Coast Guard response to distress call on Jewell Island, ME

[Tinman]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Do they carry an on-board sharpshooter? I should think there are more occasions for that then all that heavy stuff.

As far as I understand it: They will have the bast shooter designated as a "sharpshooter". However, if you mean a well practiced sniper I would say no.
If you all recall there was a hostage situation off Somalia a few years ago. The US Navy units on scene had to call for US Navy SEALs to act as snipers. The Navy & Coast Guard don't really use snipers. They are for anti-ship combat.

The US Marines are technically a part of the Navy. The provide security on Navy ships & facilities. Snipers would only be part of the SEALs or Marine units. I don't know if the USCG has a SWAT team (I doubt they do) but if they did they would have snipers too.

[fredtheobviouspseudonym]

Remember that to the Coast Guard the "Great War on Drugs" was NOT just an attention-getting title.

Years ago I talked to a retired Coast Guard petty officer (I forget the grade.) He said that operations in the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean against drug runners were hazardous, demanded lots of good judgment & courage, and often involved shooting.

The USCG apparently rotated many of their sea-going personnel through the "drug war zone" and so many of the personnel on your helo & cutter will be effectively veterans.

That said I expect that a search & rescue helo in Maine would not have a machine gun & ammo mounted on a regular basis. Choppers are pretty weight sensitive and even c. 40-50 lbs of gun & ammo might be better used to carry an extra 8 gallons or so of fuel. Also, there is the public image issue -- citizens upset by a "militarized" rescue force might be less likely to encourage their representatives to vote for the next budget increase.

Again, I'm sure that the crews of rescue helos would have sidearms & (I'd guess) one M-4 or shotgun just in case they found a rescue mission was some sort of trap. . .

Also -- take a look at the modern large cutters -- there's a overview at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...sses_and_types

'
The Hamilton's have a 3" OTO/Melara rapid-fire gun & other weapons.

Also, there is a Sector Command in South Portland, Maine. According to the usual suspect (Wikipedia) this command includes an intelligence staff and an enforcement division.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Tinman

Having visited USCG cutters in NYC during fleet week I know that they will have at least 1 .50 BMG.
Many cutters will have a 20mm cannon (or larger) in a bow turret and a .50 BMG on port & starbord mountings (with gun shields). They will have lots of pistols and some M-16 family rifles. Maybe a few shotguns too.
Most coast guard stations & many cutters will have a helicopter too.
The helicopter will have a door mounted medium machine gun.

Thanks, that's useful.

So Coast Guard helicopters are always armed, even if primarily intended for search and rescue? Even if there is no helicopter in South Portland, Portsmouth base is only some 65 miles away, a short hop for a helicopter.

I'd think having a cutter sail a few miles is probably cheaper than spinning up a chopper, as I'd think that the distress call caused them alarm, but wasn't in itself enough to justify planning and executing a full-scale assault on Jewell Island. After all, there is a guard force there working on contract for the federal government, some of whose members are even Coast Guard Reserve or Auxiliary.

And while none of the guards can be reached by radio, no more than the federal agent, O'Toole, who radioed in saying that the guards had attacked him and kidnapped his boss, the Warden will be assuring them by phone that things are fine. I don't know how he'll explain O'Toole's distress call or the fact that neither O'Toole nor his boss, Banks, are available to speak with (the OIG of the DHS will confirm that the agents are on the island), nor how he'll explain that there's a jammer preventing radios from working (in case that the Coast Guard can detect the white-noise jamming).

[dcarson]

I'd expect that if the Coast Guard personnel are locals or have been there a while that there will be at least a few hunters among them. So the second trip might bring along hunting rifles that have more range then the issue M-16s.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by dcarson

I'd expect that if the Coast Guard personnel are locals or have been there a while that there will be at least a few hunters among them. So the second trip might bring along hunting rifles that have more range then the issue M-16s.

If they take fire from emplaced crew-served weapons, I'm betting that a second trip will be made only when they can show up with a cutter fielding 20+ mm, two M2HB and a tactical team. Also armed helicopters and plenty of federal tactical support coming.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Do they carry an on-board sharpshooter? I should think there are more occasions for that then all that heavy stuff.

