Coast Guard, Canadian EOD Specialists Train to Mitigate Maritime Threats

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Coast Guard deployable specialized forces and Royal Canadian Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians trained for maritime interdiction operations during the opening events of the force integration training phase of Rim of the Pacific Southern California.

This year marks the first time that the Coast Guard’s Maritime Security Response Team West has participated in Rimpac. The Maritime Security Response Team is the Coast Guard’s counterterror unit.

The Coast Guardsmen and Canadian sailors, from Fleet Diving Unit Pacific, partnered in the training event under the umbrella of Commander Task Force 177, Rimpac’s mine warfare commander. Maritime Security Response Team West is headquartered here, and Fleet Diving Unit Pacific is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia.

The focus of the daylong event was for the teams to observe and train alongside one another during maritime interdiction operations while boarding a training vessel identified as both high-value and high-threat that was assessed to be carrying improvised explosive devices. The added capability provided by the EOD technicians laid the groundwork for successful future operations where additional expertise is required.

Aligning Tactics

“We work closely with a variety of federal law enforcement and other government agencies on a regular basis,” said Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Richard Young, a maritime enforcement specialist and Maritime Security Response Team West’s operations chief. “Routinely, we get aboard the vessel, gain positive control and ensure the vessel is safe prior to turning over custody to another agency or technical unit like EOD techs. Our training today helped us observe and integrate with our Canadian EOD partners to make sure our tactics, techniques, and procedures are aligned before we move into the next phase of the Rimpac [Southern California] exercise.”

Maritime Security Response Team West began operations in 2017, and the command’s mission is to provide the nation with highly specialized and maritime-dedicated tactical teams able to support both homeland security and national defense operations.

Commander Task Force 177 is the Rimpac 2018 mine warfare commander, operating in the Rimpac Southern California operating area. Its mission is to integrate and train in the operations area and to conduct mine warfare and maritime security operations to deter aggression and promote freedom of navigation and stability. CTF 177 is composed of 26 units with about 1,100 personnel representing seven countries: the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in Rimpac until Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, Rimpac provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world’s oceans. Rimpac 2018 is the 26th iteration in a series that began in 1971.

Mattis Plans Visits to Croatia, Norway After Attending NATO Summit

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary James N. Mattis plans to visit Croatia and Norway next week after he attends NATO’s summit, Defense Department officials announced today.

The secretary leaves July 10 for the July 11-12 meeting of NATO’s heads of state and government.

In Brussels, Mattis will join President Donald J. Trump and leaders of allied and partner nations at the NATO summit to reinforce U.S. priorities, including more equitable burden sharing, strengthening the alliance’s deterrence and defense capabilities and enhancing NATO’s role in fighting terrorism, officials said.

The secretary then will travel to Zagreb, Croatia, where officials said he will meet with defense ministers of the U.S.-Adriatic Charter to reinforce U.S. support to southeast Europe.

The secretary’s final stop on his overseas trip is Oslo, Norway, where he will meet with Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen and Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide.

Army Guard Soldiers to See Tuition Assistance Program Changes

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Changes to the Army National Guard’s Tuition Assistance Program are set to go into effect Aug. 5, allowing Army Guard members immediate access to benefits after they complete basic and advanced individual training.

“Previously, until this policy change, soldiers had to complete AIT and then, when they came back to their units, they had to wait a year before they could use the education benefits,” said Ken Hardy, chief of the Army Guard’s education services branch. “Soldiers will now come home [from AIT] and they can immediately use their benefits.”

Also eliminated in the coming changes is the requirement to complete 10 years of service to use Tuition Assistance to pursue a master’s degree, Hardy said, adding that those benefits will now be tied to completion of professional military education requirements.

“Now it’s tied to professional development and a particular level of school that enlisted, officers and warrant officers have to complete,” he said.

For enlisted soldiers, the Advanced Leaders Course must be completed, while officers need to complete the Captains Career Course. Warrant officers must complete the Warrant Officers Advanced Course to be eligible.

However, Hardy noted, the military education requirements come into play only if the Army Guard member used Tuition Assistance to complete his or her bachelor’s degree. “If a soldier never used TA, the [professional development] requirements don’t apply,” he said.

The military education requirement holds true if Tuition Assistance was used for even a part of earning an undergraduate degree, Hardy explained. “So, if you used it just one time and then, say, you got a scholarship from somewhere else, you’re locked in to having to complete one of those military education courses to use it for a master’s degree,” he said, stressing that only one of those military course requirements must be met.

“If I was enlisted previously and completed ALC and then, for example, took a direct commission, but I haven’t yet completed the Captains Career Course, I’m still good,” he said. “Those benefits can still be used. Only one of those courses needs to be completed.”

Reason for Requirement

The military education requirement was put in place to ensure soldiers are on track in their military careers while pursuing greater education opportunities, Hardy said, adding that exception-to-policy letters may be available for some soldiers who haven’t met those requirements for reasons outside their control. “You have some soldiers who have put in for school and it’s a three-year wait for an open seat,” he said.

Those exception-to-policy letters are still in the works, however.

“We’re going to let it ride and see what kind of feedback we’re getting from soldiers and how many are in that situation,” Hardy said. “We’ve got to see how big of an issue it is first. If it’s really a big problem, we may look at writing a policy to allow it, and if it’s a small problem, at least allowing some exceptions to policy for these unique cases.”

Regardless of whether Tuition Assistance is used for an undergraduate or graduate degree, soldiers are still limited to 16 credit hours per year, Hardy said, though that limit may be expanded in the future. “That’s our next thing we want to look at and see if we can change the 16-credit-hour cap,” he added.

Guard soldiers should check with their unit education officer on available benefits, Hardy said, adding that individual states may offer tuition assistance plans of their own that fill those gaps or provide other benefits. Those unit education officers also can provide greater details of the Aug. 5 changes.

The coming changes will ensure soldiers have easier access to education opportunities and the benefits they’ve earned. “The biggest benefit [to the soldier] is easier access,” Hardy said. “It’s always good to have as much access to your benefits as you can possibly have, with few restrictions.”