Security 



To a nation at war, no domestic consideration is more vital than the 

 security of its ports. Sabotage or accident that destroys a port re- 

 duces the flow of troops, material, and supplies to reinforce our forces 

 and our allies overseas. 



Traditionally, port security has been a wartime function of the 

 Coast Guard. In World War I and again in World War II the Coast 

 Guard built up its port security forces. 



Acting under delegation of authority from the Secretary of Navy, 

 the Commandant on April 15, 1942, ordered district officers and 

 captains of the ports to ". . . deny entrance to and remove from all 

 vessels, harbors, ports, piers, and waterfront facilities ... all persons 

 whose presence thereon is found ... to be inimical to the national 

 war effort by reason of, but not limited to, drunkenness, violations of 

 safety orders, or subversive inclinations as demonstrated by utterances 

 or acts." 



The period from mid-1942 to mid-1943 saw the greatest expansion 

 of port security forces. These ultimately amounted to 22 percent of 

 the Coast Guard's wartime manpower. The high point was reached 

 in July of 1943 when a total of 28,482 officers and men were assigned 

 to port security duties. These were assisted by 20,000 temporary re- 

 serve personnel serving without pay in volunteer port security forces. 



The port security program ended with the war's end, but the United 

 States was headed for decades of tensions, international emergencies, 

 and near-wars. In 1950, the so-called Magnuson Act enabled the 

 President to institute a security program whenever he should decide 

 that the United States was in danger. The President implemented 

 the bill with Executive Order 10173, and the Coast Guard was once 

 again charged with carrying out an active port security program for 

 the country. 



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