ALAMEDA, Calif. – The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and Canadian Maritime Forces Pacific, recently held three-party staff talks to discuss the mutual interests of the three west coast maritime operational commands March 30-April 1, 2010, on Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif.
During the talks, the admirals were shown the capabilities of Bay Area Coast Guard units, including the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, Maritime Safety and Security Team 91105, and Air Station San Francisco’s airborne use of force team. They also discussed the roles and missions of the Coast Guard’s deployable specialized forces.
Meanwhile, staffs from each command participated in working groups that focused on maritime homeland defense/security; command, control, communications, computers and intelligence; and joint exercises.
Following two days of information sharing, the staff offices provided a thorough out brief to the flag officers and accomplished a number of goals including enhancing relationships between the three partners, closing gaps in maritime homeland security/defense, improving humanitarian aid/disaster relief plans and operations, strengthening joint planning processes, sharing information to enhance maritime domain awareness and developing a road map to implement a three-way, comprehensive vision for future collaborative efforts.
Informational briefs were also part of the agenda including a review of the lessons learned from the maritime security posture for the Vancouver Olympics. Three party staff talks are a key component of the strong relationship between the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Third Fleet, and Canada Maritime Forces Pacific. This relationship provides a tremendous layered security force in the Pacific area of responsibility.
