The constant theme I have heard from my visits is the need to
modernize and become increasingly more nimble, given the host of
threats that could be delivered from our maritime borders. Let me give
just one example. In the Caribbean, it is a Coast Guard admiral who heads up the task
force that has all agencies of government participating as we look to
protect the southern borders in the Caribbean, as well as the southern
Pacific, from anything that is coming to our borders--drugs, migrants,
terrorists, whatever. It is all agencies involved, but if, for example,
there are U.S. Navy ships in the area or Air Force assets in the air
that might pick up one of these threats coming toward America, they
work hand-in-glove with the Coast Guard because it is the Coast Guard
that has the legal authority as a law enforcement agency to stop,
apprehend, and board that vessel. We are doing all of this border protection with cutters that have an
average age of 45 years old. The average age of a Coast Guard 210-foot
medium endurance cutter is 48 years old. The Coast Guard's high
endurance cutter average age is 45 years.
Keywords matched
migrants border protection