[FedCom] USCG MARITIME SAFETY & SECURITY TEAM

[william moore iv]

Saturday, July 20, 2002=20

Last modified at 10:34 p.m. on Friday, July 19, 2002=20
      =20
    =20

-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-

        Lt. Tracey Cooper will be the new Homeland Security Liaison for =
Jacksonville. She will begin those duties Aug. 5.=20
      -- Christopher F. Aguilar/Staff=20

-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
    =20
Port security team to guard Jacksonville
Coast Guard increasing presence with elite unit=20



By Christopher F. Aguilar=20
Times-Union staff writer=20

Jacksonville has been selected as one of six U.S. port cities that will =
be home to an elite Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team.=20

The team will be composed of 70 active-duty guardsmen and two boats, =
said Lt. Tracey Cooper, deputy group commander for U.S. Coast Guard =
Group Mayport.=20

Jacksonville was chosen about a month ago because of its military and =
economic importance and before alarming news reports suggesting =
terrorist activity here, Cooper said.=20

      Area Coast Guard ships, personnel=20
      SAVANNAH COAST GUARD AIR STATION=20


      a.. Personnel: About 100=20

      a.. Aircraft: Five HH-65A Dolphin short-range helicopters, with a =
round-trip capability of 300 miles=20
      COAST GUARD GROUP MAYPORT=20


      a.. Personnel: About 150=20
      VESSELS=20


      a.. USCGC Shrike, 87-foot patrol boat*=20

      a.. USCGC Hammer, construction boat for navigational aides=20

      a.. USCGC Kingfisher, 87-foot patrol boat=20

      a.. USCGC Maria Bray, 175-foot buoy tender=20

      a.. 47-foot motor lifeboat=20

      a.. 27-foot safe boat=20

      a.. 25-foot safe boat=20

      a.. 21-foot rigid hull inflatable boat=20
      The station has access to Navy and Savannah helicopters and an =
HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Clearwater Coast Guard Air Station.=20

      *Mayport asset but stationed at Port Canaveral.=20

    =20
On July 4, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told NBC's Today =
show that a terrorist cell was headquartered in Jacksonville. Homeland =
Security officials later said the statement included old information and =
the wrong Florida city.=20

Although Cooper and Cmdr. Ray Petow, executive officer for the Coast =
Guard Marine Safety Office in Jacksonville, acknowledge terrorism was an =
aspect in forming the teams, it was not an overriding factor in choosing =
this site.=20

Sgt. Charles Mulligan, chairman for the northeast region of Florida's =
Domestic Security Task Force, said he has not seen any information that =
leads him to believe there is a direct threat to Jacksonville.=20

"There is no intelligence to support that we are a target," Mulligan =
said.=20

Puget Sound, Wash., San Pedro, Calif., Tidewater, Va., and =
Houston-Galveston, Texas, are scheduled to receive the Maritime Security =
and Safety Teams this year, with New York City and Jacksonville =
receiving theirs next summer. Like Jacksonville, the Puget Sound, San =
Pedro and Tidewater teams are close to military installations.=20

Locally, the primary focus will be maritime law enforcement and =
providing homeland security to the ports of Jacksonville, Fernandina and =
Canaveral in Florida and Kings Bay and Brunswick in Georgia, which all =
also have a military presence. The team also can be deployed to any port =
where needed.=20

Petow said Jacksonville also was chosen because it serves as a strategic =
port in the event of a national defense emergency requiring the =
deployment of U.S. forces overseas. It plays a key role in equipping, =
supplying and sustaining troops in the theater of wartime operations.=20

Petow said Jacksonville was one of the busiest ports for such military =
responsibilities during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm between =
1990 and 1991. Yesterday, officials conducted a massive Fort-to-Port Sea =
Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise to prepare for these occasions.=20

The Maritime Safety and Security Teams will be elite mobile units that =
possess specialized training and are capable of performing a broad =
spectrum of port safety and security operations. The teams are trained =
at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and can operate under hostile chemical, =
biological and radiological attacks, Cooper said.=20

The Coast Guard station at Mayport also will receive a new 25-foot safe =
boat and a crew of three guardsmen next week whose sole job is homeland =
security.=20

"We will have an increased presence in the waterways," Cooper said.=20

The city also could host more teams to help with security during the =
Super Bowl in 2005.=20

"The Super Bowl is a major event and with it comes an increased threat =
and higher need for security," Petow said.=20

Robert Peek, spokesman for the Jacksonville Port Authority, said because =
the Jacksonville harbor is one of the largest and busiest, he is not =
surprised that the Coast Guard is sending a Maritime Security and Safety =
Team here.=20

"Any time we can get additional resources into the harbor, we welcome =
it," Peek said.=20

Cooper said the Coast Guard mission has always been port security among =
other duties, but after Sept. 11 the threats have changed. It has had to =
increase patrols and make risk assessments of the nation's ports.=20

To help the Coast Guard with its changing and expanded role in homeland =
security, a $17 billion contract was awarded last month to modernize its =
assets.=20

The "Deepwater" project calls for purchasing up to 91 ships, along with =
35 fixed-wing aircraft, 34 helicopters and 76 unmanned aerial vehicles.=20

Also with the Coast Guard's new emphasis, Cooper, a 22-year Coast Guard =
veteran, has been named homeland security liaison for Jacksonville and =
will assume those duties Aug. 5.=20

Her new role will involve working with the captain of the port, the =
Jacksonville Port Authority, the Pilots Association, and local and =
federal law enforcement agencies to do planning and oversight for =
homeland security.=20

She previously served for the commandant of the Coast Guard in =
Washington, D.C., and was assistant operations officer at Mayport.=20

Cooper's knowledge of the area and her work with different Jacksonville =
port and law enforcement agencies since the Sept. 11 attacks made her an =
ideal candidate for the job.=20

"I'm very excited about it," Cooper said. "It's neat to take something =
and put your vision on it."=20

Staff writer Christopher F. Aguilar can be reached at (904) 249-4947, =
extension 19 or via e-mail at caguilarjacksonville.com.=20






--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/related
  multipart/alternative
    text/plain (text body -- kept)
    text/html
  image/jpeg
  image/gif
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
or had an attachment. Attachments are not allowed.
Please post in Plain-Text only.---