Considerations for a Future Patrol Boat
By Lieutenants James Martin and Jasper Campbell, U.S. Coast Guard
April 2020
Proceedings
The pages of Proceedings are rife with articles by naval officers extolling the virtues of early command and lamenting its scarcity. In the Marine Protector-class cutter, the Coast Guard boasts a singular leadership opportunity: These cutters primarily are billeted for O-2 commanding officers (COs) and E-9 or E-8 boatswain mates. Often seen as the pinnacle of a boatswain mate’s career, many of the officers in charge (OICs) represent the Coast Guard’s best leaders and often outshine their officer peers by many metrics.
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Service structural frameworks aside, there is something to be said for the Coast Guard O-6 COs (national security cutters, medium and heavy ice breakers), who, nearly without exception, have held command at least twice before reaching that level, some as many as three or four times. It is true similar opportunities exist elsewhere in the Coast Guard, such as the Sentinel- and Island-class patrol boats, which boast O-3 COs and O-2 executive officers in some of the most dynamic and dangerous areas in which the Coast Guard operates. So, what could the harm be in eliminating 87s—a platform that data suggest may be superfluous? The greatest loss will take place in the senior enlisted ranks, where some of the most capable and talented boatswain’s mates will find themselves with no place to go. While the Coast Guard is taking steps to soften this blow, such as with billet restructuring on board the Sentinel-class cutters to accommodate chief warrant officer commanding officers and E-8 executive petty officers, the service will need to get creative in the coming years to absorb this structural loss if the decision is made to not recapitalize the Marine Protector-class fleet.
A Nimble Solution
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/april/considerations-future-patrol-boat