"That heavy stuff" is meant as anti-vehicular, and when they need it, they do really need it.

Originally Posted by Icelander

Sure, she might have used social engineering and manipulation as a defence mechanism, especially as she had been placed in a desperate situation where she had no other means of protection, but blaming her for everyone going post-apocalyptic raider gang nuts is just alarmist. And victim blaming.

Says the person who has obviously already fallen under mental domination. /tinfoilhat


Alternately it sounds like the GM watched the last season of the BBC's Sherlock Holmes in prep for this adventure...

[Tinman]

Originally Posted by Icelander

So Coast Guard helicopters are always armed, even if primarily intended for search and rescue?

Slight miscommunication here (& it's my fault). Weather they are armed or not would depend on the mission they are doing. However, it only takes a few minutes to attach an MG to the door mounts.

Even if there is no helicopter in South Portland, Portsmouth base is only some 65 miles away, a short hop for a helicopter.

I'd think having a cutter sail a few miles is probably cheaper than spinning up a chopper,

The US government is not known for it's frugality. The military (& the USCG is a part of the US military) will do whatever is most expediant.
Especially if it's just burning some gas.

as I'd think that the distress call caused them alarm, but wasn't in itself enough to justify planning and executing a full-scale assault on Jewell Island. After all, there is a guard force there working on contract for the federal government, some of whose members are even Coast Guard Reserve or Auxiliary.

And while none of the guards can be reached by radio, no more than the federal agent, O'Toole, who radioed in saying that the guards had attacked him and kidnapped his boss, the Warden will be assuring them by phone that things are fine. I don't know how he'll explain O'Toole's distress call or the fact that neither O'Toole nor his boss, Banks, are available to speak with (the OIG of the DHS will confirm that the agents are on the island), nor how he'll explain that there's a jammer preventing radios from working (in case that the Coast Guard can detect the white-noise jamming).

In situations like the one you just described & possibly including USCG personel (that the people on shore might know). Time is usually critical.
They will send what ever is fastest backed up by a cutter.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I don't know how he'll explain ... that there's a jammer preventing radios from working (in case that the Coast Guard can detect the white-noise jamming).

They'll be able to detect it, see High-Tech, p212. There isn't very much they can do to improve their ability to pick up a transmitter that's being jammed with white noise unless they can use a highly directional antenna from a position that lets it "see" the transmitter but not the jammer. The person operating the transmitter can try some things, see that page in High-Tech.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by johndallman

They'll be able to detect it, see High-Tech, p212. There isn't very much they can do to improve their ability to pick up a transmitter that's being jammed with white noise unless they can use a highly directional antenna from a position that lets it "see" the transmitter but not the jammer. The person operating the transmitter can try some things, see that page in High-Tech.

The page in High-Tech is pretty generic and, obviously, assumes a full-size military model radio where more or less everything is adjustable. Modern, user-friendly models of personal radios often seem to exchange that adjustability for simplicity, so that they are almost as easy for personnel with minimal training to use as a cell phone, but simply won't allow any operation that isn't in the preset buttons.

The person with the transmitter has skill 14 in Electronics Operation and Repair (Communications). He might have skill 11 or so from Dabbler in ECCM still remaining from his two year stint as a communications specialist in the Army, but I think skill in that area is very perishable (it's been like six years since then) and in any case, he spent his career mostly setting up comms networks and supporting IT people.

He's got a Motorola XTS 5000, Model III. Is that complex enough to use the rules in HT unmodified?

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Icelander

He's got a Motorola XTS 5000, Model III. Is that complex enough to use the rules in HT unmodified?

I'm not sure. His best bet, given all the bands that radio can use, is to try to find one that the jammer doesn't cover. The question will be if the Coast Guard are doing the same. I'd expect this to be part of the radio procedure within an organisation, but I don't know if there's a shared procedure across US federal agencies. Getting further from the jammer is a fallback if it covers all the bands he can use, but has obvious tactical problems.