Coast Guard Port Security Unit News

Cmdr. Geoffrey S. Deas assumed command of Coast Guard Port Security Unit 309 from Cmdr. Gerald A. “Jerry” Nauert during a change-of-command ceremony at the PSU 309 Facility, Lake Erie Business Park in Port Clinton, Saturday. Deas became the ninth commanding officer of PSU 309 during the formal ceremony officiated by Capt. Thomas E. Crabbs of the Alameda, Calif., based Coast Guard Pacific Area command. The ceremony constituted the continuity of the commanding officer’s authority and represented a total transfer of accountability from one individual to another.

The San Pedro, Calif., based Coast Guard Port Security Unit (PSU) 311 returned home Aug. 15, from a nine-month deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism. During the deployment, PSU 311 successfully maintained a continuous maritime anti-terrorism/force protection presence in the Naval Defensive Sea Area of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba directly supporting the Commander of Joint Task Force (JTF) Guantanamo (GTMO). “I couldn’t be prouder of the men and women of PSU 311 during this highly successful deployment,” said Coast Guard Cmdr.

1897-The sloop yacht, Cuyahoga broke adrift from moorings and drifted out 4 1/2 miles NE of the Plum Island, MA station. Surfmen sailed out and brought her back, turning her over to her owner. 1943-Coast Guardsmen participated in the invasion of Finschafen, New Guinea.  An Allied invasion fleet, including Coast Guard-manned landing ships, landed Australian troops.  Coast Guard-manned ships in the invasion fleet included USSs LST-18, LST-67, LST-168, and LST-204.  There were no casualties among the Coast Guard LSTs. 1990- PSU 301 became the second reserve Coast Guard port security unit deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield.  PSU 301 was staffed by reservists from Buffalo, New York.  They were stationed in Al-Jubayl, Saudi Arabia. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

1897-The sloop yacht, Cuyahoga broke adrift from moorings and drifted out 4 1/2 miles NE of the Plum Island, MA station. Surfmen sailed out and brought her back, turning her over to her owner. 1943-Coast Guardsmen participated in the invasion of Finschafen, New Guinea.  An Allied invasion fleet, including Coast Guard-manned landing ships, landed Australian troops.  Coast Guard-manned ships in the invasion fleet included USSs LST-18, LST-67, LST-168, and LST-204.  There were no casualties among the Coast Guard LSTs. 1990- PSU 301 became the second reserve Coast Guard port security unit deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield.  PSU 301 was staffed by reservists from Buffalo, New York.  They were stationed in Al-Jubayl, Saudi Arabia. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam Upham, pictured left and Petty Officer 3rd Class Todd Robinson patrol the waters near U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba April 13. Upham and Robinson are both members of Coast Guard Port Security Unit 313, based in Tacoma, Wash. PSU 313 is responsible for anti-terrorism force protection at the base and has been deployed since December, 2007. Official photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeff Pollinger.

The members of U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit 308 (PSU 308), based in Gulfport, Miss., are scheduled to return home on Thursday to Gulfport’s Army National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center. The men and women of PSU 308 have completed a seven-month deployment, protecting the Port of Ash Shuaiba, Kuwait. At the request of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Commander U.S. Central Command, PSU 308 deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom Aug. 14. Their mission was to ensure the safe flow of equipment and supplies through the Port of Ash Shuaiba to coalition forces participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

By Journalist Seaman Apprentice S.C. USS Duluth (LPD 6) was presented with the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation during an awards ceremony on the ship's flight deck February 27. The award, comparable to the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, is granted to a unit of the Coast Guard for valorous or meritorious achievement, or for service by another branch of the military in support of Coast Guard operations. Duluth and her crew were awarded the honor for supporting Coast Guard Port Security Units (PSU) during Operation Iraqi Freedom from March to May 2003.

