The question is: While adding flanking machine gun toting Coastguard boats looks good, what does it really accomplish?

By Alex Fryer



Within 72 hours of the London terrorist bombings on July 7, military cargo planes arrived here carrying Coast Guard fast-patrol boats from San Diego.

Today, as the nation's transportation system heads into a third week of heightened alert, the six San Diego-based boats continue to ply Elliott Bay, providing added security for Washington State Ferries.

Coast Guard Sector Seattle, headquartered at Pier 36, has used 13 locally based boats to escort ferries and, occasionally, cruise ships since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The added muscle from California came after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced on the day of the London attacks that he was raising the nation's threat level, but only for mass-transit systems.

"This includes regional and inter-city passenger rail, subways and metropolitan bus systems," Chertoff said.

For Seattle, homeland-security efforts focused on the ferries.

As Chertoff raised the threat level, Gov. Christine Gregoire announced the State Patrol would increase canine security and the number of troopers on vessels and terminals.

Since San Diego has a huge military presence but a relatively small maritime transportation system, its 25-foot boats were deployed north.

Manufactured in Port Orchard, Kitsap County, the Defender-class boats can motor at more than 60 miles per hour.

So far, all has been quiet.

Coast Guard officials say they have no intelligence suggesting an imminent attack here, or anywhere else in the country.

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Capt. Stephen Metruck, likened the patrols to a "cop on the beat."

Ferry passengers shouldn't be alarmed if they see the Coast Guard draw alongside their vessel. The escorts are often random and sometimes change.

Yesterday, for example, two patrol boats waited at Colman Dock on the downtown Seattle waterfront for a ferry to load. After idling for about 10 minutes, the coxswains decided to switch escorts and meet the ferry Hyak just off Alki in West Seattle.

The Coast Guard does not provide security to specific ferries or routes, but keeps a fluid schedule.

"We're here to provide a security blanket," said Lt. Matt Baer, commanding officer at Sector Seattle.

The Coast Guard presence is far from soft. Each boat has a four-member crew. At their disposal is at least one M-60 machine gun, an assault rifle and a shotgun. Each crewman also wears a sidearm.

The marine radio and bullhorn are the most-used equipment.

The Coast Guard enforces a 100-yard security perimeter around ferries and cruise ships.

Errant boaters receive a verbal warning. Repeat offenders, and there have been very few, get a citation.

Coast Guard officials acknowledged there may not be a lot of obvious differences between a negligent boater and a would-be terrorist trying to get close to a ferry.

"It's one of the most challenging things that can happen out there," Baer said. "We know the boaters in the area. We know what's ordinary and not ordinary. We're looking for what's not ordinary."

The 24 crew members from San Diego will head home once the Coast Guard lowers the alert, and only the folks in Washington, D.C., know when that's going to be.

Meanwhile, Sector Seattle and the State Patrol will continue heightened operations around the clock, every day.

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

These stupid SOB's simply waste money. They are like a bunch of kids in a candy store. Run around and burn fuel looking for something that is not going to happen. It's the same thing here in NYC. A bunch of fools with machine guns running around the subway system burning our tax dollars...........for nothing. The chance of them intercepting a suicide bomber are zero. But, the public is actually more stupid than they are. The public actually believes that they are safer because of all this bull$hit. I can't bear to watch it anymore. Just beyond stupid.

Now, if you were a terrorist, when would you strike? Would you strike now, while all the dumb SOB's are running around with machine guns in hand? Or, would you wait eight months until they are all sitting around with their thumbs up their asses again??



These people have to be the dumbest on the planet.

So your calling Coast Guard and cops dumb sob's? (EDITED ASS KICKIN STATEMENT).

You're above saying stupid things like that.

BTW:

Has it crossed anyones mind that the boats are equipped with radiation detectors?

Think about it.

And forget the individual persons involved. Look at the entire operation.

It is absolutely ridiculous to think that you can prevent a terrorist attack by shadowing a 3000 ton ferry with a small boat. The capability of a terrorist using another boat to attack the ferry is certainly possible, however, what are the odds? The terrorist(s) have shown that they have extreme patience and that they will simply wait for the right place and time to strike. Providing a show of force for three (or six or ten) weeks will simply delay whatever they might have planned.

The show of force is, IMHO, designed to provide the travelling public with a sense of security. Ask any of the passengers how they feel about such behavior by the police and you will get a positive response.

However, if these agencies really wanted to stop a terrorist, all their actions would be covert.

I'm a bit miffed about the large expense of money for all these operations. Because of this BS, I can't even get my license renewed by the Coast Guard after waiting three months. They have no personnel to do it and the fact that I can't work without the license is of no consequence to them.

You could make that same arguement about airport security....

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Please..........I could go on for hours..............and I've got too much other work to do today.

The USS Cole does not provide any answer to the question "What are the odds", and you know it.

You couldn't have meant it and you shouldn't have writ it.

Its not hard to see how you guys feel about service people down deep, you pick a single stupid article and think that its the gospel.

You don't have a clue what the CG does on a day to day basis.

As a person with a 100 ton CG license, I know more than you realize.

And, I can criticize the Coast Guard based upon a single article.

I can also criticize the TSA by the way they burn money at the airports.

But, apparently, you are part of the general travelling public who believes that anything that is done is a "good thing", without regard to the cost and effectiveness.

It's a free country. You can believe what you want.

Ya mean a 6-pack? we both know that a the USCG 6 pack isn't difficult, and definitely gives us no more insight on how the USCG works, do you have any family in the CG BTW? ............I do.

Red over white fishing at night. I haven't heard it call a 100 ton since a novice sailor was trying to impress me.

You are showing your ignorance.

You don't even know the difference between a 6-pack and a 100 ton license.

See if you can haul 400 passengers with your 6-pack.

I know quite a few people within the Coast Guard and have a pretty good idea on how it works.

Nope hes still in cruising the high seas pickin up the chics, these guys would love him he graduated from CU-Boulder thats one of their schools.

He circumnavigated the globe on a CG cutter.

Correct, it is a case of theater for the entertainment and "perceived “security” of the public. The fact that it is useless as a deterrent or even a means of mitigating damage is evidently beyond a lot of folks. In the end it is a, I think the term is PDF (public display of farce). Of course, if a sea lyon attacks a ferry, they can unload a M-60 machine gun on it.

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"