U.S Coast Guard to Protect U.S. Capital
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The U.S. Coast Guard will now play a major role in protecting the airspace surrounding the nation's capital.
The U.S. Coast Guard will replace the Customs and Border Protection aircraft currently flying the mission. The change will allow for a more streamlined military chain of command in the event an aircraft needs to be "shot down."
The decision became official on November 3rd in a memorandum signed by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "Upon review of the Air Intercept mission requirements as determined by the Department of Defense, and based on its DoD relationships and command and control systems, I decided that the U.S. Coast Guard is the agency within the Department of Homeland Security to perform this mission going forward," Chertoff said in the memorandum to Admiral Thomas Collins, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Although the Coast Guard falls under Department of Homeland Security's authority, it is a military organization, and as such, follows the same command and control and operational protocols as other military units.
The move caps nearly 6 months of intense discussion and debate inside the Department of Homeland Security as to whether the U.S. Coast Guard is the best fit to take over the air security role. U.S. Coast Guard officials have warned Congress for years its mission was made increasingly difficult because it wasn't able to adequately upgrade its aging fleet of aircraft and ships.
Although the decision to give the Coast Guard the air security role has been made, when it actually takes formal control of the mission is not known. The Coast Guard now has 30 days to come up with a blueprint, including a budget of how it intends to carry out the mission. Because a plan must still be presented, and accepted, Chertoff's memorandum "really indicates the Secretary's intention," to give the Coast Guard full control of the air security role, Knocke said.
Customs and Border Protection staff had previously been informed that the transfer of the air security role would happen by October 1st. Then Hurricane Katrina hit and the U.S. Coast Guard "nearly flew its birds into the ground," said a Department of Homeland Security official with knowledge of the rescue operations flown in Louisiana by the Coast Guard.
