ALAMEDA, Calif. – A Coast Guard port security unit based here will return Dec. 9th following a six-month deployment in support of the U.S. Navy’s Joint Task Force (JTF) Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the Global War on Terrorism.
Port Security Unit (PSU) 312 is arriving in San Francisco at 1:30 p.m., where the 55 member detachment will be met at the Coast Guard Air Station by family members and friends awaiting their return just in time for the holidays. A formal military ceremony will be held for the detachment at the Coast Guard Air Station on December 11th at 10:00 a.m. and will include award presentations along with formal speeches. Senior Coast Guard leadership from both the active duty and reserve forces will address the detachment and congratulate them on a successful mission.
PSU 312 arrived at Guantanamo Bay June 1st, 2006 to work in partnership with Naval Station Harbor Defense to secure Guantanamo Harbor, provide Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection on the water, transport distinguished visitors, and provide security for other JTF Guantanamo Bay operations.
PSU 312 was commissioned as a unit on August 20th, 2005. The unit distinguished itself by becoming operational after only 13 months of intensive training.
Coast Guard port security units are staffed primarily with Coast Guard Selective Reserve members. Upon assignment to a PSU, members are required to complete intensive training in tactical combat skills, similar to those used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.
All of the Coast Guard’s port security units are designed to deploy within 96 hours of notification and to be fully operational within 24 hours after arrival. They are self-sufficient and require no outside support for 30 days, with the exception of fuel and fresh water. Their primary mission is to provide waterborne, as well as limited land-based, protection for shipping and critical port facilities both in the United States and overseas.
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