Sea Power - March 2014

The Coast Guard said the interdiction marks the first time an armed U.S. Coast Guard helicopter embarked on a foreign-flag military vessel in support of counterdrug operations.

Sector San Juan is responsible for all Coast Guard missions in the Eastern Caribbean area. This includes enforcement of laws and regulations of the United States relative to, among other things, national defense, smuggling and counternarcotics operations.

CAPT Drew Pearson, commander of Coast Guard Sector San Juan, has been in charge since May 2011.

He said that since he has arrived he has noticed an uptick in drug smuggling attempts and related violence in Puerto Rico and the surrounding countries. As a result, the Coast Guard, which is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has taken aggressive action to stem the activity under Operation Unified Resolve.

The service said Operation Unified Resolve contributes to the interagency results being achieved locally under Operation Caribbean Guard, which coordinates efforts among the Coast Guard, DHS, and commonwealth and territorial law enforcement partners, who are working to detect and disrupt illicit maritime trafficking to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“One of the main challenges that we have is a persistent adversary that wants to deliver drugs to the citizens around the world,” Pearson said.

The sector commander, who oversees 650 active-
duty, Reserve and civilian men and women, said he
also has a strong relationship with the multiagency
Joint Interagency Task Force South, based at Naval Air
Station Key West, Fla.

“No one agency can solve this problem on its own, but when we work as partners it’s key to our success. It’s not just about what’s coming to the U.S., it’s also about what’s moving throughout the region,” Pearson said.

A major part of the Coast Guard’s fleet modernization program is the deployment of the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) and future Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC). The service plans to build 58 FRCs to replace the 110-foot Island-class patrol boat. The Seventh District is slated to get the first 18, and seven have been delivered thus far.

Pearson is excited to have a future FRC, slated to be Richard Dixon, in the next year.

“We can’t wait to get our hands on one. It’s going to be a game changer,” he said.

FRCs have been deployed to his operating area, but none are stationed there. His sector currently is building infrastructure to support them along with undergoing a $17 million pier construction project.

The OPC, which is still years away from cutting steel, is a highly desired asset.

Pearson said the OPC project is key for the future of the Coast Guard.

“We have to get those aging cutters replaced because without the OPC we are going to fall short in our ability to carry out not just our counterdrug mission, but all our missions throughout the Coast Guard,” he said.

Drug smugglers use different techniques to skirt authorities and get narcotics into the United States, such as semi-submersibles. But while Pearson said smugglers typically stick to more conventional methods in his area, such as go-fast boats or disguised fishing vessels, it’s no less difficult trying to stop them.

“We are always trying to stay a step ahead of any adversary and that’s sometimes a challenge with the funding they have to carry out what they do, but we aggressively attack it with our partners to make sure we are staying ahead of them,” he said.

As for the future, Pearson sees continuing healthy relationships with partner agencies as the Coast Guard aggressively patrols and pursues drug smugglers.

Michael O’Hanlon, a homeland security expert for the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said these partnerships for the Coast Guard and Navy are vital to maritime national security.

“We simply don’t have enough Navy assets to do it with our big ships alone, especially as budget cuts and fleet downsizing curtail even further our ability to do these sorts of operations closer to home — since they are often the first to go when belts have to tighten,” O’Hanlon said. ■

41 WWW.SEAPOWERMAGAZINE.ORG SEAPOWER / MARCH 2014 Crew members from the Coast Guard Cutter Farallon offload 300 pounds of cocaine Jan. 29 at Coast Guard Base San Juan following an at-sea interdiction approximately 60 nautical miles off the northwest coast of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Jan. 27. The crew of Farallon transferred custody of the $3.5 million drug shipment and three suspected Dominican Republic smugglers to Drug Enforcement Agency special agents and Customs and Border Protection officers.