Category Archives: homeland security

Old Man of the Watch

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80 years ago today.

The official caption of this photo essay via the Imperial War Museum (Catalog # IWM A 17028-32), taken by Photographer Pelman, L (Lt),: “Veteran guardians of the Channel Coast. 21 May 1943, Selsey, Sussex.”

The Auxiliary Patrol of HM Coastguard is one of the oldest bodies of men in the armed forces of the crown. Over 400 of them have been enrolled to assist the ‘regulars’ in the constant watch which has been kept along the southeast coast of England. Their average age is well over 50, the oldest is 76, and they are mostly retired business, professional, and servicemen who have made their homes by the seaside.

“Five veterans learning the tricky art of bends and hitches from the Station Officer, himself an old Petty Officer.” Note they all seem to be wearing Army uniforms with Coastguard caps and HM Coastguard cap badges

“The dawn patrol sets out along a lonely mile of beach.” Note the STEN MKIII gun at the ready

“Daylight flag signaling to a ship at sea.” Note the “Coastguard” flash

“The Station Officer at his post, surrounded by his instruments for communication, alarm, and taking bearings.” Note the “Coastguard” flash and STEN gun at the ready

“The Watch turns over”. The relief faces a long vigil. The relieved set off home for a well-deserved breakfast and sleep.” Note what appears to be a Canadian Ross MKIII rifle.

“Station officer William Atkinson, who is in charge of a strip of coastline, examines a distant vessel through his telescope.”

With a mandate that stretches back to 1822, while His Majesty’s Coastguard came under Admiralty orders in both the Great War and WWII, today it is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and coordinates all maritime search and rescue (SAR) operations in the UK.

King Charles III is the Honorary Commodore of HMCG and the backbone of the force is some 3,500 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) located in 300 coastguard rescue teams around the country.

They respond to some 30,000 calls per year in recent years, few of them involving the Germans. 

Niagra Falls: Cold War Gimmick Gun resurfaces

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Anti-gun officials in New York are taking a victory lap this week after a huge state-run “buy back” event but, as usual, the quality of guns turned in is suspect. 

While we won’t postulate on the effectiveness of such programs, which usually involve offering a mix of taxpayer funds and donated gift cards for unwanted firearms of typically low value, Empire State Attorney General Letitia James made sure her office released a PR sheet of short aggrandizing quotes from gun control flacks and professional career Democrats testifying to how much good last Saturday’s “buy back” event did for the community. 

The event was held simultaneously at nine locations ranging from New York City and Long Island to Syracuse and Niagara Falls, with most photos long on smiles from local officials and short on gun details. After all, the guns were accepted “no questions asked.” The latter is a great way for some folks to dispose of guns used in crime while keeping unsolved crimes in the cold case files and defendants out of jail.

In terms of quantity, the progressive security circus sideshow, which James’ office called “the first-ever statewide gun buyback in New York history,” collected 3,000 assorted guns across the locations.

These included 185 “assault weapons” as classified under New York law, as well as 1,656 handguns and 823 long guns. If the basic math leaves the average reader coming up about 336 “guns” short, keep in mind that photos from the event show tables with a liberal sprinkling of BB guns, black powder muzzleloaders, and paintball guns, which could account for the discrepancy. 

The fee schedule, which left some room for profit for some with near worthless junk guns in the closet: 

  • $500 per “assault rifle” or “ghost gun.”
  • $150 per handgun.
  • $75 per rifle or shotgun.
  • $25 for non-working, replica, antique, homemade, or 3D-printed guns. 

To keep those clever guys with lots of filament on hand from cashing in, the event was limited in the respect that anyone bringing homemade or 3D-printed guns would be paid a total of $25, regardless of how many they brought. 

Now, let’s talk about an interesting jewel seen in the guns recovered from Niagara Falls “buy back” on Saturday. Some 505 guns were reportedly collected in that Western New York town. Of those, a closeup photo of a small table holding just nine high-profile black rifles was shown off in a press release. 

Some downright “scary” hardware there, bought off “the mean streets” of Niagara Falls for $500 a pop by AG James’ office. In some cases, the AG clearly got ripped off. (Photo: AG.NY.Gov)

Besides a few actual ARs in the above image– including one in what looks like a 3D printed lower with a Key-Mod rail of all things – the table holds what could be a Galil SBR, a Wilkerson style carbine, an early first-gen Hi-Point “Planet of the Apes” carbine in an ATI Beretta CX4-style stock, and, to the far right, a Tommy-gun-esque Hy Hunter T-62 Civilian Defense Weapon.

A what? 

