The Impoverished Coast Guard
This is discouraging about one of America's most overworked and essential government departments:
As one example of the aging cutter fleet the USCG must work with, Master Chief Franklin Welsch said the service's fleet was out of commission more than 50 percent of the time last year -- about four times what is supposed to be the average. Respect for the USCG professionalism and capabilities appears to be widespread yet, perhaps, taken for granted...
How about cutting the Navy's budget in favor of the Coasties, since the service is often pulled into navy service in wartime and emergencies? Maybe the military's new littoral combat ships could be manned jointly by Coast Guard and Navy personnel. Just a thought.