway budget battles. The Navy, on the other hand, excels at hardnosed under the Franklin D. Roosevelt, Kennedy, brinkmanship, combatting Air Force mission and Nixon administrations. An initial funding encroachment in the 1949 “Revolt of the surge when the Coast Guard moved from Admirals,” gapping Persian Gulf aircraft carrier the Department of Transportation (DoT) to coverage amid nuclear talks to underscore Homeland Security (DHS) addressed some readiness issues in 2015, and proposing to readiness challenges, but any benefit was offset retire the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) by increased operational demand. This led early to compensate for budget shortfalls. to dangerous readiness issues, including the Having a sharp-elbowed patron such as the troubled 2008 deployment of USCGC Dallas Navy would provide the budgetary clout (WHEC-716) to the Black Sea. Carrying relief needed to protect Coast Guard funding. supplies for Georgia after Russia’s invasion, the aging cutter—a veteran of Vietnam—suffered Maritime armed forces are different than multiple shipboard fires during the crossing. land-based law enforcement or emergency management agencies, and procuring, building, Readiness issues continue, and the Comman- and maintaining cutters equivalent in size to dant recently stated that the Coast Guard is minesweepers and frigates is fundamentally nearing a “readiness tipping point.” Despite dissimilar to buying small boats for Customs some success recapitalizing the cutter fleet, the and Border Patrol or ensuring airport security, Coast Guard faces a “bow wave” of deferred or any of the tasks of the other 21 agencies maintenance and construction while demand within DHS. DHS is not optimized to provide for Coast Guard support has soared. Even the subject-matter expertise needed to train, successes such as the three planned Polar man, equip, and employ maritime armed Security Cutters seem insufficient compared to forces. Russia’s fleet of 46 icebreakers. From the Arctic to the Indo-Pacific where the over tasked Navy While the Coast Guard has maintained its is relying on Coast Guard cutters as a backstop, multi-mission focus under three different the Coast Guard’s responsibilities are growing departments, alignment under DoN will best even as it is threatened with budget cuts. equip the Coast Guard for the world ahead. The 2003 shift from DoT to DHS made sense The Cost of an Armed Service based on post-9/11 assumptions. With the Defense spending is notoriously difficult to United States as the sole superpower, experts cut, but the Coast Guard budget is an ever- predicted that terrorism—not great power vulnerable discretionary line item under DHS. conflict—would be the prime national security For example, funding for the Polar Security threat for decades to come. But those experts Cutter—a national strategic asset—has been were wrong. threatened by requirements to fund a border China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran have wall. Congress has repeatedly intervened become the most likely flash points, even as to prevent catastrophic budget cuts, but, great power interests collide in Crimea, Syria, according to testimony before the Coast Guard and the melting Arctic. Closer to home, the and Maritime Transportation Committee, potential collapse of Venezuela could prompt the Office of Management and Budget has a mass migration reminiscent of the 1980 even prevented the Coast Guard from asking Mariel Boat Lift. Given these factors, the Coast Congress for the funding it really needs. Guard can anticipate executing its 11 statutory The service has a well-deserved reputation missions in a world that looks more like 20th- for being forthright and guileless, like a poker Pro or Con Continued on page 4 player who never bluffs. Unfortunately, that is Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest NEWSLETTER PACIFIC CURRENTS Page 3 FALL 2019 Visit our Web site at https://www.cgretirenw.org Pro or Con Continued from page 3 creates a variety of inefficiencies, especially regarding jointness. But more important, century conflict and wars than the War on “purple” joint assignments are not mandatory Terror. in the Coast Guard, and Joint Professional Military Education Phase I is not required for Inefficiencies mid-grade officers. Consequently, while the Inconsistent funding and lack of alignment afloat, aviation, and deployable specialized with the Navy have led to procurement forces communities often gain joint experience missteps. For example, in 2005 the Coast through operations, other prominent Guard replaced the DoD preferred M9 pistol, communities receive little exposure to the joint chambered in NATO-standard 9-mm fully force.