The Long Blue Line (Summer 2020)

Q&A with
ADMIRAL
KARL SCHULTZ
26th Commandant of the
United States Coast Guard
Q: What are some specific events or elements of
the Coast Guard’s response during COVID-19
that demonstrate the Service’s importance to
our Nation?
A: We had three goals at the start of the pandemic:
1. Keep our workforce healthy (work force
preservation = mission readiness)
2. Continue to “Stand the Watch,” rescuing
mariners in distress and protecting the
Homeland from all threats emanating from
the sea (e.g. illicit narcotics, illegal migration,
fisheries violations).
3. Continue to facilitate maritime commerce across
the Marine Transportation System (MTS) that
generates $5.4T in annual economic activity
while supporting more than 30 million jobs.
We were able to succeed in all three of these areas:
1. The procedures we put in place allowed us
to have a very low COVID-19 rate. These
procedures included isolating crews, restrictions
on movement before deployments and training,
and ensuring everyone was provided with both
factual knowledge and guidance re: COVID-19,
and outfitted with the appropriate PPE to perform
their duties.
2. During the ongoing pandemic, the Coast
Guard has surged additional surface and
aviation platforms, plus Deployable Specialized
Forces (DSF) personnel, to the Eastern Pacific
Ocean and Caribbean Basin as part of a White
House announced surge against Transnational
Criminal Organizations. The Coast Guard
continues to partner with U.S. SOUTHERN
Command and the U.S. Navy in the fi ght to
stem the fl ow of illicit narcotics via maritime
conveyance from the Andean Ridge Source
12 SUMMER 2020
THE LONG BLUE LINE