State of the Coast Guard Address

The U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Thad Allen, is scheduled to deliver his State of the Coast Guard address Tuesday, 3:00 p.m., at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th floor, Washington, to outline the Service's goals and priorities for 2009.

In this annual address, Allen will outline how even in this era of persistent conflict and with the current global economic situation, the Coast Guard is able to effectively safeguard the nation's maritime safety, security and stewardship needs.  He will discuss how the organizational modernization of the Coast Guard will better position the Service to execute its critical missions in an extremely dynamic environment. Allen will highlight the need to recapitalize aging ships, aircraft and infrastructure to meet the increasing demand for Coast Guard services.

The challenges and opportunities facing the Coast Guard are significant. However, the Service is well positioned to manage them both by utilizing a risk based approach across its many missions. A question and answer session will follow his remarks. Advance questions can be submitted to the iCommandant blog: www.uscg.mil/comdt/blog/