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I’m not about to get into continual debate of whether the Coast Guard has since then focused too intensely on the Homeland Security mission and not enough on its legacy Search and Rescue mission… we can do that after the holiday weekend. But I still remembering the day they were commissioned while on duty up at Air Station Kodiak and thinking how cool it would be to do that job… I guess it was the Infantryman in me. With that, I wish all the MSST’s a Happy Birthday and a safe holiday weekend. Minimal postings as it’s time for sun (it’s too hot here in Chesapeake), family, and food. Enjoy the weekend and fireworks… I know you will, but I’ll say it again- BE SAFE!  Click to enlarge
And though our C-130 is cool… that Guppy looking thing in the background is kind of neat looking as well. There is no doubt in the minds of the internet savvy that the Coast Guard, upon jumping in head first, had come out strong in the Social Media front when comparing to other government/military services. I’m not just talking about unit blogs, I’m talking more of the real social media medium’s such as that of Twitter and Facebook, the two most popular networks they’re involved in. I did a post recently on the use of Facebook in the prosecution of a Search and Rescue case up in the New England area which brought about more conversation off line than on. And from these conversations more questions came about with the Coast Guard, social media, search and rescue, and a few questions of liability… I’ll explain. The GoodThis should be a relativity short section, not because there’s not enough “good” in the Coast Guards social media prowess, no, this will be short as we’ve covered the uses of social media since its inception into the Coast Guard’s daily mission… several times over. But to recap- the Coast Guard actively uses Twitter and Facebook on a regular basis. In fact the Coast Guard, via it’s various units, has no less than 22 official Twitter accounts and 12 Facebook accounts. This is a lot of pushing power to get the Coast Guard message out there. We’ve also discussed the CG’s uses of YouTube and Flickr; do I need to go into the myriad of official blogs again? Good job Coast Guard. And just to clarify, the excepted definition of Social Media, as used here, is “a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content1.” In using this definition I’ve stumbled upon a fundamental flaw in the way that most of the CG uses their social media mediums: one way information flow (though I guess it is sharing). As of now if you look at nearly any of the twitter accounts owned by the CG you’ll note that the holders of said accounts follow very few, if any, other people on Twitter. So essentially you’re looking at a replacement of the RSS feed. Though this isn’t all bad, it kind of defeats the purpose of even having these accounts. The ScenarioConsider this scenario as you read on; it’s 0230 on a Sunday morning when the official Twitter account of FORCECOM receives the following message:
And to make it a little more complicated a few friends of LzyMan Re-Tweet (RT) the message (a form of forwarding) so plenty of other people see it as well- even the spelling error. The Questionable
These questions came to mind with the aforementioned Facebook case. And it just so happens that there has been a similar case using Twitter involving an overdue mariner off the coast of South America (read the Amver blog for more details). Long story short the folks at Amver contact the Twitter-ie and had them contact a Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center (Command Center) – Of all the Twitter accounts that the Coast Guard has they’re all being followed by a differing amount of people from zero to several with a varying degree of two sided activity. So instead of wondering if the people on the other end of these accounts would know what to do if in receipt of such a message let’s ask the more important question: are any of them obligated to do anything upon receiving what appears to be a “we’re sinking and we need help” message? The current version of the Coast Guard’s Search and Rescue Policy (COMDTINST M16130.2D) hasn’t been updated since 2004 (though I’ve heard one is coming soon) so there is no provisions to actually debate a policy- only common logic can play out here. As a SAR controller and a self professed tech geek I say yes, and this is why . The Sea LawyerAs it turns out the keeper of our USCGFORCCOM account does reach out and converse with the public giving the sense of a two way conversationalist from the public to the Coast Guards and back again. Here is where it could get sticky- what if our fictional user, LzyMan, knows that some Guardian on the other end of @USCGFORCECOM communicates with the pubic and that is why they sent this message to USCGFORCECOM? They did say their vessel was sinking so the Coast Guard is surly to respond to right? Now, if this were in the public timeline I’m 99.99999% sure that it will be RT’d several times over, I know I would, giving it even more visibility. LzyMan obviously considers this medium a way that the Coast Guard communicates with the public; our problem has emerged. As the tech savvy generation underneath us relies on the use of texting/SMSing/Twittering for their primary means of communication the perception is that others (i.e. the USCG) do the same. A simple but effective example: I was at the laundry mat sitting next to a guy with a teenage daughter who he couldn’t get in touch with via calling her on her cell phone. As we were talking about it he remembered to Tweet her which she immediately responded to. There is a perception that may be implied by some of our official Twitter users that this is indeed a means of communication. