Guarding the coast
On a lonely stretch of beach in southern Texas, a distinct buzzing
noise is heard in the faint silence of the night darkness. This is
the sound of the two-man team pacing the beach in a four-wheel drive vehicle, waiting to
spot a lancha — a thin-hulled boat generally used for fishing, but also used to
transport cocaine and marijuana.
In the old days, lanchas would dash across U.S. waters, deposit their
illegal cargo on Texas beaches, and dart back across the border.
Their tendency for using isolated beaches as drop-off points prompted
the Coast Guard to initiate a beach patrol in 1997 to stop the incoming tide of drugs
along deserted beaches.
Coast Guard vehicles scan the horizon near Isabel, Texas, listening for
the distinct sounds made by a lancha transporting illegal drugs to the United States.
“If you listen carefully, you can hear the hull slapping against
the waves and the whine of its engine as the boat leaves the water,” said Chief Petty
Officer John Bible, executive petty officer at Station Port Isabel.
In the
early stages of the patrols, 6,300 pounds of marijuana were seized and six people were
arrested near the Mexican border. Now that the word is out, the smuggling has apparently
come to a halt.
“We have taken a stretch of beach which was a known corridor for
narcotics trafficking and completely denied the smugglers access,” said Chief Warrant
Officer Jackie Kyger, the station’s commanding officer.
While the vehicles are pacing the beaches, a 565-foot Navy destroyer
sails the waters of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. It’s a random training
exercise to some, but little do they know the Coast Guard is on board to beat drug
smugglers at their own game.
The USS Scott serves as an ideal platform for counter-narcotics
operations. A three-dimensional radar provides range, bearing and height information that
assists in identifying air and surface contacts, according to Navy Cmdr. Daniel J.
Morgiewicz, commanding officer of the Scott.
Long endurance capabilities allow the Scott to remain on scene for an
extended period of time.
“We can be on station in excess of 20 days if required. That makes
us very flexible in terms of restarting and repositioning,” Morgiewicz said.
This flexibility is essential to the completion of the Coast Guard Law
Enforcement Detachment’s mission.
“The Navy ships are an
excellent platform to work from,” said Lieutenant Junior Grade Russell Dash, officer
in charge of Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 5C (LEDET 5C).
“Putting a LEDET on [a Navy vessel like the Scott], effectively
turns them into a very good law enforcement platform.”
While aboard the ship, the Coast Guard detachment practices seizing drug smuggling
vessels, a tactic referred to as boarding, as well as taking time to brush up on their
studies through law enforcement manuals.
“We try to do book training at least once a day and we do physical
fitness training every day,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Len Robinson, LEDET 5C
assistant officer in charge.
In addition to studying and physical fitness training, LEDET 5C
detachment practices boarding scenarios once a week, plus they conduct defensive tactics
training twice a week.
“We try to make it as realistic
as possible,” said Robinson.
“We’re always prepared for a boarding because we’re
constantly training,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Dave Dedeaux, a boarding team
member.
When they’re not training, the members of LEDET 5C stand watch.
While on watch, they gather information about vessels transiting the area. According to
LEDET 5C, they look for vessels moving in an erratic fashion, such as changing speed or
course. The master of the vessel is asked a series of questions, then passes the
information to headquarters in Key West, Fla., to determine if they need to make a
boarding.
Whether on land or on sea, the U.S. Coast Guard is always ready to meet
its foe, which in this case is the drug smuggler.
Information compiled by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cynthia Clark,
USN, from stories in Coast Guard Magazine written by Chief Petty Officer Joe Dye, USCG,
and Petty Officer 3rd Class David Schuerholz, USCG.
For more information about jobs in the Coast Guard call 1-800-283-8724 or
look on the Internet at http://www.uscg.mil/jobs
