Hamilton Reef
03-09-2006, 11:24 AM
Don't forget your life preservers! :yikes:
Coast Guard adds big guns
Firepower beefed up on Great Lakes
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/09coast.htm
March 9, 2006 By CRAIG McCOOL Record-Eagle staff writer
CHARLEVOIX - Training aboard the U.S. Coast Guard's Acacia recently included more than typical rescue and buoy-tending exercises.
Crew members last week also practiced firing the ship's new M240 mounted machine guns, weapons that can fire up to 600 rounds a minute.
The Charlevoix-based Acacia is one of about a dozen large Great Lakes ships that since 2004 were quietly armed with machine guns in the name of the war on terror.
All 11 Great Lakes cutters - the term for any craft larger than 65 feet - are now armed with heavy weaponry. Other than traditional small arms - rifles and handguns - it is the first time since World War II the Great Lakes have seen regular armed patrols.
After the Coast Guard was absorbed by the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, cutter missions expanded to include patrolling "for smugglers of migrants and drugs, or terrorists seeking to infiltrate the international border," said Petty Officer William Colclough with the U.S. Coast Guard's Cleveland office, the headquarters of Great Lakes operations.
The move represents a Coast Guard policy shift in a region where missions are generally of the search-and-rescue or buoy-tending variety, said Marquette Maritime Historian Frederick Stonehouse.
"Its' certainly significant because it's the first time the Coast Guard has had crew-served weapons ... meaning it takes more than one man to run it ... on the Great Lakes arguably since World War II," Stonehouse said.
Treaties between United States and England, and later with Canada, to limit arms on the Great Lakes date back almost 200 years, said Stonehouse, who's authored numerous maritime history books, made television appearances and acted as a consultant to both the U.S. and Canadian parks services.
"You can argue that they're putting a machine gun on a boat and who cares?" Stonehouse said. "Though I'm sure that, for diplomatic reasons, they had to soothe a few feathers."
Executive Lt. Cary Godwin of the Acacia said the ship was provided the weaponry in 2004, but crew members were not able to train with the guns on the water until last week.
"There were political hurdles that needed to be taken care of before we could mount the weapons and water train," Godwin said. "In the past, there's been issues because of the Canadian border and treaties."
There were also been environmental hurdles, Godwin said. The 7.62 mm guns, capable of firing up to 600 rounds a minute, have the potential to disperse a lot of lead over a large area.
"The political and environmental concerns have been outweighed (by security concerns) to make sure the cutters can respond if necessary," he said.
But Stonehouse said big new guns on the Great Lakes signal that the Coast Guard is driven "from the top down" with "a one-size-fits-all" mentality.
"Personally, I think it's ludicrous," he said. "Where's the threat? Who are they after with this thing, a recreational boater who doesn't have enough life jackets?"
The M240s will always be aboard all the cutter ships, including the new ice breaker Mackinaw, which has yet to receive the guns but is equipped with gun mounts, Colclough said. But the weapons will not be mounted unless circumstances require.
One such circumstance was security detail in the Detroit River last month during the Super Bowl, said Senior Chief Petty Officer Jeff Hall, also with the Coast Guard's Cleveland office.
"In normal, everyday operations they're not going to be in use," Hall said. "Our ships and boats all have to meet a certain standard of response. They have to have them on board. It's not so much overkill when you don't need them as preparedness for when you might."
Coast Guard adds big guns
Firepower beefed up on Great Lakes
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/09coast.htm
March 9, 2006 By CRAIG McCOOL Record-Eagle staff writer
CHARLEVOIX - Training aboard the U.S. Coast Guard's Acacia recently included more than typical rescue and buoy-tending exercises.
Crew members last week also practiced firing the ship's new M240 mounted machine guns, weapons that can fire up to 600 rounds a minute.
The Charlevoix-based Acacia is one of about a dozen large Great Lakes ships that since 2004 were quietly armed with machine guns in the name of the war on terror.
All 11 Great Lakes cutters - the term for any craft larger than 65 feet - are now armed with heavy weaponry. Other than traditional small arms - rifles and handguns - it is the first time since World War II the Great Lakes have seen regular armed patrols.
After the Coast Guard was absorbed by the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, cutter missions expanded to include patrolling "for smugglers of migrants and drugs, or terrorists seeking to infiltrate the international border," said Petty Officer William Colclough with the U.S. Coast Guard's Cleveland office, the headquarters of Great Lakes operations.
The move represents a Coast Guard policy shift in a region where missions are generally of the search-and-rescue or buoy-tending variety, said Marquette Maritime Historian Frederick Stonehouse.
"Its' certainly significant because it's the first time the Coast Guard has had crew-served weapons ... meaning it takes more than one man to run it ... on the Great Lakes arguably since World War II," Stonehouse said.
Treaties between United States and England, and later with Canada, to limit arms on the Great Lakes date back almost 200 years, said Stonehouse, who's authored numerous maritime history books, made television appearances and acted as a consultant to both the U.S. and Canadian parks services.
"You can argue that they're putting a machine gun on a boat and who cares?" Stonehouse said. "Though I'm sure that, for diplomatic reasons, they had to soothe a few feathers."
Executive Lt. Cary Godwin of the Acacia said the ship was provided the weaponry in 2004, but crew members were not able to train with the guns on the water until last week.
"There were political hurdles that needed to be taken care of before we could mount the weapons and water train," Godwin said. "In the past, there's been issues because of the Canadian border and treaties."
There were also been environmental hurdles, Godwin said. The 7.62 mm guns, capable of firing up to 600 rounds a minute, have the potential to disperse a lot of lead over a large area.
"The political and environmental concerns have been outweighed (by security concerns) to make sure the cutters can respond if necessary," he said.
But Stonehouse said big new guns on the Great Lakes signal that the Coast Guard is driven "from the top down" with "a one-size-fits-all" mentality.
"Personally, I think it's ludicrous," he said. "Where's the threat? Who are they after with this thing, a recreational boater who doesn't have enough life jackets?"
The M240s will always be aboard all the cutter ships, including the new ice breaker Mackinaw, which has yet to receive the guns but is equipped with gun mounts, Colclough said. But the weapons will not be mounted unless circumstances require.
One such circumstance was security detail in the Detroit River last month during the Super Bowl, said Senior Chief Petty Officer Jeff Hall, also with the Coast Guard's Cleveland office.
"In normal, everyday operations they're not going to be in use," Hall said. "Our ships and boats all have to meet a certain standard of response. They have to have them on board. It's not so much overkill when you don't need them as preparedness for when you might."