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something that needs to be dealt with soon. As we continue our service wide adventure into the social media rabbit hole there is no doubt we won’t be able to get ourselves out of it, but we can mitigate problems of a cave-in. So where does this put the Coast Guard? As of late we’ve had the two separate uses of social “tools” in doing our SAR missions, not to mention past cases of eMail notification by non-commercial means. And as I was reminded by a friend- what if Twitter or Facebook were as popular as they are now during Katrina? Many people couldn’t get voice service but could send text messages which enables one to update their Twitter or Facebook status. Now with that notion out of the way, think of what’s going to happen this summer if a large storm/hurricane makes landfall- will the Coast Guard be monitoring all of their accounts for potential SAR cases? As of today- no. There are Pubic Affairs types out there that maintain watch over social media, but only for the latest of what’s behind discussed and not necessarily a SAR case. The SolutionEither this: This is really simple… Both Twitter and Facebook offer a space on their site for a description of the account user; it’s my recommendation to place a simple “NOT FOR EMERGENCY USE” disclaimer in there or even a short URL to such a disclaimer with each update (or on occasion). I know it sound like a no brainier, but the fact that Twitter’s already been used as a means to communicate a distress case is proof enough that something needs to be done. Or this: We could set up official Facebook accounts and/or Twitter accounts for each Sector/District and encourage boaters to become “friends” of such accounts as a way of keeping tabs and communicating with them. Imagine if people started using Facebook as a means to publish their float plans? This is BAD JUJU! It’s a complex problem that I believe could have some serious problems associated with it if it’s not taken care of soon. Perhaps our IT department, working with the SAR folks, could develop a program to scour the web for such… but until then it’s time to tread lightly. And it’s been said that the other services don’t have to have such disclaimers, why should we? My answer- they don’t interact with the American public 24/7/365, that’s why. Now the real question: is this a problem?
No aircraft or cutter news to discus…. but it’s a good four pages of “what’s going on.” Download: Delivering the Goods; June 2009 (61)
A high personnel retention level led the Commandant, ADM J. William Kime, to begin implementing a high-year tenure program, otherwise known as an “up or out” policy to “improve personnel flow and opportunities for advancement.” Two significant points of the program were that they limited enlisted careers to 30 years of active service and established “professional growth points” for paygrades E-4 through E-9, which had to be attained in order to remain on active duty. Up until this time, enlisted members could remain on active duty until age 62 — the only U.S. military work force with that option. Though I didn’t join the ranks as a Coastie/Guardian until 1999 the high-year tenure effects were still being felt. As an Airman at eCity it was still the talk of what went wrong in the aviation community, closely followed by the rate merger (though I think we’ve gotten passed that). The easiest way to describe the program is this: depending on your rank, and time in service you may be separated for discharge. Can’t make rank? You may be packing your bags. Which bring me to my second point of irony- It’s now Wednesday and at least three people (one even did the “OMG did you hear?” thing) have brought to my attention a rumor (as in an item that may or may not be true) that a high-year tenure program is just around the corner from being announced. However, I don’t recall every hearing that the plan was deactivated. So for those of you who’ve been dragging you feet… time to pick ‘em and start running. Anyone else hear anything about this? If so it’s time to encourage your folks to get with their ESO’s and start getting promoted. Oh, and speaking of running- word is you may want to purchase those mandatory PT clothes soon… I’m just sayin’ ;)
Do you have a suggestion for Sean, or anyone else? Have a particular image you’d like to see as a desktop? Let us know. Downloads: First things first, thank you to Nathan Hodge for including CGBlog in his recent post of the Coast Guard and it’s social media world, Can the Coast Guard Get It Right on Social Media?, over on Wired’s Danger Room. This post is actually in response to a comment on said post on Danger Room- time for a little clarification from me, the publisher of An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog. Who owns CGBlog.org?: Who is the publisher of CGBlog.org: The whole Top-down pressure on the site deal…: We’ve stopped thinking like independent blogger…: And to the added point of lost readership, well, perhaps it’s because I don’t post unsubstantiated and exaggerated claims as other sites out there do. But I admit, some of these sites offer a great look into a potential alternate universe of Coast Guard life. I post what I have an interest in, like, don’t like, and hear. I’m not the investigative reporter as Peter is/was. I am not Peter, if you wish to follow him you’ll find his blogging has turned to Twitter… and he’s good at it. If you have a direct question… just ask it. I’ll answer real questions- but do note this is still an unofficial blog, so I’ll answer them if I want. Oh, and as it will come up, CGR did ask for an interview from me a few weeks ago- I just didn’t want to answer silly questions. Now where’s my kool-aid OneOf7K?
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There is no questioning the day that the Maritime Safety and Security Teams were born that the mission of the Coast Guard took a major shift. Regardless of such, today in 2002 was the day that MSST 91101 in Seattle was commissioned. From the 
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