Yup, one of the great unsung eye-catching novelty rifles of the 1960s, the T-62 was built by California-based Hy Hunter from a stockpile of Armalite AR-7 .22 LR rifles and parts they bought cheap and recast into something, well, different.

The 3.3-pound T-62, grandiosely labeled a “Civilian Defense Weapon” and equipped with a plywood stock, was marketed through an ad that predated “Red Dawn” and portrayed it in use against enemy paratroopers. 

The ad copy said the little 16-shot .22 was “the perfect weapon for civilian defense, house-to-house fighting, jungle warfare,” in addition to fending off uninvited menacing sky soldiers.

Hy Hunter sold them alongside similarly converted AR-7 “Bolomauser” and “M1 Carbine” versions for $49-$59, with extras like a 4x fixed power scope and a muzzle brake available for a few dollars more. Keep in mind this was just after the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

The T-62’s claim to fame was that it appeared in at least two films, including the 1967 Dean Martin spy comedy “The Ambushers” and the 1968 John Wayne proto-comedy “The Green Berets,” the latter cased in the hands of rather heavyset Anglo extras portraying dutifully dying VC infiltrators. 

The T-62 clocked in for at least two films in the 1960s. As the Hollywood productions were done back to back, they may be the same set of rifles. You can almost hear the Wilhelm scream in the photos to the right. (Photos: IMFDB)

Not many T-62s survive, making the Niagara Falls gun something of a rarity. Sadly, it will probably be destroyed after likely being passed off to many as a “Tommy Gun.”

Pour out some Ballistol for the torched and remember the glory of what was. It belonged in a museum, next to a fallout shelter sign and between photos of JFK and Khrushchev. 

Navy orders fresh batch of 40 Foot Patrol Boats

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The U.S. Navy appears to be very much still in the small boat biz, despite the fact that it has retired the 82-foot Mark V SOC, zeroed out FY23 funding for the Mark VI patrol boat (with retired boats apparently going to Ukraine), and all but disposed of the 170-foot Cylones in lieu of the Coast Guard backfilling with the new Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters.

While the above effectively guts the expeditionary small boats for Big Blue, the fleet is still in need of security force vessels to protect bases and roadsteads and serve as range patrol. 

As part of a plan to replace the aging 117 SeaArk 34-foot Dauntless-class patrol boats and 17 SAFE Boats 25-foot Oswald-class patrol boats used for such security needs with up to 120 new PB(X), the following appeared in the Pentagon’s contracts announcements on 24 April:

ReconCraft LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska, is awarded a $35,920,405 firm-fixed-price contract for 12 40-foot patrol boats. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $36,141,587. Work will be performed in Clackamas, Oregon, and is expected to be completed by September 2025. Fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $28,977,570 (81%); and fiscal 2023 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,942,835 (19%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C § 637(a)) and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19.8. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-23-C-2201).

Via Reconcraft:

This is in addition to as many as 119 planned Force Protection-Medium (FP-M) patrol boats from Lake Assault Boats which have been in low-rate production since 2020. The 33-foot-long aluminum V-hull FP-M will be used for “harbor and waterway patrols, interrogation of other waterborne assets, and escorting large vessels in and out of ports in various weather and water conditions.”

G-Town 87s and TPSBs

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Took my dogs for a sunset walk around Jones Park in Gulfport the day or so before leaving for my latest Guns.com filming trip to Arizona, and grabbed a couple of snapshots.

Of course, you have the replica Ship Island Lighthouse, which doesn’t look that bad at night.

Then, looking at the boatshed at Station Gulfport, a pair of 87-foot Maritime Protector-type patrol boats: U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Moray (WPB 87331) out of Grand Isle and the USCGC Tiger Shark (WPB 87359), right before the latter shoved off for a patrol through the Chandeliers.

Also note the six-pack of 32-foot transportable port security boats, complete with .50 cals and M240s mounted. These gray sharks are used by the USCG’s eight port security units, and the USCGR’s PSU 308 is stationed on land in the Kiln and often uses Station Gulfport for their sea-going home during training evolutions.

3rd Mate Chart Test Scores… ‘The Rest of the Story’

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This is from a reader in response to the article last Thursday on really bad 3rd Mate chart test numbers, really giving some more details as to the “why.” The [brackets] are redactions for privacy.

I can’t help myself but weigh in here. This is my wheelhouse literally. I am captain of a tug boat and a graduate of [one of the six maritime colleges].

The rumor is that USCG decided to change up the chart plot (one of seven exam sections) because they found out that cadets were memorizing the answers. All of the test questions are in the public domain. Around 2009 or so they exempted the test questions from the FOIA but the majority of them are older than that.

