USA Patriotism! ... "Showcasing Pride of America"USA Store! ... American / Patriotic themed gift products at USA Patriotism!

Home - Articles - USA's Birth - Great Patriots - Heroes - Honor Halls - Music - Photos
Poems - Quotes - Reference - Speeches - Stars for Troops - Stories - Student Patriots
Videos - New Content
- About - Contact - Submit - Press
- CureNow - Donate
- Privacy

Click Here To Google Search
 For USA Patriotism! Content
USA Patriotism! YouTube Channel Join / Like the USA Patriotism! Facebook pagePinterestLinkedInUSA Patriotism! Instagram ChannelUSA Patriotism! On TwitterUSA Patriotism! at Flickr

Patriotic Article
Homeland Security

Collectibles, apparel, and other gifts ... for Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and veterans! Checks with USA, military, and other patriotic designs Free Gifts from The Bradford Exchange Online

Coast Guard Protecting and Supporting America Anywhere
by U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Antoine Adams
March 30, 2017

Satute of Liberty / Flag Mugs and Steins

Tough Tex American Flags

SunSetter 20' Telescoping Flagpole with Free American Flag

USA, military, and other patriotic themed pullover and button down Polo shirts

Personalized Patriotic Embroidered Shirts

USA Flag and other American Theme Caps and Hats

American Pride: Poems Honoring America and Her Patriots! by David G. Bancroft

Quietly situated off a remote road in St. Marys, Georgia, Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) Kings Bay is one of six Coast Guard Atlantic Area (LANTAREA) MSSTs. The building is unassuming when viewed from outside its compound, as it adjoins a municipal police department and offers little to categorize it as a Coast Guard unit with such a significant impact. Inside the compound, six response boats, a dozen government vehicles, and men and women bustling about in operational dress uniforms hint that an operational Coast Guard unit exists in rural Camden County, Georgia.

July 25, 2016 - Crewmembers from Maritime Safety and Security Team Kings Bay, Georgia, trailer a Response Boat-Small near cornfields in West Virginia, following an escort and point protection operation for the Republican National Convention. MSSTs are part of the Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized Forces and travel where needed to support Coast Guard Operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Frank L. Vaca)
July 25, 2016 - Crewmembers from Maritime Safety and Security Team Kings Bay, Georgia, trailer a Response Boat-Small near cornfields in West Virginia, following an escort and point protection operation for the Republican National Convention. MSSTs are part of the Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized Forces and travel where needed to support Coast Guard Operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Frank L. Vaca)

However, an individual may be more inclined to see MSST Kings Bay members and assets driving through the back roads of Indiana, or on the waters of the Ohio River than at their unassuming base in St. Marys. To describe the MSSTs’ operating area, a globe would be an appropriate reference, as MSSTs spend a significant amount of time on the road, with operations spanning an area of responsibility not limited by traditional geographic boundaries.

For this last year alone, MSST Kings Bay accumulated over 100,000 miles on their vehicles to trailer boats up and down the highways in support of 25 operations and 14 different sector commanders. Their missions took them north to Bar Harbor, Maine, where they engaged in Ports Waterways and Coastal Security (PWCS) providing escorts for high capacity passenger vessels, and as far south as the Caribbean, employing a concept of operations where a Tactical Law Enforcement Team detachment is teamed with a MSST non-compliant vessel pursuit crew aboard a 179-foot Navy patrol craft conducting counter-drug and migrant interdiction boardings to support the commandant’s Western Hemisphere Strategy.

January 17, 2017 - The Cyclone-class Patrol Coastal USS Shamal (PC 13), front, and USS Zephyr (PC 8), rear, return to Naval Station Mayport, Fla., after completing a 64 day patrol in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility. Marking the completion of their first patrols in fiscal year 2017, Zephyr’s patrol resulted in one interdiction entailing the seizure of 900 kilograms of cocaine and detaining four personnel in support of Operation MARTILLO. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Hendricks)
January 17, 2017 - The Cyclone-class Patrol Coastal USS Shamal (PC 13), front, and USS Zephyr (PC 8), rear, return to Naval Station Mayport, Fla., after completing a 64 day patrol in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility. Marking the completion of their first patrols in fiscal year 2017, Zephyr’s patrol resulted in one interdiction entailing the seizure of 900 kilograms of cocaine and detaining four personnel in support of Operation MARTILLO. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Hendricks)

Most recently, two non-compliant vessel pursuit crews from MSST Kings Bay joined law enforcement detachments from both coasts and deployed aboard USS Zephyr and USS Shamal for an approximate 60-day counter-narcotics patrol. This unique collaboration of forces and capabilities resulted in the largest seizure for this operational concept to date, a record 900 kilograms of cocaine estimated at over $30 million in street value. After being designated a pursuit unit last year, MSST Kings Bay quickly qualified boat crews on this new assigned competency improving LANTAREA’s versatility to support this latter mission set./p>

On an international training front, MSST Kings Bay members deployed to Saudi Arabia to teach boat tactics to their aspiring border guard and to Belize to instruct their coast guard on boat handling and navigation skills.

April 25, 2014 - Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Fallon, a Coast Guard K-9 handler, works with his dog during a K-9 demonstration at a luncheon in Kings Bay, Ga., Friday to recognize and celebrate Camden County’s official designation as the nation’s first Coast Guard Community. Coast Guardsmen from Maritime Force Protection Unit Kings Bay and Maritime Safety and Security Team Kings Bay, the two Coast Guard units in Camden County, provided demonstrations for luncheon attendees. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Lauren Jorgensen)
April 25, 2014 - Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Fallon, a Coast Guard K-9 handler, works with his dog during a K-9 demonstration at a luncheon in Kings Bay, Ga., Friday to recognize and celebrate Camden County’s official designation as the nation’s first Coast Guard Community. Coast Guardsmen from Maritime Force Protection Unit Kings Bay and Maritime Safety and Security Team Kings Bay, the two Coast Guard units in Camden County, provided demonstrations for luncheon attendees. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Lauren Jorgensen)/p>

In contrast to the quiet setting of St. Marys, MSST Kings Bay found themselves in Cleveland, the city that hosted the 2016 Republican National Convention. For this historic event, MSST Kings Bay led a deployable specialized adaptive force package consisting of 14 tactical boat crews, 12 response boats, engineering support, canine explosive detection teams, a remotely operated vehicle, and planning personnel to support all aspects of maritime security operations. MSST members accumulated 628 patrol hours escorting vessels and enforcing security zones to safeguard maritime critical infrastructure and 50,000 attendees and heads of state. Likewise, MSST members conducted positive control boardings, swept facilities and vehicles for explosives, and conducted search and rescue.

Whether enduring the snow of Lake Michigan for a naval vessel protection zone, deploying in under 24 hours in response to intelligence in our nation’s capital, providing foreign dignitary/heads of state protection in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly, or pursuing a go-fast in the open water of the Caribbean, MSSTs’ highly trained and professional personnel provide adaptable and scalable capabilities in support of missions worldwide.

By U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Antoine Adams
Provided through Coast Guard
Copyright 2016

Comment on this article

USA Gifts Store! ... over 1,000 American / Patriotic themed products at USA Patriotism! USA / Americana theme ... polo shirts, t-shirts, shorts, hats, caps, swimwear, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, jackets, under garments, and other apparel items American Pride: Poems Honoring America and Her Patriots! by David G. Bancroft