Port Security Specialist Force Notes May 2007 - Topic Powered by eve community

Port Security Specialist
FORCE NOTES
May 2007
Official disclaimer: This newsletter is for the sole purpose of
passing information to members of the Port Security Specialist
rating. The material contained within is not for record
purposes nor does it represent any official Coast Guard policy.
Summer is upon us, hopefully all had a safe and enjoyable
Memorial Day weekend.
One of our local TV stations ran an unscientific study over
about a 2 week period to determine the best way to commute
around the Metro area. One vehicle used the HOV lanes, one was
restricted to a single lane and a third was allowed to switch
back and forth between lanes. Not surprisingly the HOV vehicle
‘won’ every time, with very little difference between the other
2. Why do I bring this up? Did you notice the use of the term
‘won’? The station even called it a ‘race’ numerous times.
Driving is definitely not a race (unless you are in the
Indianapolis 435 – marked down from 500!).
I did an informal survey while waiting for my bus one day last
week. I counted 48 citable traffic violations, from illegal lane
changes to failure to yield. While none of the violations were
especially bad (no accidents!), that many in less than 10
minutes at one intersection (and I only counted the ones on the
corner I was on) shows how non-seriously many people take their
responsibilities when getting behind the wheel. Bottom line,
while (hopefully!) we are all good, courteous and safe drivers,
there are lots of folks out there that aren’t and have
absolutely no regard for anyone else on the highway. Be careful
in your travels this summer, we want to keep all of you safe and
healthy.
Some of you may have already heard that my replacement has been
selected. MCPO Sam Allred will be taking over the helm as the
PSRFMC, we are still working on the time lines for the
changeover, I’m still here until early fall. The primary reason
for the change is that there are only a limited number of
positions of this type and command felt that it was only fair to
allow someone else a shot at this position. MCPO Allred
originally enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 and served in SE
Asia during the Viet Nam conflict. He later affiliated with the
Coast Guard Reserve and has held a variety of CG positions. He
is currently on ADSW in New Orleans for Katrina cleanup
operations. On the civilian side he has worked as a police
officer (was an AP in the AF) and retired from the US Postal
Service with 31 years service. Welcome aboard Sam!
How many of you have read Commandants SITREP #3? Hard to believe
it but ADM Allen has been Commandant for a year already. It is
available at various sources, the easiest for most of you is the
Reserve Web Page. Since I know a lot of you do not have regular
access to a CG computer, I’m going to highlight some items he
emphasized, he calls them analogous to Night Orders so you can
believe this is what he wants from each of us.
1. Be flexible.
2. Trust in leadership.
3. Understand what we are doing.
4. Talk about it.
5. Be professional.
6. Stay focused on the mission.
7. Most importantly – take care of each other; take care of your
family and take care of yourself.
Read the entire SITREP at your earliest convenience, he explains
what he is looking for in each of those 7 areas. His tag line
under his signature block says it well: “All Hazards…All
Threats…Always Ready”
ALCOAST 223/07 recently came out. It deals with some specific
uniform issues regarding the wearing of the ODUs, and also gives
some information regarding the pending changes in them. One item
that caught my eye was that it is required to tuck in your
bootlaces (hmmmm where have I seen that before?) Boots must be
well blackened and if you are in an office assignment, they
‘shall be polished to a shine’.
The single biggest change is that all insignia and devices must
be embroidered effective 15 July. Those members who have
qualification devices (remember you can only wear one), the tape
must run the full width of the pocket, to line up with the U.S.
Coast Guard tape. Now I know a lot of you (me included) probably
do not have the tapes the full width (there was no specific
guidance until recently), there is some movement to possibly
grandfather those who cut the tapes short and centered the
device, but don’t hold your breath. It is absolute that any
uniform acquired after 15 July will have to meet the new
standard, some of us may have to make a trip to the tailor IF
older uniforms are not grandfathered.
