mobanmarketALAMEDA, CA — More than a month into a partial government shutdown that has stripped members of the Coast Guard of their pay, the 170 crew members of Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, a 418-foot national security cutter, sailed from Alameda through the San Francisco Bay and into the open sea. It will be 90 days before the crew sees their families again. Those families will be on their own to figure out how to put food on the table, make car payments and meet other financial obligations.
The cutter left Sunday, a gray and foggy morning, for a patrol in the Western Pacific Ocean. The deployment directly supports U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives in the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the National Security Strategy.
“The United States is a Pacific nation,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander Coast Guard Pacific Area, who was present to see the cutter leave. “We have deep and long-standing ties with our partners in the region, and more importantly, we share a strong commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, governed by a rules-based international system that promotes peace, security, prosperity and sovereignty of all nations.
“Security abroad equals security at home,” said Fagan. “Enhancing our partners’ capabilities is a force multiplier in combating transnational criminal and terrorist organizations and deterring our adversaries.”
But the families left behind are not feeling very secure these days. While other services — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines — are under the Department of Defense and continue to receive paychecks, the Coast Guard is under Homeland Security, which is subject to the shutdown. No paychecks.
Capt. John Driscoll is the Bertholf’s commanding officer. In an address to the families and crew before the cutter set sail, Driscoll emphasized how critical family support is to crew well-being and readiness.
“Support from our families, wherever they live, is vital to ensuring we are ready to sail and answer the demands of our nation,” Driscoll said. “We must ensure our families are ready to weather the storm at home. We operate in a dangerous and high-consequence environment, and your ability to focus on mission can become easily compromised if you are worried about family.”
Fagan said the government shutdown has added stress to the typical emotions that surround a cutter departure.
“I know it is hard for these crews to be leaving behind their dependents and spouses – it’s a thousand times more so when everyone is wondering when our next paycheck will be, and how they can support the family they are leaving behind,” Fagan said.
“There has been an incredible outpouring of support for the families here in the Alameda area, but the tension and the anxiety for the crew is real,” said Fagan. “We are standing by to help support those families who are left behind the same way that we are going to support the crew as they sail for the Western Pacific.”
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— Image, video via US Coast Guard