The second of four Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST) to be commissioned this summer has started specialized training in Camp Lejeune, N.C. Coast Guard MSST 91102 completed its first week of training in Yorktown, Va., last week before moving to a Coast Guard training detachment in Camp Lejeune. The domestic, mobile MSST, modeled after Coast Guard Port Security Units and Law Enforcement Detachments, will be established regionally in Hampton Roads to respond to terrorist threats or incidents in ports and waterways throughout the country. The MSST will deploy in support of national special events such as OpSail, Olympics or storm recovery operations and protect military load-outs…

The Coast Guard commandant, the commandant of the Marine Corps and a North Carolina congressman will be honored guests at a building dedication Friday at the Coast Guard Port Security Unit Training Detachment (PSU TRADET) located at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. Adm. Thomas H. Collins, Gen. James Jones and Congressman Howard Coble will be on hand to formally dedicate a new building the Marine Corps has leased to PSU TRADET. The building will provide more office space for PSU TRADET personnel along with more classrooms to be used for instruction in the several courses offered at PSU TRADET. PSU TRADET was established in October 1997 to train and standardize Coast Guard port security units for overseas deployment. Recently, PSU TRADET has taken on numerous other responsibilities.

Coast Guard Pacific Area will commission a new Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST 91109) Tuesday at 1p.m. at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot here at 3800 Chosin Avenue. Vice Adm. Harvey Johnson, Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area, will be the presiding official for the ceremony, and Congresswoman Susan Davis is scheduled to attend. MSSTs are a quick response force capable of rapid, nationwide deployment via air, ground or sea transportation in response to changing threat conditions and evolving Maritime Homeland Security mission requirements. They are modeled after the Coast Guard's Port Security Unit's and Law Enforcement Detachments. Created in direct response to the terrorist attacks Sept.

Coast Guard Port Security Unit 308, which supported Operation Enduring Freedom in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain, will returned to the United States. The PSU, which is stationed in Gulfport, Miss., will arrive between Concourse A and B in Louis Armstrong International Airport. They will immediately depart to the Courtyard by Marriott at 300 Julia Street for a reception. The PSU, commissioned into the Coast Guard in 1991, deployed to the Middle East in March under the command of Capt. Ronald L. Davis, commanding officer, and Lt. Cmdr. Robert Grassino, executive officer. Approximately 50 members protected American and allied shipping, provided harbor defense and port security to the vessels of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, and trained Navy personnel in port security operations.

Coast Guard Port Security Unit 311 departed from March Air Reserve Base on February 17 to support the global war on terrorism and to prepare for future contingencies. The ultimate destination of the approximately 120-member unit is being withheld for national security reasons. "We are trained and ready to execute our mission," said Cmdr. Donald Karol, PSU 311’s commanding officer. The San Pedro-based unit is comprised of primarily reserve members, most with civilian careers in local law enforcement. PSU 311 is a deployable unit organized for sustained operations to support military missions worldwide. Members of PSU 311 train in specialized combat, weapons and boat skills to provide waterside security and maritime force protection in support of military and commercial shipping.

Coast Guard cutter Wrangell, homeported in Portland, Me., along with a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Honolulu, escorted the first waterborne humanitarian aid shipment into the port of Umm Qasr, Iraq, while members of Coast Guard Port Security Unit 311, from San Pedro, Calif., assisted other coalition forces protecting the harbor. The shipment, consisting of vital aid donated by numerous countries, will be offloaded from the British ship RFA Sir Galahad and distributed to the Iraqi people. Iraqi Freedom, including force protection and port security," said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Carter, a Coast Guard spokesman in Bahrain. harbor defense command unit.

The more than 100 members of Coast Guard Port Security Unit 305 (PSU 305) based at Ft. Eustis, Va., who were assigned under the European Combatant Commander for Operation Iraqi Freedom, will return home late Tuesday night. PSU 305 was deployed as part of a Master Plan, which included the deployment of extensive military equipment and more than 300,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen. Port Security Unit members are trained to provide waterborne and limited land-based protection for shipping and critical port facilities throughout the world. At the height of Operation Enduring Freedom, more than 100 PSU 305 personnel were deployed.