July 2006 Newsletter
Front Page • Layered
Security • Jewel
of the Fleet • NDIA • Partnership
Days • Tom's Run • PEO
Tour
Coast Guard International Program Delivers Partnership Days
By Ray Litman
NORTHCOM/SOUTHCOM Attendees included (from left to
right): Lt.
Rafael Alvarez, Assistant Naval Attaché, Mexico; Lt. Cmdr. Jose
Valcarcel, Assistant Naval Attaché, Mexico; Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Pike,
Assistant Naval Attaché, Canada; Maj. Dave Rolston, ICO
representative to USCG Deepwater, Canada; Rear Adm. Jose Nunes,
Naval Attaché, Brazil; Capt. Gabriel Richmond, Assistant Naval
Attaché, Argentina; and Gen. Juan Grijalva, Defense Attaché,
El
Salvador. (USCG photo by Chief Petty Officer Jeffrey Murphy)
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) International Programs Office (G-D-IP), under the leadership of Rear Adm. Gary T. Blore, the program executive officer of the Deepwater Program, hosted a series of four Regional Partnership Days (RPDs) in June.
These events were an initiative to bring interested international representatives within a particular U.S. combatant commander’s region together for a half day of briefings, discussions, and demonstrations related to USCG response boats, specifically the 25-foot Defender Class and the 33-foot Special Purpose Craft – Law Enforcement (SPC-LE) boats.
Nearly 30 Washington-based defense and naval attachés, including a number of flag officers, representing 28 countries participated in briefings and discussions followed by underway demonstration rides at USCG Headquarters. Some of these countries already operate these Response Boats and were able to provide a customer viewpoint to other nations in attendance.
Safe Boat International (SBI) of Port Orchard, Wash., manufacturer of the USCG Defender Class and SPC-LE, provided the 33-foot SPC-LE and personnel who operated the boat and presented technical briefings on response boat design and manufacture at each event. USCG Sector Baltimore provided the 25-foot Defender Class boat and crew on each of the days, and USCG personnel from the Response Boat Program Office provided the viewpoint on selection and use of these assets within the Coast Guard inventory. The USCG International Affairs office provided briefings on training opportunities and representatives from the USCG Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) program and the Center for Naval Analyses also participated.
The Safe Boat International 33’ Special Purpose
Craft-Law
Enforcement Boat, manufactured by Safe Boat
International (SBI) of Port Orchard, Wash., was presented
as part of technical briefings on response boat design
and manufacture during the partnership days.
(USCG photo by Chief Petty Officer Jeffrey Murphy)
These RPDs were judged an important step in fostering relationships with U.S. allies and international partners, and in showcasing the USCG Response Boats as global assets in service today—protecting and defending the world’s ports, waterways, and littorals from danger and strengthening U.S. national and international security.
To learn more about the U.S. Coast Guard International Programs Office, check out their website at http://www.uscg.mil/deepwater/international.htm
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