Ball caps will not have anything attached or embroidered except
for appropriate rank devices, no more embroidering or attaching
pins to the rear of the cap. Unit ball caps are still
authorized.
There is also further guidance regarding ironing the ODUs (I
thought the care instructions were pretty clear cut….) – please
don’t scorch them. Reserve members now receive Clothing
Maintenance Allowance – not like the ‘old days’ when we could
get replacement in kind. Bottom line, if you wear out a set of
uniforms, you replace them from your CMA, take care of them and
they will last a long time.
There is also additional guidance regarding wearing the ODU for
official travel (you can even fly on commercial aircraft in them
– when appropriate) and commuting etc, but it is still not an
authorized liberty uniform.
Advancements: there is a bit of anxiety regarding the
demographics of the rating, specifically we have more PS3s on
board than we are authorized (not necessarily a bad thing) but
we have fewer PS2s (also not necessarily a bad thing). While
neither is a problem, it has caused concern that we are not
advancing members at a high enough of a rate. I think everyone
already knows where I stand on that, the rating has overall
experienced a fairly high and consistent advancement rate. We
have cleared the list for PS2 every year (2004-2007), in other
words if you were a PS3 and got all of your requirements met and
took the RSWE, you got advanced on 01 January. If you are having
trouble getting the requirements met, talk to your lead petty
officer and get the needed help.
Some folks have mentioned that the EOCT for the PS2 course is
hard to pass, but the feedback I get from the field is that if a
member does two things, they will pass – first: study! Second,
if you don’t pass the first time, try to determine what areas
you had problems with and study some more and take the test
again. If anyone is interested I can put you in touch with some
of the hard chargers out there who have created study groups and
learned the material, and it shows up in the advancement rates
in those AORs.
Reminder, you need to have all of your prerequisites completed
by close of business on 30 June to be eligible to sit for the
RSWE. If you are eligible, make sure and keep 20 October open –
and don’t forget that you can use an RMP for taking the exam
vice using a regular drill for it.
Remember as well that advancement is not a right or guaranteed,
it is a privilege that you earn – and with the advancement goes
added responsibility. If you are not sure you are willing to
accept that additional responsibility, maybe you ought to take a
realistic look at yourself and capabilities and then decide
accordingly.
A few words about terminology, a CG (or Navy for that matter)
specialty (your job!) is your rating. Your rate is your pay
grade. And only officers have rank and they get promoted,
enlisted members get advanced. I know it might be getting nit
picky BUT how much credibility do you lose if you use
terminology improperly? How many times have you heard a
newscaster (or someone similar) mangle a word, usually
mispronouncing some ones name or a town. Example: Spokane (it’s
Spo can, not Spo cane) and it is in Washington state (not
warshington). Just some friendly advice (and it just might save
some prospective CPOs a few bucks at initiation!) and a reminder
that we seldom get remembered for what we say/do correctly but
you can bet that if we commit a verbal atrocity nobody will ever
forget! BTW, we use magazine fed weapons, not clip fed (unless
you are still shooting an M1 Garand)!
LETSGO! This is the acronym for the study group that is working
on what may very well result in the regular component version of
the PS rating. There is an extremely high probability that this
rating will become a reality sometime in the near future.
But let me dispel some myths that revolve around this issue. One
of those myths is that this will just be a carbon copy of the
current PS rating. I think I can categorically state that there
will be some major adjustments to create what we think is the
appropriate mix of duties and responsibilities. I believe that
the current PS EPQs (especially the new ones going thru
concurrent clearance) are at around 80% of what the rating will
need to be effective. This means that we will have to add some
additional competencies to properly reflect additional duties
and responsibilities.
