100th Blog post

Captains,

Over 70% of the world's surface is potentially navigable water. Last year, I decided to use this media to communicate with the seagoing people who we trust and depend on day in, and day out, but rarely ever speak to first hand - the captains of ships, boats, and rigs.

The USCG flag corps is small compared to to the seagoing community we serve. As Admiral Papp explains below, we must be flexible - whether it's recovering oil, fighting piracy, eliminating emissions, responding to a mayday call, or communicating with one another. I hope my use of this relatively new media honors the tradition of service between the Coast Guard and maritime professionals. RADM W

Excerpt from Admiral Papp's June 6, 2010 remarks to Seaman's Church Institute's maritime industry gathering in New York.....

"There will be good days and bad days. We will have to endure trial and

error. We must remain flexible, we must adjust and employ every strategy

and all appropriate resources to capture as much oil as possible at the source

and on the sea – until the well is capped. But know that we are in this for

the long haul – even once the well is capped and the flow has stopped, our

campaign will not. It will just be the beginning of the end. This response

will continue until all the oil is cleaned up.

Now, more than ever the CG needs the support of all of its partners – while

we can take the lead on this response, we cannot do it alone. Now is the

time to strengthen our resolve – and strengthen our partnerships."

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. On this first day of 2010 it’s appropriate to take note of maritime opportunities and challenges and the health of America’s longstanding pubic-private partnership to achieve mutual marine safety, security and stewardship goals.

Today’s Washington Post editorial asks, “As 2010 begins, can we keep faith in our great American ideals?” From a maritime perspective, my answer is a resounding “yes”.

Across every segment of the maritime – both domestic and international, I see mariners determined to support the aspirations and needs of freedom-loving people and the rule of law despite the hardships and distractions of being at sea. In fact, I strongly believe the maritime community is a model for the rest of society when it comes to compliance with laws and conventions, worldwide engagement, free trade, human rights, environmental protection, and aid to devastated people at sea and ashore.

My new years resolution is to advance the model using the opportunities I have as director of Coast Guard Atlantic operations. I see opportunities in the modernized Coast Guard, in new technologies such as Long Range Identification and Tracking, in cooperative initiatives such as the USCG-American Waterways Operators partnership, and the International Maritime Organization’s Voluntary Marine Safety Assessment System audits, and in the forthcoming worldwide economic recovery.

There will be broad challenges including: natural disasters, terrorism and piracy, climate change, drug and human trafficking, diminishing fish stocks, corruption in certain failing or centrally controlled governments, and wars.

Also, there’s industry specific opportunities and challenges such as: implementation of higher standards for towing and fishing vessels, cooperative security for certain dangerous cargo operations, implementation of ballast water standards to prevent invasive species and air emission standards to reduce NOX, SOX and particulates, and infrastructure changes including: a wider Panama canal, an aging American western river system, and sea-shore intermodal connections.

Manning and competency will continue to be a universal challenge AND opportunity in the maritime. Fortunately, maritime organizations - domestic and international, public and private – are focused on this critical issue. Modern standards for training, competency and watch keeping have created a threshold unlike any in the history of seafaring. Nothing is more important than for the maritime community to embrace and support young, talented people who are entering the profession.

I’m optimistic about 2010. I sent Christmas greetings to the Coast Guard men and women who were underway or in the war zone overseas – and they responded. They were optimistic and focused, and excited to be part of the maritime tradition of leadership and self-sacrifice for a better world.

RDML W