laststandonzombieisland

It seems the USCG, which is increasingly strung out across the globe backfilling a short-hulled/staffed Navy, is itself running on empty after years of failing to meet recruiting goals through a variety of societal and administrative reasons.

Among the austerity measures in the crew-poor Coast Guard, which is 10 percent understaffed across the board:

• Three 210-foot Reliance class Medium Endurance Cutters (WMEC) will be placed in layup, pending decommissioning.
• ​Seven 87-foot Patrol Boats (WPB) will be placed in layup, pending reactivation.
• Five 65-foot Harbor Tugs (WYTL) will temporarily not be continuously manned but will be kept in a ready status in case icebreaking is needed. 
• Two 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutters (WPC) will commence uncrewed Recurring Depot Availability Program (RDAP) at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland. The next 154′ Patrol Craft scheduled for RDAP will deliver the hull to the Coast Guard Yard and swap hulls with a cutter that has completed drydock.  
• Crews at all 23 seasonal station smalls will transfer to their parent command.

• The six non-response units (boat forces units without SAR responsibilities) will suspend operations and their crews will be reassigned in assignment year (AY) 2024.
• The identified 19 stations whose SAR response capabilities are redundant will be deemed Scheduled Mission Units. Three of these 19 stations will be ports, waterways and coastal security (PWCS) level one-Scheduled Mission Units.  

Maybe this explains why the service is making moves to expand its JROTC units nationwide among other initiatives. It announced its first California-based JROTC unit last week at Mission Bay High School in San Diego.

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Coast Guard announces the establishment of its first California-based Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program. Photo by: Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicolas Cavana | VIRIN: 231027-G-LC063-6158

The Coast Guard established its first JROTC unit in 1992, in Miami. Under recent federal legislation, the Coast Guard is expanding the JROTC program to each of its nine Districts by 2025. Studies show that about 20 percent of all JROTC participants go on to join the military.