U.S. Coast Guard photo

Deputy Commandant for Mission Support Vice Adm. J.P. Currier stands next to a MH-65D helicopter.

by Vice Adm. J.P. Currier, Deputy Commandant for Mission Support

In the role of Deputy Commandant for Mission Support (DCMS), I often describe my job as akin to that of a band director. While my role is not to play specific instruments, it is to ensure that the mission support “ band” plays with the harmony and synchronicity required to provide the best possible services to our people and operational missions. We have technical experts in the form of assistant commandants and their staffs at headquarters and in the field who ensure that their support mission lines are producing the required services and readiness; they play the “instruments” that define mission support.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by
Petty Officer 3rd Class David R. Marin.

Crewmembers of Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team Chincoteague, Va., guide an aid flown in by crewmembers aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. to the north jetty in Ocean City, Md., Jan. 6, 2012. View and download this image from the Coast Guard Visual Information Gallery.

At the enterprise level, it is my job to ensure that logistics and services are integrated and optimized through the management of our headquarters elements, logistics/service centers and, most recently, bases. I am responsible to the commandant and vice commandant for all aspects of human capital programs, acquisition management, logistics, engineering, information systems and their associated base budgets. In that leadership role, it is incumbent upon me to provide direction to the entire DCMS enterprise based on the Commandant’s Strategic Guidance. To that end, I offer the following as 2012 capstone guidance to senior leadership of staff activities and commands within the U.S. Coast Guard support infrastructure.

1. Continue modernization in a budget constrained environment. Build internal trade space for reinvestment in areas of critical need such as adequately staffing sector logistics departments. Identify more cost-effective methods of delivering services aligned with our cornerstones, reducing redundancy, and eliminating wasteful practices. Be prepared to scale modernization efforts to essential elements—those that give the most return on investment—in response to budgetary pressures.
2. From an overall modernization perspective, focus on the following areas:
   1. Mature Mission Support 1.0. Standardize and align policy at Logistics/Service Centers. Ensure efficient response to field problems with an attitude of joint ownership of both the issue and solution. Establish results-based performance metrics to aid in the development of critical strategies.
   2. Continue progress on Mission Support 2.0. Complete the establishment process for implementing bases. Integrate regional support through the bases with an eye toward reduced costs. Identify and resource sector logistics needs to enhance readiness.
   3. Define elements and proceed with planning efforts for Mission Support 3.0. The focus will be to make the support structures built through Mission Support 1.0 and 2.0 more efficient in the provision of integrated logistics services.
   4. Continue development of the Director of Operational Logistics (DOL) position. This includes designing inspection/compliance strategies, the institution of base oversight, and integration of mission support. Help mature the role of the Director’s Council as chairperson. Additionally, enhance contingency planning capabilities in support of service goals (domestic, Department of Defense /Unified Combatant Commands).
   5. Continue the process of adequately resourcing and integrating Force Readiness Command (FORCECOM) into the DCMS enterprise. Continue to integrate the Human Performance Cycle (policy, doctrine, tactics techniques and procedures, and training) as an essential element of all Coast Guard operations.
3. Define and institutionalize Support Enterprise Governance. This includes the functional relationships between DCMS and the assistant commandants, the Director’s Council with Logistics/Service Centers, and bases and sectors in the regional context. We must show progress in not only organizational change but clearly define how the various support entities work together.


USCG photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Molle.

(From left to right) Petty Officer 3rd Class Billy Hinton, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jerry Wright, Seaman Garry Makernew and Petty Officer 2nd Class Dylan Carlton from the Coast Guard Cutter Osprey, scan the waters of Lake Union, Wash., to make sure boaters remain safe during a fair in Seattle. View and download this image from the Coast Guard Visual Information Gallery.

4. Human capital – No organization succeeds without a dedicated workforce. For each service member or civilian employee, we must establish trust, identify career progression pathways, enable competency development, provide command and leadership opportunity and foster an atmosphere of inclusion. Everyone must have an upward career view that is clear at all levels. Individuals, whether military or civilian, must be limited in career progression only by their own initiative, abilities and commitment to grow. We must continue our commitment to developing a diverse workforce, reflective of the great Nation that we serve. Our goal must be to build an inclusive workplace that recognizes the value of each member; our future mission relevance depends on success in this effort.
5. Strategic communication – We must tell our story as enablers of the Coast Guard’s missions at every opportunity. We must enfranchise operational partners through consistent demonstration and communication of a strong support ethic. We share ownership in the operational missions of the Coast Guard, and we will sacrifice as necessary to accomplish them. We must collectively believe in this vision and act accordingly in the conduct of our jobs.

While we all have an individual role in providing quality logistics and services to our fellow Coast Guardsmen, having an understanding of our strategic direction is of value to each of us. Some of you may not understand the context of these priorities and the effects that they are designed to achieve. If that is the case, I encourage you to discuss this further with your leadership who should be able to describe the intent. All the while, we must be mindful of the fiscal times that we are in. It is important for people at all levels to drive economies, eliminate redundancy and cut non-essential costs through commitment, innovation and strong leadership. Every dollar saved through efficiencies is one that can be reinvested to preserve operational capability. Our service will remain strong if we each do our part at the 100% level of effort, consistently demonstrating our commitment to Coast Guard missions and our operational partners. That is certainly my expectation. Thanks to all for the excellence you demonstrate on a daily basis. Semper Paratus.