Coast Guard Tour/Hassle

[David M]

Originally Posted by TabbyCat

If the VHF tracking thing is true, then how come both CG Station Jax and Charleston are putting out a PAN-PAN for a "vessel in distress" that broadcast the distress on VHF ch 16, with "no known location"?

Perhaps they don't have an RDF system or the guy was not talking long enough.

[roverhi]

I know we must denigrate the seriousness of the efforts of the CG. After all, Osama and his Islamo-Nazi buddies are just misunderstood boy scouts who are content to abuse their women and live in the mountains of Pakistan/Afghanistan. After all, it was just George Bush's stealing the election in Florida that enraged them so much that they were justified in flying a couple of planes into some buildings in the Big Apple and elsewhere. Yep, the CG is just another military outfit and we all know the military is just a waste of our tax money chasing those nice bearded Santa Claus wannabe's.

Aloha
Peter O.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by TabbyCat

If the VHF tracking thing is true, then how come both CG Station Jax and Charleston are putting out a PAN-PAN for a "vessel in distress" that broadcast the distress on VHF ch 16, with "no known location"?

They are still trying to keep it a little hush-hush??

Has there ever really been a question about the Coast Guard being a military institution? And as such, doesn't it seem reasonable that they should have the same access to technology as other military organizations? That is not to say that the current government attitude is not one of paranoia. I can not say if this is a situation that applies anywhere else in the world, but in the US, we have to accept the fact that we are being watched. I do not feel it is reasonable, or necessary, but I would not put any less value on the organization that is doing it. The Coast Guard does allot of good, and has my respect. The monitoring they do is something that needs to be approached on a government level. Until people get past buying into the "Be afraid of everyone" attitude, our government will continue to use resources such as the Coast Guard to monitor people. Until we, as a society, take action to change that, there is no reason to kill the messenger. We got what we asked for. We gave up our privacy for security.
Overall, the Coast Guard does not seem to abuse their power. A few incidents occur, but these are the exception, not the rule. They provide a very important service, and do so with a high level of professionalism. If we start chiding them for following procedures mandated by the government we elected, we will be cutting off our nose to spite our face.
Don't want to be monitored? Vote in different leaders. Lobby for change. Express, as citizens, that we value our privacy.

[svHyLyte]

While the scope of the CG's mission has increased due to the threats possed by terrorism, and the CG personnel must be more rigerous, I have never heard of members of the service being abusive. Strict, rigerous, to the point and no BS, but not abusive. Everyone I know that has had interactions with the CG at sea has reported them as courteous and efficient. I suppose that if one chooses to be a rectum, they can be somewhat like a proctologist, but then rightly so in my view.

In regards the CG's ability to locate to point of origin of a radio call, the following lick is very informative: USCG Rescue 21 Promotional Video (For Release) .

For my part, I applaud and appreciate the service of CG's young men and women who stand "Semper Paratus" to perform their service "So that others may Live."

s/v HyLyte