The United States Coast Guard's Integrated Deepwater System: Creating Opportunities for Enhanced Interoperability with America's Friends and Allies. (Feature Article)

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 tragically underscored the importance of international engagement to the United States and, indeed, our partners throughout the world. As rescuers rushed to save people trapped in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and viewers worldwide recoiled at horrific images of destruction and death, President George W. Bush declared that the nation found itself in a "new kind of war." This war has already required the commitment of all levels of American government and the close cooperation of all civilized states to defeat the scourge of global terrorism.

In response, our government has created a multi-national, multi-layered, global coalition to prosecute this war against terrorists, their organizations, and their supporters. Much of the groundwork for this cooperation had already been put in place during years if not decades of quiet liaison among many federal departments, including the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT), and their overseas counterparts.

Although sometimes not as visible as the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of State (DoS), and other departments with prominent international engagement roles in an increasingly globalized world, transportation is home to the United States COAST GUARD (USCG). The Coast Guard, America's fifth armed service, conducts a host of international engagement efforts that directly impact the interests and citizens of our allies, friends, and even some potential adversaries around the world.

The Coast Guard deploys mobile training teams, trains foreign officers, and sponsors personnel liaison programs that focus on critical regional and international maritime needs. The service has developed a Model Maritime Service Code that has already been embraced by nations wishing to establish their own maritime security and safety organizations to protect their vital resources and interests in nearby seas. In the field, Coast Guard cutters and aircraft are frequent participants in combined exercises and regular visitors to foreign ports and facilities.

The Coast Guard is also a key player in the U.S. security assistance arena. Foreign military sales (FMS), including the transfer of excess defense articles, have long been an integral element of Coast Guard international engagement. Asset sales and transfers contribute directly to the Coast Guard's accomplishment of its own missions and helps achieve broader U.S. engagement goals, all the while helping our friends protect their maritime security and safety goals.

In the years ahead, however, the Coast Guard's Deepwater Initiative will present a vastly increased opportunity for engagement and security assistance. The Coast Guard established the far-reaching Integrated Deepwater System Program to recapitalize its aging stock of cutters, aircraft, and systems designed for sustained or long-range operations, often far from homeports and facilities. "The Deepwater Program is our center of gravity in shaping the future of the Service," Rear Admiral Patrick Stillman, Program Executive Officer, Integrated Deepwater System, noted.

The Deepwater Program will result in a dynamic system of assets that are mission-focused, modular, network-centric, and designed to minimize total lifetime operating cost. …

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