Why is the US Coast Guard Honor Guard participating in the Myers ceremony?

[paineinthearse]

Except in time of declared war, the Coast Guard is never under the command and control of the Department of War / Defense. It has always been under civilain contol of the Departments of Treasury, Transporatation and now Homeland Security.

The Coast Guard's traditional missions are life saving, humanitarian assistance, treaty and law enforcement, and aids to navigation.

I cringe to see it militarized by this dark regeim.

"The country is NOT at war, the military is at war."

(bonus prize to any DU'er who can tell us who said that).

Get my Coast Guard off the parade grounds!

QM1 Payne :patriot:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. 'coz the active military is stationed elsewhere?

and the national guard is trying to wipe up after Brownie?

[BiggJawn]

2. And WHO is the Dept of Homeland Insecurity under?

Not on paper, in actuality...

Rumsferatu, who probably has a 47' at his beck and call for his personal plaything...
Imperialism starts at home, folks. Witness the New American Raj...

[MildyRules]

3. Because

The Coast Guard IS being used in the GWOT. There are Coast Guard personnel in the Middle East right now.

[leetrisck]

4. Coast Guard is part of the military

regardless of how you look at it and always has been.

[MildyRules]

5. It's an "armed service"

Considered one of the five "armed services," but during peacetime it's not considered a "military" service as it is not under the DoD.

[leetrisck]

6. Agreed

you are correct.

[paineinthearse]

10. Yes, it has weapons systems

My cutter had a 5" gun, MK-47 torpedos, machine guns and small arms. We were armed. But we were under the Department of Transportation, not DoD.

[TahitiNut]

7. The Commandant of the Coast Guard is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

... and Myers is retiring as the Chairman of the JCS. :shrug:

[MildyRules]

8. Ahhh...No

The CGC is not a member of the JCS. Good theory though!

Edited for a typo

[TahitiNut]

13. See below.

The condescension is noted. :shrug:

[paineinthearse]

9. Oh? When was the Coast Guard rolled in to the DoD?

Can you provide some factual information?

[leetrisck]

11. Coast Guard was under Dept of Transportation

is now under Homeland Security. During time of war it attached to the Navy (I believe) - who knows what in the hell they've done with them these days. Veterans of Coast Guard entitled to all military benefits - war time or not and it's just as difficult go get taken care of.

[TahitiNut]

12. It seems there's some ambiguity.

The Coast Guard, despite being the oldest armed service, has always been the bastard child of the military. It has always been my understanding the the Commandant of the Coast Guard met with the JCS in their advisory role to the President even though he was not under the command authority of SecDef. (It should be noted that there are Coast Guard units and personnel operating in the Iraq Theater of War and under the operational authority of the theater commander.)

This has to do with the esoterics of the "chain of command" at the highest levels. The President, as Commander in Chief, sits at the pinnacle of the chain of command, but the Vice President is NOT in the chain of command. The administrative hierarchy is distinct from the chain of command. For the DoD armed services, The chain of command runs from the President to the Secretary of Defense, and from the Secretary of Defense to the commander of the combatant command. It's noteworthy that the Chief of Staff (a staff position, i.e. administrative) is not in the chain of command. Obviously, however, the chain of command for Coast Guard personnel does not typically run through the Secretary of Defense. Usually, it ran through the Secretary of Tranportation (Secretary of the Treasury when I was in) and now (apparently) through the Secretary of Homeland Security. That command chain, however, does not have a congruent staff function if there's no DHS function equivalent to the JCS (which is a DoD function). That's why the Commandant of the Coast Guard works in concert with the JCS, as I understand it. (Remember, the JCS operationally advises the President, the SecDef, and the NSC ... each directly even though reporting to SecDef for adminstrative/budget purposes.) So the chain of command for the U.S. Air Force (for instance) would be POTUS (the President of the United States), the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), the Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF), the Under Secretary of the Air Force (USECAF), and the combat commander of either a unified or specific command. Note that under this arrangment, the Chiefs of staff are an advisory group to the U.S. President and do not lie in the chain of combat command of the military.

See http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=United%20States%20Military%20Chain%20of%20Command


In short, as I understand it, the "Joint Chiefs of Staff" in effect has a different compostion depending on whether we're looking at it from POTUS's perspective or SecDef's perspective. When POTUS is advised by the JCS, the Commandant of the Coast Guard is in attendance. For budgetary/administrative purposes, the JCS does not include the Commandant of the Coast Guard.


From Wikipedia ...
"The Coast Guard Commandant is Chief of the Coast Guard IAW Title 18 USC 40. He is responsible for all coast guard matters and sits on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He reports to the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandant_of_the_Coast_Guard

Further...
"The Coast Guard carefully coordinates its international efforts to ensure that its limited resources are best used to achieve U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives. It is within this framework that the Coast Guard operates overseas and engages internationally for the benefit of the United States and to execute Coast Guard missions. Plans are integrated with the other military services through the Joint Chiefs of Staff and regional Commanders-in-Chief (CINCs). Coast Guard efforts in support of the CINCs are integrated into their respective Theater Engagement Plans."
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/1299/ijpe/wartko.htm

I see the defining authority for the DoD's JCS is the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 (10 USC 5) ...

151. Joint Chiefs of Staff: Composition; Functions

(a) Composition. There are in the Department of Defense the Joint Chiefs of Staff, headed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Chiefs of Staff consist of the following:

(1) The Chairman.
(2) The Vice Chairman.
(3) The Chief of Staff of the Army.
(4) The Chief of Naval Operations.
(5) The Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
(6) The Commandant of the Marine Corps.

One of the Coast Guard Service Badges is the "Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge" ...