When the U.S. Deployable Operations Group (DOG) stood up last July, it was the realization of Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen's vision of bringing the service's deployable specialized forces into one unified chain of command, said Capt. Meredith Austin, DOG chief of planning.
Austin, addressing Sea-Air-Space conference attendees in the Navy League's booth March 19, explained the genesis of the DOG, its structure and some of its missions.
She noted that during 9/11, when Allen was Atlantic Area commander, "he wished there had been a way to get different Coast Guard entities together to go and do a response to something."
A few years later saw Hurricane Katrina slam into the U.S. Gulf Coast and, again, "while the Coast Guard did a good job," Austin said Allen still felt it would have been helpful to have a way to get the different components together to respond.
"He said if he was made commandant, one of the first things he would do would be to bring those groups together under one official construct called the Deployable Operations Group," she said.
Allen put his plan in motion when he became commandant in May 2006.
The function of the DOG, she said, "is to be the force provider and force manager for commanders."
It is not an operational commander, and still resides with the Atlantic Area and Pacific Area commands.
"Those units will say, 'I have a need for extra resources,' and they'll put the request in to the DOG," and those resources will get to the commanders, Austin explained.
DOG units are trained the same, equipped the same and when they work together, "they are able to speak the same language."
The new, streamlined organization includes the Maritime Security Response Team, 12 Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSSTs), the expeditionary Port Security Units, two Tactical Law Enforcement Teams and the National Strike Force, which facilitates preparedness and response to catastrophic events to protect the public health and environment. In all, there are 27 units from around the country within the forces that comprise the DOG. |
"Near and dear to my heart are partnerships," Austin said. "Not only with DoD, but with other agencies," such as those within the Department of Homeland Security.
This new construct of deployable specialized forces will reach full operational capability this summer, she said.
"The area commands will morph into an Operational Command and a Force Command [FORCECOM]. They will be the force providers and force managers for all the Coast Guard forces," including the DOG, Austin said. This is expected to take place place by fiscal year 2010.
While the DOG forces are primarily located on the coasts, each team has nationwide response capability, giving the Coast Guard a lot more flexibility, she said. As an adaptive force package, the commanders can take just the elements they need, tailored for the mission.
Austin also described a couple of operations in which the DOG was worked with other federal and local entities to bring about a successful outcome. One was the Hawaii Superferry Mission. Protesters and others in the water made planned operation of this ferry unsafe for both watercraft and people. The threat was assessed and the DOG responded with three MSSTs to help safely open up that lane of traffic.
And when there was a perceived threat to the Seattle ferry system last year, the Coast Guard and five other federal agencies "came up with what we needed in a couple of hours" to set the operation in motion.
The DOG also was involved in the Feb. 20 shoot-down of a de-orbiting U.S. satellite. The DOG had resources at the ready to recover any pieces of the satellite, if needed.
The DOG provides the deployable element and logistics support. It is there "to recommend and provide assistance." |
