Multi-Agency Command and Control in an Asymmetric Environment
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Letters & CommentsRobert Watts
CDR Bob Watts is a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and has served six tours at sea conducting drug/migrant operations, most recently commanding the USCGC STEADFAST (WMEC 623). He is currently assigned as the chief of drug and migrant interdiction at Coast Guard Headquarters, where his responsibilities include drafting migrant policy and strategy, including planning for mass migration. A 2006 graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, he has advanced degrees from the Naval War College, Old Dominion University, American Military University, and is a doctoral candidate at the Royal Military College of Canada.
Maritime Critical Infrastructure Protection:
Multi-Agency Command and Control in an Asymmetric Environment
ABSTRACT:
As a maritime nation, the United States is economically and strategically reliant on its ports,
a fact well known to our potential enemies in the Global War on Terror.
A successful attack against maritime critical infrastructure in our ports has the potential
to cause major economic disruption and create mass casualties and conflagration.
The United States has faced military threats in its littoral before,
and lessons from the past offer value in determining how to defend ports in the modern era.
But these lessons must be considered in light of the new asymmetric terrorist threat.
By examining lessons from the past and considering current maritime multi-agency capabilities,
a logical command and control solution can be devised to effectively fuse agency efforts
in tactical defense of maritime critical infrastructure.
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SUGGESTED CITATION:
Watts, Robert B. “Maritime Critical Infrastructure Protection: Multi-Agency Command and Control in an Asymmetric Environment.” Homeland Security Affairs I, no. 2 (Fall 2005)http://www.hsaj.org/?article=1.2.3