[1SR-L] State of the Coast Guard -002/07

[Announcement List for First Southern District]

To:	ALAUXDIST1SR
Frm:	CDR Young, DIRAUX
Subj:	State of the Coast Guard -002/07


1. FYI

From: Allen, Thad Admiral
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 4:55 PM
Subject: State of the Coast Guard

To the Men and Women of the Coast Guard: 

This afternoon, I delivered my first State of the Coast Guard Address as
your Commandant.  I also had the opportunity to recognize a number of Coast
Guard heroes in attendance from around the nation.  They represented each of
you in the extraordinary performance of your duties.  

As I told more than 600 Coast Guard men and women, government officials,
industry representatives and media in attendance, the State of the Coast
Guard is strong today.  At the same time, we have challenges before us, and
we need to position the Service for the future.  The Coast Guard
demonstrates operational excellence in everything we do, and our men and
women are a source of personal inspiration and pride.  This excellence is
the result of your collective effort and your adherence to our core values
of honor, respect and devotion to duty.  Your dedication, hard work and
courage have made the Coast Guard more relevant and more visible to the
Nation than any time in our history. 

In the course of my remarks, I highlighted the fact that we also face
significant challenges.  These challenges will require us to think and act
differently if we are to sustain our tremendous pace and our operational
excellence.  Our command and control structures, our support systems, and
our business practices have failed to keep up with our rapid growth.  We can
sustain operations like this for a while, and we will always muster all
hands for events like Katrina.  But we cannot do so indefinitely.  

To meet the challenges and threats of the 21st Century, we need to
reorganize our command and control structure around one commander in the
field responsible for Mission Execution and reorganize and realign our
support systems around one commander in the field responsible for Mission
Support.  We will do both during the course of my tenure.  While this change
may seem radical, it is necessary.  But it will take the support and
willingness of our entire Service.  I ask you, as I did this afternoon, to
be responsive and flexible as individuals, so that the Coast Guard can
remain so as an organization.  

I also unveiled a new Coast Guard Strategy for Maritime Safety, Security and
Stewardship.  This strategy will guide strategic change through my tenure as
commandant.  It lays out the necessary changes required to strengthen
maritime regimes, achieve domain awareness, and enhance operational
capabilities.  It is the Coast Guard's commitment to the American people to
remain Semper Paratus for all hazards and all threats.  Two copies will be
mailed to each unit and a copy is now available on CG Central.  I encourage
everyone to read it.  

I have committed to the Secretary and the President to build a Coast Guard
that will be Semper Paratus - not just today but tomorrow as well.  It will
be a journey of learning and change.  

The world is changing and so is America's Coast Guard.  I invite you to join
me on this journey. 

Admiral Thad Allen

A complete transcription of the Commandant's State of the Coast Guard
Address is available on CG Central and on the Internet at
www.uscg.mil/comdt.  A PODCAST of the address is also available online at
www.military.com to viewers outside of the Coast Guard Standard Network.  


2.     The purpose of this list is to keep Auxiliarists in the First
Southern abreast of current developments, policies, manuals, etc. 

3.  Internet Release and Distribution is Authorized

4. CDR Young, Sends