USCGC Active (WMEC 618) Aug. 16, 2019. Active is a 210-foot Medium Endurance based out of Port Angeles, Wash. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Steve Strohmaier)
Below is a news release from the Coast Guard News website. What I would like to talk about is here:
- The Waesche’s crew was responsible for two interdictions seizing approximately 881 pounds of cocaine and 9,500 pounds of marijuana.
- The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC 623) was responsible for one interdiction, seizing approximately 3,300 pounds of cocaine.
- The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Active (WMEC 618) was responsible for two interdictions seizing approximately 2,116 pounds of cocaine and 3,716 pounds of marijuana.
The two WMECs, each over 50 years old, probably each seized drugs of higher street value than the 13-year-old National Security Cutter (NSC) that is about four times as large. No, they are not necessarily better at drug interdiction than the NSC. There is a lot of luck involved, but it does seem to suggest that, as the saying goes, “quantity has a quality all its own.”
There are simply not enough cutters (or Navy ships) to interdict all the known smugglers being tracked.
Earlier, when the current Commandant was Commander PACAREA, we saw some attempts to use Webber class Fast Response Cutters (FRC) in the Eastern Pacific drug transit zones. For some reason those efforts don’t seem to have been continued. Perhaps their endurance was a problem.
There can be little doubt the Coast Guard needs more cutters, yet the current program of record will supply 8 fewer large cutters than we had in the year 2000. We need more large cutters, but they don’t all have to be 4500 tons.
Frankly, I do think they should be bigger than 210s. You can make a very capable cutter of around 2,000 tons with a crew smaller than that of the 210s, but we don’t seem to have been doing the analysis that would clearly identify our needs.
USCGC Steadfast (WMEC-623) (This is an old photo, given the hard sided boat and davits.)
MEDIA ADVISORY: Coast Guard to offload approximately 6,325 pounds of cocaine and more than 13,000 pounds of marijuana in San Diego
WHO: Capt. Robert Mohr, commanding officer, Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, Alexandra (Sasha) Foster is the Criminal Chief in the Southern District of California U.S. Attorney’s Office
WHAT: The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche is scheduled to offload approximately 6,325 pounds of cocaine and more than 13,000 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $166 million, seized from the drug transit zones of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
WHEN: Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: 10th Avenue Marine Terminal, 1150 Terminal St., San Diego, CA 92101
Editor’s Note: Media interested in attending should arrive no later than 9 a.m., and bring a government-issued photo ID, press credentials, proof of vehicle registration and insurance. Media will be escorted to the event location following security screening.
SAN DIEGO — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751) offloaded more than 6,325 pounds of cocaine and more than 13,000 pounds of marijuana estimating a value worth more than $166 million on Wednesday, in San Diego.
The interdictions were made late February and early March during four separate joint effort interdictions:
- The Waesche’s crew was responsible for two interdictions seizing approximately 881 pounds of cocaine and 9,500 pounds of marijuana.
- The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC 623) was responsible for one interdiction, seizing approximately 3,300 pounds of cocaine.
- The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Active (WMEC 618) was responsible for two interdictions seizing approximately 2,116 pounds of cocaine and 3,716 pounds of marijuana.
U.S. agencies from the Department of Defense, Department of Justice and Homeland Security coordinated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, served a vital role in counter-drug operations. The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) is the second Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard and is homeported at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif. Waesche, the second of eight planned National Security Cutters, is 418 feet long with a top speed of 28 knots and a range of 12,000 nautical miles. The cutter is equipped with a flight deck and hangars capable of housing two multi-mission helicopters, and outfitted with the most advanced command, control, and communications equipment.