Coast Guard to establish a security zone for the presidential inauguration

by Public Affairs Det. Baltimore

BALTIMORE – The Coast Guard will establish a temporary security zone in designated waters of the National Capital Region for the presidential inauguration effective January 14 through January 25, 2009.  At certain times during this period, security zone enforcement may limit or prohibit navigation by commercial and recreational waterway users.

The security zone will include the Potomac River from the Francis Scott Key Bridge (U.S. Route 29) down to a position approximately two miles south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.  The security zone will continue west on the Virginia shoreline to a position near Jones Point Light and east on the Maryland shoreline, including the Georgetown Channel Tidal Basin.  The security zone also includes the Anacostia River from the New York Avenue Bridge (U.S. Route 50) down to its confluence with the Potomac River.

While enforcement of the security zone may change due to unanticipated developments related to the presidential inauguration, the general enforcement plan is as follows:
1.  Beginning on January 15 through January 17, 2009, the security zone will be open to all commercial and recreational marine traffic, but movement of commercial and recreational vessels may be restricted as inaugural events dictate.  Restrictions will be broadcast and law enforcement assets will be on-scene to ensure vessels do not enter areas impacted by inaugural activities.  Any recreational vessels in the zone must either moor or depart the zone each day prior to sunset.  Any recreational or commercial vessel entering or operating within the security zone during this three-day period must contact the Coast Guard Patrol Commander via marine-band radio VHF Channel 16 or by phone at (410) 576-2693 prior to entering or operating in the security zone; moreover, all such vessels should prepare to be boarded by the Coast Guard.

2.  Throughout January 18 until 11 p.m. on January 19, 2009, the Coast Guard will prohibit recreational boaters from entering or operating inside the security zone.  Recreational boaters moored within the zone must not move unless given specific authorization by the Coast Guard Patrol Commander.  Commercial vessels with prior approval from the Coast Guard Patrol Commander may operate during this period.

3.  Beginning at 11 p.m. on January 19, 2009, the Coast Guard will prohibit all vessel movement until inaugural events have concluded.  The Coast Guard Patrol Commander will broadcast closure information on VHF Channel 16.  Opening of the waterway is anticipated during the early morning hours of January 21, 2009.  The Coast Guard Patrol Commander will broadcast the opening of the waterway.

4.  From the opening of the waterway on January 21 through January 25, 2009, the Coast Guard will allow recreational and commercial traffic to operate in the security zone as inaugural events permit.

For vessels seeking authorization to enter or transit the security zone, contact the Coast Guard at (410) 576-2693 or via marine-band radio VHF channel 16.

Coast Guard Releases ALCOAST on Open

The Open Government Act should make it easier for citizens to obtain documents from the Coast Guard.  Coast Guard has denied access in the past to Bloggers and citizens alike.   The new law makes it harder for agencies to use loopholes to avoid disclosure.

ALCOAST 007/09
COMDTNOTE 5720
SUBJ: COMMAND SUPPORT FOR COMPLIANCE WITH PROVISIONS OF THE OPEN
GOVERNMENT ACT (OGA) AMENDMENTS TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
(FOIA)
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 231414Z DEC 08/ALCOAST 617/08
B. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PRIVACY ACTS MANUAL, COMDTINST
M5260.3 (SERIES)
1. THE OGA SIGNIFICANTLY AMENDS THE FOIA AND ITS PROVISIONS BECAME
EFFECTIVE ON 01 JAN 09. COMMAND AWARENESS AND SUPPORT IS
ESSENTIAL.
2. REFERENCE A DISCUSSED HOW THE OGA LIMITS AGENCIES ABILITY TO
TOLL THE COUNTDOWN OF THE 20 WORKING-DAY PERIOD FOR RESPONDING TO
FOIA REQUESTS AND WHY AGENCIES CAN NO LONGER ASSESS SEARCH FEES
UNDER MOST CIRCUMSTANCES IF THEY FAIL TO RESPOND TO A FOIA REQUEST
WITHIN THE STATUTORY 20 WORKING-DAY TIMEFRAME. NON-COMPLIANCE WITH
THE PROVISIONS OF THE OGA MAY IMPOSE FINANCIAL AND MANPOWER
CONSEQUENCES FOR UNITS.
3. ON 30 DEC 08 THE FOIA OFFICER SENT AN E-MAIL NOTIFICATION TO
UNIT PROCESSORS DETAILING THE NEW DAILY AND MONTHLY REPORTING
REGIME MANDATED BY THE OGA. THIS REGIME COLLECTS COMPLIANCE DATA
FOR REVIEW BY CG-6 AND DHS AND CREATES A CG-WIDE CENTRALIZED
TRACKING SYSTEM FOR FOIA REQUESTS.
4. COMMANDING OFFICERS SHALL ENSURE STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH THE
PROVISIONS OF REFERENCE A, REFERENCE B, AND THE AFOREMENTIONED
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS DISCUSSED IN PARAGRAPH 3.
5. RELEASED BY RDML D.T. GLENN, ASSISTANT COMMANDANT FOR COMMAND,
CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTERS, AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
6. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED.

Coast Guard Releases Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Message on time

Coast Guard Report applauds the Office of Civil Rights for getting this years MLK message out in time for units around the Coast Guard to make note of this significant date in history.