In the case of the chart plot, you must use a chart that is frozen in time from 1984 commonly known as a training chart. You receive a 10 or 15-question exam based on a position you derive from this chart. So there was no way to randomize the questions because you have to plot all the positions in order.

So as a cadet you only had about 10 or 12 possible exams that you could receive. So it was not that hard to memorize the answers and recall them when you figured out which exam you had.

So someone at the USCG decided to make a new chart plot question. According to people that have seen the question, some actually had it on an exam. The question was done by someone with fat fingers, meaning its not precise. Not nearly as precise as what a cadet would plot. If you get the first position wrong you get all of them wrong.

Its not nearly the first time USCG has put out bogus questions and answers. On my second mate exam coming out of [one of the six maritime colleges] I received a question on the breeches buoy. The last breeches buoy rescue was in the 1930s. The USCG has long since surplussed the equipment. However, the question remains on the exam.

The USCG has repeatedly ignored requests to modernize the exam. They offer a working committee to look at the problem but you have to travel to and lodge in West Virginia at your own expense to participate.

Ironically most of the skills that this chart plot is designed to test is stuff we don’t do anymore. I started on my first cutter in 1987 when we still did navigation the old fashioned way, and most of this stuff was obsolete back then. Heck now the USCG doesn’t even correct their charts anymore. It remains to be seen how long NOAA will continue making paper charts.

Sorry, you had to read all this. I just wanted to give you some industry insight into what was reported in the article.

Keep those cards and letters coming, folks!

New 3rd Mate exams: Passing rates as low as 0%

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This from GCaptian, which notes the group that represents the nation’s six state maritime academies has asked the Coast Guard Commandant for some insight on the current Chart Plot module of the U.S. Coast Guard Third Mate exams. Keep in mind something like 70 percent of the country’s unlimited tonnage/horsepower merchant marine officers hail from this six-pack of maritime academies.

Historically, cadets have passed the Chart Plot module at an acceptable rate and served the U.S. Merchant Marine with a high level of competency. However, following the introduction of new exams in 2021, passing rates have dropped dramatically. Recent results from five state maritime academies show passing rates as low as 0% at Maine Maritime Academy and only 19% at California State University Maritime Academy.

Oof.

More here.

Coasties Seek More Cutters for the Pacific, Slate a 270 for Transfer

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The USCG has been steadily ramping up in the Central and Western Pacific in the past couple of years, as we’ve covered extensively. In short, you are seeing more racing stripes in more places as part of a soft power counter to China’s little blue men and their own white-hulled coastal types.

The Coast Guard’s Fourteenth District, which stretches from Hawaii to Singapore and Japan (where small cargo inspection units, USCG Activities Far East/Marine Inspection Office Asia, are assigned), currently numbers some 1,800 active reserves all told including about 300 on Guam.

The largest assets currently on hand in Hawaii are the new frigate-sized National Security Cutters USCGC Kimball (WMSL 756) and USCGC Midgett (WMSL 757)— which have frequently bumped into Chinese assets. Added to this are a pair of 225-foot buoy tenders– USCGC Juniper (WLB 201) and USCGC Sequoia (WLB-215)— which are more useful than they sound, especially when it comes to littoral and unorthodox operations.

Meanwhile, CG Air Station Barbers Point, with 200 officers and enlisted personnel, has four new HC-130J Long Range Surveillance Aircraft and three recently rebuilt MH-65E Dolphins.

Three new 158-foot fast-response cutters were sent to the Guam sector in 2021 and another trio of these excellent patrol craft is already in Hawaii.

How about that blended blue and green crew? “The crew of the Sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) takes a moment for a photo in Cairns, Australia, Sept. 5, 2022. The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a routine deployment in Oceania as part of Operation Blue Pacific, working alongside Allies, building maritime domain awareness, and sharing best practices with partner nation navies and coast guards. Op Blue Pacific is an overarching multi-mission U.S. Coast Guard endeavor promoting security, safety, sovereignty, and economic prosperity in Oceania while strengthening relationships with our regional partners. (U.S. Coast Guard photo Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Ray Blas)

Now, the USCG is seeking $400 million in FY2024 for an additional quartet of new-built FRCs for Indo-Pacific Missions. That would give the service a full 10 FRCs based from Hawaii west in addition to its four larger cutters.

In the meantime, the service is transferring a 270-foot Bear-class cutter, USCG Cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) from Portsmouth, Virginia to Hawaii. Designed in the 1980s as ocean escorts in time of Red Storm Rising style convoy runs to Europe in WWIII, the Coast Guard only built 13 and they are all on the East Coast– with nine based at Portsmouth alone.

Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane fired a commemorative shot Thursday to honor the 158th anniversary of its namesake’s action near Fort Sumter

Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane fired a commemorative shot Thursday to honor the 158th anniversary of its namesake’s action near Fort Sumter, 30 May 2019 (USCG Photo)

Until the new Offshore Patrol Cutter joins the fleet in the next few years, the Bears are the most modern and advanced medium endurance cutters in the force with the most modern weapons and sensor suite. They are the last American asset with the Mark 75 OTO Melera and have some M2 .50 cals to back that popgun up, but they also carry an SLQ-32 and SRBOC and can host an HH-60-sized helicopter.

Lane’s arrival early in FY 2024, will give the USCG 11 cutters in the Indo-Pacific, which could grow to 15 if the four extra FRCs are approved.

Swiftships Gets Award for 7 More Patrol Boats for Egyptian Navy

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Morgan City, Louisiana’s Swiftships’ 28 Meter Coastal Patrol Craft (CPC28) is designed for multiple roles, including Coastal Defense, Anti-Surface Operations, Maritime Security Operations, Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO), Surveillance, Search and Rescue, and Intelligence Gathering.

They have been very successful in a program with the Egyptians, with the company supplying kits, in-country production supervision, and SME support for local production near Cairo.

This now stands at 49 hulls built or under contract, with seven more CPCs recently added.

Presser via the company:

In January 2023, Swiftships received notification for an additional seven (7) 28m Coastal Patrol Craft (CPC) award to the existing six (6) FMS contract that was awarded in 2022. The total current order is 23 boats, including those currently under construction. Please watch the video about CPC28 by clicking here.

In March 2022, Swiftships was awarded a new 28m CPC contact to supply a “Kit” as a modification to its original Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) contract. The Mod_004 will deliver ten (10) kits to be co-produced in Egypt at the Egyptian Navy (EN) Alexandria Shipyard and the Egyptian Ship Repair and Building Company (ESRBC). In addition, six (6) additional 28m CPCs were awarded under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract in 2022.

Swiftships will supply a complete Kit of Material (KoM), including Zodiac Rigid Inflatable Boats, Forward-Looking Infrared Systems (FLIRs), personal computer packages, and the associated engineering technical data package (TDP). These 28-meter CPCs reach a top speed of 22-25 knots with a range of 900 NM, powered by two (2) CAT diesel engines, and are equipped with 12.7mm machine guns.

By combining Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) contracts, Swiftships will have co-produced forty-two (42) 28-meter CPCs for EN by the end of 2027. These three new contracts signed in 2022 and 2023 add 23 craft to EN’s total requirement of 50 CPCs by the end of 2027. In addition, Egypt and Swiftships have started co-marketing the 28-meter CPC to North African allied partners of the US.

EN has been co-producing Swiftships’ crafts since 2010 (download case study), and this partnership has allowed both EN and Swiftships to excel on other platforms. The collaboration began in the early 1980s when Swiftships delivered its first set of eight (8) 28m CPCs. Later, in 1990, it delivered two (2) 54-meter Mine-Hunters (MH) under a Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) contract. In 2006, Swiftships further delivered six (6) 26-meter Fast Patrol Craft (FPC), and in 2009, delivered two (2) 28-meter CPCs and co-produced four kits built in Egypt under Swiftships’ guidance.

Swiftships has been discussing with the Egyptian Armaments Authority (EAA) to co-produce 35-meter Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) in Alexandria to extend their capability from steel co-production to aluminum. These FPVs will be all-aluminum crafts with a 1,000 NM range, three (3) MTU engines to reach a top speed of 32 knots, and a complement. Armament options include 12.7mm Rheinmetall Remote Controlled machineguns with additional armament.

Egypt has an established local defense and security industry that produces a range of products, from small arms to armored vehicles and naval vessels. The country has co-production agreements with several nations, including the United States and France. Egypt receives $1.3 billion in annual military aid from the United States, which is used to acquire U.S.-made defense and security articles through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

The Egyptian Navy (EN) is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF). It is the largest navy in the Middle East and Africa and the twelfth-largest in the world (measured by the number of vessels). The EN is responsible for protecting over 2,000 kilometers of coastline along the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, as well as defending approaches to the Suez Canal and supporting army operations.

Tradecraft

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These images, via the National Archives’s Underwood and Underwood News Service collection, show the “brass tube bomb,” “magazine revolver of German make,” and assorted maps, disguises, and other sabotage gear found in October 1915 in the room occupied by one Robert Fay, “German spy, arrested by the Federal authorities for conspiracy to destroy ammunition ships in New York Harbor.”

