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At present, the Coast Guard is considered 

 one of the armed services and would be placed 

 under the U.S. Navy in case of major armed 

 conflict. Certain Coast Guard ships are today 

 attached to the Navy in Vietnam. There are 

 indications tliat tlie role of the Coast Guard 

 in national defense is changing, accelerated 

 by the growing sophistication of military op- 

 erations and wea25ons technology. The Viet- 

 nam experience has shown that Coast Guard 

 elements can be detached for special service 

 without placing the entire agency in full war- 

 time status. Careful study is needed, because 

 the changing relationship of the Coast Guard 

 to national defense requirements should be 

 reflected in its internal organization and 

 mission. 



The character of the Coast Guard itself is 

 changing under the pressure of growing uses 

 of the sea. The needs of marine users in addi- 

 tion to those of the merchant marine often 

 strain facilities. Offshore mineral operations 

 pose new requirements and new hazards. The 

 tremendous growth of marine recreation has 

 created safety and enforcement problems for 

 the Coast Guard of a magnitude unforeseen a 

 decade ago. Increased oceanogi-aphic respon- 

 sibilities from the Arctic Ocean to the 

 shores of Antarctica are adding still a new 

 dimension. 



The Coast Guard Role in a National Ocean 

 Program The Commission believes that 

 changes in the Coast Guard and its mission 

 should be encouraged and accelerated by 

 bringing it within the framework of the na- 

 tional ocean program to be led by NOAA. 

 In our vdew, the Coast Guard represents an 

 enonnously valuable national marine re- 

 source that is at present underutilized be- 

 cause of traditional constraints on its mission 

 and lack of a proper milieu for its operations. 

 Although it is a uniformed service, the Coast 

 Guard's services are preponderantly civil in 

 character, and it provides an established 



national sea service of great potential value 

 for a major national ocean program. 



The Coast Guard is moving in the direction 

 of increasing its oceanogi-aphic competence; 

 this would be accelerated greatly by placing 

 the agency in an organization devoted to ma- 

 i-ine science, teclinology, and service. Within 

 NOAA, the Coast Guard would be directly 

 supported by a broadly based scientific and 

 technical program which would be of great 

 assistance to the Coast Guard in modernizing 

 its own technical services. The basic point is 

 that within NOAA the Coast Guard can be 

 used to a much greater degree in a more 

 broadly gauged role than is possible within 

 a solely transportation context and that this 

 can be achieved without curtailing its im- 

 portant transport-related functions. 



The transfer of the Coast Guard to NOAA 

 would also benefit NOAA greatly. Large- 

 scale scientific investigations could be sup- 

 ported by the ships, planes, and other facili- 

 ties of the Coast Guard. Location of marine 

 resources could be assisted by instrumenta- 

 tion on board its ships and by precise naviga- 

 tional aids. Tests of ocean technology and 

 marine and atmospheric monitoring and pre- 

 diction programs could utilize the Coast 

 Guard capabilities. There could be better 

 utilization of ship facilities in mapping, 

 charting, and other technical services. 



NOAA must have education and training 

 facilities for orientation programs, multi- 

 disciplinary courses, and seminars for agency 

 executive personnel, contractoi*s, and grant- 

 ees. Under NOAA, Coast Guard Academy 

 functions could be expanded to serve the need 

 for the professional orientation and training 

 of those Avith critical roles in managing the 

 national ocean program. Conduct of such ac- 

 tivities on the Academy's campus would also 

 offer many opportunities for broadening and 

 enriching its basic program of training 

 career officers. 



The advantages of placing the Coast 