ALCOAST 002/09
COMDTNOTE 5354
SUBJ: BIRTHDAY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR
1. ON MONDAY 19 JANUARY 2009 THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA WILL HONOR DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 80TH
BIRTHDAY, HAD HE NOT BEEN SHOT ON A HOTEL BALCONY IN MEMPHIS, WHERE
HE DIED IN A HOSPITAL SOON AFTERWARD ON 4 APRIL 1968. THE NIGHT
BEFORE, IN A PROPHETIC AND HISTORIC SPEECH, DR. KING SAID, “WE VE
GOT SOME DIFFICULT DAYS AHEAD. BUT IT DOESNT MATTER TO ME NOW.
BECAUSE I VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAINTOP…AND I VE LOOKED OVER. AND I
HAVE SEEN THE PROMISED LAND. I MAY NOT GET THERE WITH YOU. BUT I
WANT YOU TO KNOW TONIGHT, THAT WE, AS A PEOPLE, WILL GET TO THE
PROMISED LAND.”
2. THIS YEAR, THE CELEBRATION OF DR. KINGS BIRTHDAY AND LEGACY
FALLS ON THE EVE OF ANOTHER HISTORIC EVENT THAT MAY BE SEEN AS THE
FRUIT OF DR. KINGS LIFE LONG LABOR IN THE FIELD OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND
LEADERSHIP FOR CHANGE THROUGH NON-VIOLENT MEANS–THE INAUGURATION
AS PRESIDENT OF BARACK OBAMA, THE FIRST MAN TO HOLD THE OFFICE
WHOSE LINEAGE IS BI-RACIAL, A FATHER FROM KENYA AND A KANSAS-BORN
AMERICAN MOTHER. WERE DR. KING TO HAVE LIVED TO WITNESS THIS
EVENT, ONE IMAGINES HE WOULD REGARD IT AS GREAT PROGRESS TOWARD THE
DREAM OF WHICH HE SO ELOQUENTLY SPOKE IN HIS MORE FAMOUS “I HAVE A
DREAM” SPEECH.
3. DR. KING WAS BORN ON 15 JANUARY 1929 IN ATLANTA AND GREW TO
FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS FATHER AND MATERNAL GRANDFATHER,
BECOMING A PASTOR AND PROPONENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS. AFTER COMPLETING
HIS STUDIES AT THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY, DR.
KING ACCEPTED A POSITION AS THE SENIOR PASTOR, DEXTER AVENUE
BAPTIST CHURCH, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA IN 1954. THE DECISION BY ROSA
PARKS, A BLACK PASSENGER, WHO REFUSED TO GIVE UP HER SEAT TO A
WHITE PASSENGER ON A MONTGOMERY CITY BUS IN 1955, LED DR. KING AND
OTHERS TO ORGANIZE A SUCCESSFUL, 11-MONTH BOYCOTT OF THE MONTGOMERY
CITY BUSES. THE BOYCOTT ENDED WHEN THE SUPREME COURT RULED THAT
ALABAMAS LAWS, WHICH REQUIRED RACIALLY SEGREGATED SEATING, WERE
UNCONSTITUTIONAL. DR. KING HELD FAST TO HIS PRINCIPLES OF
NONVIOLENCE AND SUCCESSFULLY PUSHED FOR THE PASSAGE OF THE CIVIL
RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 AND THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.
4. TODAY, BECAUSE DR. KING WORKED TOWARD A DREAM OF EQUALITY, HIS
BIRTHDAY IS CELEBRATED AS A “DAY OF SERVICE.” DR. KING BELIEVED IN
A NATION OF FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, AND ENCOURAGED ALL
CITIZENS TO LIVE UP TO THE PURPOSE AND POTENTIAL OF AMERICA BY
APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENCE TO MAKE THE COUNTRY A BETTER
PLACE TO LIVE. THE “DAY OF SERVICE” IS A WAY TO TRANSFORM HIS LIFE
AND TEACHINGS INTO COMMUNITY SERVICE THAT HELPS SOLVE SOCIAL
PROBLEMS.
5. I ENCOURAGE THE COAST GUARD FAMILY TO MARK DR. KINGS 80TH
BIRTHDAY BY PARTICIPATING IN COMMUNITY EVENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE
THAT PROVIDE A SAFETY NET FOR LOW INCOME POPULATIONS, AND TO
REFLECT ON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ONE OF AMERICAS GREAT HEROES.
6. TERRI A. DICKERSON, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS SENDS.
7. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED.

What took so long? Coast Guard didn’t send help to Patriot for nearly 21/2 hours

By Richard Gaines, Staff Writer Gloucester Daily Times

Coast Guard Station Gloucester, on its own, was not allowed early Saturday to launch a search for a missing fishing boat.

Instead, the Coast Guard command in Boston decided not to even begin searching for the Patriot until more than two hours after Station Gloucester was informed that its two-man crew had taken it fishing, and that communication between the boat’s co-owners — the captain and his pregnant wife, who was onshore in Gloucester — had ominously ceased, except for the remote radio signal from a fire alarm.

Full Story at the Gloucester Daily Times

A Day in the Life of the Commandant Part II (Coast Guard Channel)