Meantime, Coast Guard facilities have been deteriorating rapidly. 

 Most of its major cutters are approaching obsolescence. Replacement 

 has become critical. It is estimated that the replacement cost of fa- 

 cilities could reach more than a billion dollars over the next 10 years. 



The lack of properly documented overall policy guidelines left the 

 Secretary of Treasury and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget 

 in no position to make the major policy decisions demanded by the 

 growing breadth and complexity of Coast Guard operations, as well 

 as by obsolescence of equipment. To correct this situation, and to 

 have the scope and extent of its responsibilities in all areas clearly 

 defined for the first time in its history, an exhaustive inter-depart- 

 mental study of Coast Guard Roles and Missions was carried out in 

 1962. 



The following chapters on the 10 major missions of the Coast Guard 

 have been condensed from this study. In addition to describing each 

 mission briefly, each chapter contains minimum specific recommenda- 

 tions that can bring the Coast Guard up to par in personnel and fa- 

 cilities with the other branches of the Armed Forces. 