Fay, a German national who worked for the Submarine Signal Company (now Raytheon) in Boston prior to the Great War, went back home in August 1914 to serve on the Western Front as a Lieutenant. However, following up on his special set of skills, he was dispatched back to America with a fake British passport under the name of H. A. Kearling, assigned German military attaché Franz von Papen as his handler, and went to work trying to organize acts of sabotage.

German anti-shipping bombs, 1915, including those used by both Fay and developed by Von Rintelen, via the circa 1918 ONI 40

The Fay ring, including brother-in-law Walter E. Scholz, the curious professor Herbert O. Kienzle, and Paul Daeche, would be rounded up within six months and Papen expelled– with the latter soon arriving on the Western Front himself, to take up command of an infantry battalion.

One of Fay’s more interesting attempts at freighter sabotage as detailed by ONI 40 was a 40-pound bomb made to disable a ship’s rudder.

Edenton/Haley Soldiers On

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Following an extended $6 million seven-month dry dock maintenance period in Seattle, the one-of-a-kind 282-foot British-built Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley (WMEC-39) returned to her homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska earlier this month.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley returns to homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, on Jan. 12, 2023. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ian Gray

As noted by Coast Guard 17th District (Alaska)

The engineering department oversaw 76 work items including major overhauls on the cutter’s controllable pitch propeller system, speed reducers, rudders, and boilers, along with inspections of fuel, sewage, and water tanks. The operations department supervised a renewal of Alex Haley’s flight deck, navigation systems, and electronics while maintaining critical law enforcement currencies. The deck department expertly completed vast amounts of painting and topside preservation, while ensuring small boat operational readiness.

The Coast Guard Alex Haley sits dry-docked for repairs and maintenance in Seattle, Washington, on Dec. 13, 2022. While in the dry dock, the crew and contractors successfully completed more than $6 million worth of repairs.

In typical USCG fashion, Haley is one of the oldest ships in the U.S. maritime service, with 56 years on her hull and another decade of service looming.

Built by Brooke Marine in Lowestoft, Sussex between 1967-71 as USS Edenton (ATS-1), the 3,500-ton vessel was the lead ship of a three-hull class of salvage and rescue ship capable of worldwide operations.

USS Edenton (ATS-1) NHHC L45-82.06.01

Joining the fleet when commissioned on 23 January 1971, as part of the Second Fleet, she would go on to complete no less than nine extended Med cruises and one West Pac deployment before she was decommissioned on 29 March 1996, completing 25 years “haze gray and underway.” Of note, the builder of the class, Brooke Marine, had gone into receivership and been sold off almost a decade prior, while the class’s Paxman diesels were increasingly unsupportable.

Edenton was stricken from the Navy List on 29 December 1997.

While her sisters USS Beaufort (ATS-2) and Brunswick (ATS-3) would be retired at the same time, they would retain their extensive salvage gear fit and be sold in a hot “as-is” transfer to the South Korean Navy, where they linger in service as ROKS Pyeongtaek (ATS-27) and ROKS Gwangyang (ATS-28), respectively.

As for Edenton, over a two-year period, she would land much of her deep water salvage gear to make room for a helo deck, grab a white paint scheme with a racing stripe, trade her vintage Mk 16 20mm guns for MK38 Bushmaster 25mm mounts, swap her Paxmans for Catapillars, and ship off to Kodiak where she would take the place after WWII-era icebreaking cutter USCGC Storis (WAGL-38/WMEC-38) was retired, as the Coast Guard’s primary live-in asset in the Bering Sea. Of note, that is why Haley carries the next hull number in line (WMEC-39) after Storis.

Her missions typically involve search and rescue, fisheries law enforcement, and vessel safety inspections across Alaska.

Since her commissioning in USCG service on 10 July 1999, ex-Edenton has carried the name of the late Alexander Palmer Haley, Chief Journalist, USCG (Ret.).

Long before he drew international acclaim for Roots, Haley enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1939 as a mess attendant/steward and, serving through WWII on the cutters Mendoza and Pamlico and in the Pacific Threatre on the cargo vessel USS Murzim (AK-95), contributed articles to the Coast Guard Magazine and started a mimeographed ship’s newspaper. Switching to a Journalist rate in 1949, he would transfer to the Reserve list in 1959, completing 20 years of active duty including WWII service across three theatres and Korean War service. He would then go on to become a senior editor for Reader’s Digest and conduct a series of brilliant interviews for Playboy in the 1960s, back when folks really did buy it for the articles, before becoming a household name.

JOC Haley passed in 1992, aged 70.

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