Admiral Allen’s message to the Men and Women of the United States Coast Guard.
From: Allen, Thad Admiral
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 1:50 PM
Subject: Guarding our Coasts Since 1790
To the Men and Women of the Coast Guard:
Today marks another milestone in our history. This afternoon I joined Director John Walters, of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Mike Braun, Chief of Operations at the Drug Enforcement Agency, to announce that the Coast Guard seized more than 350,000 pounds of cocaine at sea this year, worth an estimated street value of more than 4.7 billion dollars. That’s half of our annual budget and surpasses all of our previous records.
Our success is the direct result of each of you doing the hard things required by those who “guard our coasts.” Everyday, Coast Guard men and women execute this dangerous mission hundreds of miles from our borders, to keep illegal drugs from reaching our shores where they threaten our families, our schools, and our communities here at home.
While the numbers are impressive, they don’t tell the whole story. The impact of these efforts is also unprecedented. This is evidenced by the reduced supply of cocaine in more than 35 major cities throughout the United States, as well as the great lengths smugglers are resorting to in an attempt to evade detection and interdiction at sea. We have seen the dilution of cocaine into liquid, the employment of semi-submersible vessels, and the use of less traveled, lengthier routes far into the Pacific Ocean.
In the last ten years, the Coast Guard has seized more than 2 million pounds of cocaine. With interagency teamwork, collaboration with our international partners, and ever-more effective tools and tactics, we will continue to tighten the web of detection and interdiction at sea, as we secure our maritime borders and keep illegal drugs out of the country.
We have a 200 year legacy of maritime law enforcement and border protection, with innovation, dedication and selfless service at the foundation. From the 1793, when DILIGENCE drove a pirate ashore in the Chesapeake Bay, to the DALLAS capturing a slave ship off the Florida Coast in 1820, to our first maritime opium seizure in the Straits of Juan De Fuca in 1890, you have demonstrated the courage of your convictions, protecting the Nation and the American people.
Make no mistake about it, your efforts are making an impact. Whether you are out there responding to oil spills, conducting fisheries patrols, or stopping illegal migrants and illicit drugs from making it to our shores, you make America a safer place to live every single day. You demonstrate the honor, respect and devotion to duty that ensures America’s parents can sleep a little more soundly knowing the Coast Guard is on patrol.
Admiral Thad Allen
Semper Paratus!
All Hazards…All Threats…Always Ready
H/T to Peter Stinson of An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog.
