Thad Allen discusses budget priorities and required technology upgrades in his annual State of the Coast Guard speech

US Coast Guard (USCG) Commandant Adm. Thad Allen commented on some budget and acquisition concerns at his agency over the next year during his annual State of the Coast Guard address in Washington, DC, Tuesday, noting the economic stimulus package would help relieve some budgetary stresses.

"We are grateful for the recently paced stimulus bill [Public Law 111-5], which provides some funding to replace equipment and which directs funding to our aging shore facilities," Allen stated.

Allen said he was dedicated to allocating as close to $100 million a year as possible for rebuilding dilapidated USCG shore installations. The economic stimulus package "will get us there this year," he added, but the service faces challenges in meeting that goal in future years.

"As the nation that faces fiscal uncertainty, we will have to make difficult financial choice and manage resources to buy down risk in the most critical areas," Allen noted.

The deteriorating condition of the USCG fleet has been well documented, he acknowledged, as evidenced by the recent removal of the Coast Guard Cutter Dallas from service for repairs.

"The cost of operating our major cutters is increasing and our cutter availability is decreasing. Our inland-river and inter-coastal construction tenders require attention as do our 140-foot icebreaking tugs," Allen said.

The Coast Guard has been benefiting from its new Acquisition Directorate, which has assumed the role of lead systems integrator for the entire service and has learned lessons from delays in the delivery of the first National Security Cutter Bertholf, Allen asserted.

The agency has held a review of structure issues associated with the initial construction of the Bertholf, Allen added, and the Integrated Deepwater System program has stabilized. Evidence of the progress the Coast Guard has made in revamping its contracting structure can be found in challenges to the award of a contract for fast response cutters, which survived scrutiny by the Government Accountability Office and a court challenge, he said.

Bertholf, meanwhile, has been commissioned and recently completed successful combat systems qualification testing with the US Navy. Three more National Security Cutters are in various stages of development.

Technology issues

The Coast Guard is dealing with additional technology challenges as well, such as exploring unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) suitable for its mission and examining requirements for USCG radio navigation systems.

"We have joined together with Customs and Border Protection to create a joint program office within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)," Allen reported. "I don't see any reason why the Coast Guard should be out in front leading the development of a maritime Predator program if we already have one up and operating inside the department and Customs and Border Protection."

The program office must create a maritime variant of the Predator to provide the Coast Guard with the service coverage it requires from a high-altitude UAV, he said.

In addition, the service is working with the Navy to examine the possibility of using its Fire Scout UAV, which is the designated unmanned craft for the Navy Littoral Combat Ship, on the National Security Cutters. Allen said he would welcome more joint development efforts on UAVs.

"We need to take a look at whether or not the Fire Scout is a capable UAV for the National Security Cutter," Allen said.

Allen fielded several questions on the decision to terminate the LORAN-C radio navigation service for US coastal waters. The service provides navigation, location and timing services for civil and military air, land and sea operators

However, the fiscal 2010 budget unveiled by the White House on Feb. 26 would terminate the LORAN-C long-range radio navigation system, saving $36 million in 2010 and $190 million in the next five years. The current LORAN-C system will continue to operate through the end of fiscal 2009.

Reporters expressed concern that the termination of LORAN-C left the Coast Guard without a backup for the Global Positioning System (GPS).

"By policy, what the president's budget has done is to separate the operation of LORAN-C, which we know is antiquated and in need of upgrading and replacement, from what should be a backup, if that is required, for GPS," Allen responded. "Those are two decisions that could be linked but they are separating them because LORAN C is becoming unsupportable."

DHS however will hold an inquiry on requirements for navigation systems and contemplate such options as a modernized e-LORAN system, Allen commented.

"We have been talking about this I'd say almost 10 years in the interagency [meetings] and failed to come to a conclusion," he lamented. "It's probably not bad to have a forcing mechanism to decided what are the real requirements for positioning, navigation and timing as a potential backup to GPS."

Navigation stations in Alaska are literally operating on 1960s vacuum tube technology that has never seen an upgrade, Allen remarked, forcing an "up-or-down vote" on LORAN-C as the technology has become difficult to sustain.