Ron Moore Working on Coast Guard Series

[J.T.B.]

One point to add to the excellent posts above. Because the Coast Guard has the legal authority of a law enforcement agency, they can conduct boarding and search operations which, if done by the Navy, could cause international problems. So Coast Guard boarding teams are carried aboard Navy vessels in trouble spots all around the world.

--Justin

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yet another show with a law enforcement angle...but at least this time the fact that it has to take place largely on the ocean will lend something new, the sense of isolation and inability to call for immediately backup, and the vulnerability of being exposed to the elements and suddenly at risk of your life will provide plenty of fodder for drama of a type we haven't seen a million times before. I'm looking forward to at least sampling it.

Because the Coast Guard has the legal authority of a law enforcement agency, they can conduct boarding and search operations which, if done by the Navy, could cause international problems.

Interesting, but why wouldn't the Coast Guard also cause international problems?

 

[J.T.B.]

Because the Coast Guard has the legal authority of a law enforcement agency, they can conduct boarding and search operations which, if done by the Navy, could cause international problems.

Interesting, but why wouldn't the Coast Guard also cause international problems?

Because police agencies are treated differently under international law than military forces; in a worst-case scenario a naval vessel seizing a foreign-flagged vessel could be considered an act of war. There is also US law, which prohibits the armed forces from domestic law enforcement. The Coast Guard is a military service, but it has different legal status. The USCG also has personnel trained in things like evidence handling and custody, geared toward prosecution in civilian courts, that the Navy doesn't really focus on.

--Justin

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Oh okay I always thought the Coast Guard was part of the US military...but it's some kind of hybrid?

 

[Star Wolf]

Oh okay I always thought the Coast Guard was part of the US military...but it's some kind of hybrid?

Its sort of like the National Guard, its part of the military when the President orders it to be. It begin as a life saving service merged with Treasury Dept revenue protectors, then went to the Transportation Dept before Homeland Security absorbed it. But its guardsmen were always veterans and not retired civilians.

 

[J.T.B.]

Oh okay I always thought the Coast Guard was part of the US military...but it's some kind of hybrid?

Basically yes, legally. Title 10 of the US Code covers the Coast Guard as well as the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. But the USCG also has authority under 14 USC, which deals specifically with that service, and other titles like 19 (which covers customs) and 46 (which regulates shipping) that the other armed forces don't have.

--Justin

 

[Velocity]

Oh okay I always thought the Coast Guard was part of the US military...but it's some kind of hybrid?

Basically yes, legally. Title 10 of the US Code covers the Coast Guard as well as the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. But the USCG also has authority under 14 USC, which deals specifically with that service, and other titles like 19 (which covers customs) and 46 (which regulates shipping) that the other armed forces don't have.

--Justin

The USCG falls under the Dept of Homeland Security (considered a civilian service), not the Dept of Defense like the Navy, Army (military services), etc, except during a war situation.

I work for the USCG at an aviation facility. The USCG flies a variety of aircraft including helicopters, jets, C130 cargo planes. Some of the aircraft are armed for use in drug interdiction. I think that there is a lot of potential for good tv or movies using CG situations.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

Here are a couple of nice shots of recent CG ships, etc.:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1424/5183417632_3cfaf444c3_z.jpg

And from another point of view:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/5183417628_50cff147f8_b.jpg

I would imagine (going off of the press release and other info behind the scenes), the CGC McCulloch in the TV series will most likely look like one of the rightmost ships in either photo (the WMSLs, aka Maritime Security Cutter Large, aka National Security Cutter).

Incidentally, there was a previous CGC McCulloch, a 311-foot Casco-class cutter that was given to Vietnam.

Cheers,
-CM-