Coast Guard

Rescue 21 Update: Advanced Comm Capabilities for the New Century The upgrading of Coast's Guard communications capabilities is an achievement of life-and-death importance for those in distress at sea. The Rescue 21 system is now "operationally ready," says USCG Commandant Admiral Thad Allen. read

COTPs Updating Port Plans to Combat Maritime Terrorism U.S. ports and harbors are among the most vulnerable as well as most important targets for would-be terrorists. Protection of the U.S. maritime system is therefore now the primary mission of the Coast Guard's already overtaxed Captains of the Port. read

The Next Wave of Synergy in Port/Maritime Security Interagency operations centers that provide a unified, all-purpose "home base" for Navy, Coast Guard, and other federal, state, and local port and maritime stakeholders are already operational, with more on the way. read

Rocks, Shoals, Obstructions, and the SAFE Port Act Just in Time! A well-crafted piece of legislation passed two years ago provides the blueprint needed to ensure the full and uninterrupted use of the U.S. port system that is the key to the nation's continued economic prosperity. read

Area Maritime Security Committess - A Unified Effort for Securing U.S. Ports The Coast Guard's Captains of the Port have the primary responsibility for developing effective port-security plans for their jurisdictions, but it has to be an all-hands effort or there will be, in nautical terms, a bitter end. read

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Maritime Security

The Homeport Site: New Internet Port for Coast Guard, Maritime Stakeholders The Coast Guard's versatile & user-friendly Homeport website, designed to link the service's own offices and agencies, has evolved into a valuable research & operational tool open to the public -but retains a secure link only to those with a need to know. read

On the Waterfront: Improvements in Visual Surveillance Systems The security officer on the beat and the trusty watch clock may both be out of work, thanks to the development of new "intelligent video" systems that are never bored, never mesmerized, cost less, and are more reliable. read

Maritime FSOs: The New Breed of Homeland-Security Professionals The duties of the nation's new facility security officers are many and daunting, but also vitally important both to national security and to the U.S. economic well-being. read

Piracy 2005: A New and Major Terrorism Concern Although romanticized in the movies, piracy remains a clear and present danger in many areas of the world - and, in the Age of Terrorism, poses a major new threat to the United States and its Free World allies. read

Lessons Learned: A Major Educational Resource The LLIS.gov secure website provides an encyclopedia of helpful information for first responders and other information-seekers in the rapidly growing U.S. domestic-preparedness community. It may not have ALL the answers (yet), but it is headed in that dir read

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Transportation

The Highway Watch Program: Homeland Security on the Open Road! The innovative DHS/ATA "Highway Watch" program enlists tens of thousands of professional drivers as "Irregulars" in the homeland-security volunteer community and, as a bonus, makes the nation's highways and byways safer for all Americans. read

The Need for a National Port Readiness Standard A terrorist attack on a U.S. seaport could be much more costly, in lives as well as dollars, than the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and the WTC Towers. The DOD Readiness Reporting System could be a good model for a DHS maritime-security variant. read

Beans, Bullets, and Boxcars: DOD and the Private Sector The first question a President asks in times of international crisis is "Where are the carriers?" The first question contingency planners ask is "Where are the cargo ships?" Meanwhile, warfighters are asking "How much fuel & ammunition do we have?" read

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