Another myth is that the PS rating is just going to be done away
with. This one may be a bit closer to the truth, but we are not
just going to be eliminated. Some (possibly many) of us may have
to change to another rating that is more reflective of what we
currently do – if you are currently driving a boat you might be
asked to become a BM for example. There is still much work to be
done on all of the issues, don’t be surprised if there ends up
being a name change for our current rating. Bottom line is that
when (not if) this takes place we will afford all current PS
rated members every opportunity to best use their respective
skills and abilities. Will we be able to make everyone happy,
probably not but we certainly will try. Remember, mission
execution is the primary driver behind this effort. Any changes
that you will be asked to make will be with that end goal in
mind.
The transition will most likely work like the split off to make
the MST reserve component like was done in 1999. Or for you real
old dogs like when we created the original version of FSs (Fire
& Safety Technicians – back when cooks were SSs!). Hopefully we
will use the lessons learned from both of those evolutions to
make it better, faster and easier for all concerned.
Another ‘myth’ is that there is already a name chosen for the
rating, that one is totally up in the air. There have been
several potentials used, including just keeping PS (pro and con
on that). Who knows, maybe we will have a contest to develop a
new rating badge and rating name. If that happens, remember it
would have to be reflective of what the rating does (one of the
cons for PS – it tends to only give connotation of port security
rather than the broad scope of mission sets).
Now for the biggest MYTH: only the TBN (to be named) rating will
get to do LE. This is one of the biggest resistance factors but
is totally unwarranted. Much as is currently done (BO with the
rest of the team as BTMs and other support folks) the TBN rating
will be the lead but we will still need other folks trained in
various aspects of law enforcement and security operations. No
one person (or rating) can be a total expert in all facets of
the operations that we do, it’s just not humanly possible. We
will always need subject matter specialists of one sort or
another. No single marine inspector is an expert at all of the
various inspection duties (last time I looked there were 44 ‘M’
competencies – some of which literally take years to master). In
that same vein, even with dedicated, rated specialists, there
will still be a need for additional personnel for various
aspects of the law enforcement missions, especially when we are
involved in military operations or maritime security missions.
Anybody out there think that SEALs or Green Berets operate
totally on their own? If so I got a bridge up in Brooklyn I’ll
make you a deal on!
There is still a huge amount of work to be done and of course
the work group welcomes input from the field. You can send
suggestions regarding duties and responsibilities directly to me
or to any of the primary work team leaders: CDR John McKinley
(CO of PSU 309), OSCM George Ingraham (MCPO CGRF ret.) or LT
Matt Austin (MSRT).
Overall this will be a major change in much of how we as a
rating are used and I think it is going to be very positive for
us. Will there be growing pains, of course but I think it is the
right thing to do, both for our rating and for our service. To
quote ADM Allen (from SITREP 3) ‘we will assess staffing……as we
transition to a mission execution focused organization’
(emphasis added). Folks, in the long run that is what it’s all
about, mission execution. Anything that adds value to that
capability seems to me to be a positive thing.
I have several trips in the works so I look forward to seeing
many of you thru the summer. I’ll get out at least one more set
of PS Force Notes prior to my departure and will make an extra
effort to keep each of you up to date on the changes to our
rating. Bear in mind that this is not going to be an
instantaneous transformation, my best ‘guesstimate’ is that even
with the existing framework we currently have in place it will
probably take a minimum of 2 years to implement. Hmm, maybe I
should have put that in the ‘myth’ section!
We have maintained our numbers at the 98% level thru my tenure,
I appreciate all the hard work you have all put in toward
keeping our rating healthy and an integral part of the reserve
component of our great service. It has been a rare privilege to
serve as the RFMC for some of the Coast Guard Reserve’s best and
brightest. Keep up the good work, no matter what the future
holds for our rating and each of you as individuals.
Be safe (don’t forget sunscreen when needed), keep alert and
watch out for your shipmates. And as always if you have any
comments, questions, suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
PSCM Gary Sherrill
USCG HQ CG3841
2100 2nd Ave SW
Washington, DC 20539
Phone: 202-372-1343
Mobile: 202-906-0833
Email: gary.w.sherrill@uscg.mil

Posts: 39 | Registered: Wed 06 November 2002

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