Military Officer - June 2008 - (Page 10)

fromtheeditor A Unique Service The U.S. Coast Guard commandant discusses how changing times have prompted modernization and reorganization of the Coast Guard’s ﬂeet and command structure. M OAA represents the nation’s seven uniformed services — ﬁve are the armed services and the other two are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Public Health Service. Commissioned ofﬁcers of those services also make up MOAA’s membership. In this issue, we highlight one of our country’s unique armed services, the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is unusual, because in times of peace it operates as part of the Department of Homeland Security. In this role, it is the nation’s frontline agency for enforcing laws at sea, protecting America’s coastline and ports, and saving lives. In times of war or with direction of the president, the Coast Guard serves under the Navy Department. The Coast Guard might have a different command relationship than the other armed services, but it shares a common heritage of national service. In this postSept. 11, 2001, world, it faces the same issues of transformation and modernization as the other services. “We need a more ﬂexible, agile, changecentric Coast Guard that thinks differently about itself and its environment and can incrementally adapt rather than wait until we have an overwhelming cause for action,” says Adm. Thad W. Allen, Coast Guard commandant. In an interview with Military Ofﬁcer contributing editor Tom Philpott, Allen discusses how the Coast Guard is modernizing MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2008 its ﬂeet, reorganizing its command structure, and rebalancing its people and assets to address new mission priorities. He notes the service is moving from the paradigm of waiting for a search-andrescue call to searching for targets of interest and intercepting them offshore. If the national security environment isn’t a big enough challenge, there is another complication — the world’s climatic environment. As Allen says, “All I know is that there’s water where it didn’t used to be, and I have statutory mission requirements there. I have to ﬁgure out what to do if we have an eco-tourist cruise ship in trouble north of Point Barrow [Alaska]. There are going to be people up in waters where we’ve never had ships before.” While the Coast Guard works to protect U.S. shorelines and save lives, we all can work to make our own lives a little bit healthier. To that end, check out this issue’s two health and wellness features — “Fitness in Numbers,” page 66, and “Fighting Infection,” page 70 — for tips on staying healthy. — Col. Warren S. Lacy, USA-Ret. PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT 10

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - June 2008

Military Officer - June 2008 Contents MOAA Online From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire MOAA Member Services Washington Scene Chapters in Action Financial Forum Ask the Doctor MOAA Scholarship Donors Cover Story: Mission to Modernize World War Web Playing to Win Fitness in Numbers Fighting Infection Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - June 2008

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