Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: 'Merica, USCG Style in Charleston

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    FloVegas SC
    Posts
    5,710

    Default 'Merica, USCG Style in Charleston

    If you do not think it pays for our Governor to have been one of the early and continuous supporters of Trump, then we cannot drink together. This is a big deal. These base decision are not made every day and bring tons of downstream jobs too. Of course the traffic will not get any better, but I now believe that we will get that deeper channel. MG

    https://www.postandcourier.com/milit...GfPEU8xhhs3dcg



    Coast Guard to announce plans to make Charleston one of its largest US bases

    By Thomas Novelly tnovelly@postandcourier.comFeb 18, 2020 Updated 1 hr ago


    The Coast Guard’s top officer will announce Thursday that Charleston will become one of the largest concentrations of ships and guardsman in the nation, growing the economic footprint of the military in the region.

    Adm. Karl Schultz is scheduled to detail the news during his annual State of the Coast Guard address at the Port of Charleston.


    “The commandant will also announce the future investment in Charleston to support the arrival of the service’s newest military surface assets,” the Coast Guard said in its press advisory.


    “Over the next five years, the Coast Guard will homeport multiple new cutters and consolidate its operations along one waterfront, growing Charleston into one of the nation’s largest concentrations of Coast Guard assets and people,” the statement said.

    Charleston currently hosts three cutters and more than a thousand service members. It has not yet been announced how large the force footprint will grow here and what bases will be consolidated in that five-year time frame.

    “Evolving global complexities and increasing demand for Coast Guard services worldwide necessitates the best people, tools, and performance,” Schultz said in the statement.

    “For over two centuries, we have protected, saved, and shielded the American people,” he added. “That’s our promise to the public; a promise made and a promise delivered.”

    Thursday’s announcement shows how South Carolina’s military presence is expanding rapidly. The Palmetto State has eight major military bases. At least one in 12 jobs in the state can be tied back to the Department of Defense, and South Carolina boasts the ninth-highest military retiree population in the nation.

    Bill Bethea is the chairman of the S.C. Military Base Task Force, an initiative by the governor to protect and grow military interests in the state. He confirmed the commandant’s news and said he is excited to see what will happen.

    “We’re very pleased they chose South Carolina to grow the size of the Coast Guard presence in Charleston,” he said. “It’s a big plus.”


    Schultz is expected to reflect on the organization’s successes over the past year, including the Coast Guard response to Hurricane Dorian, detail the fiscal year 2021 White House budget request and outline the shared vision for the future of the service, according to the press release.

    Charleston’s Coast Guard station has been involved in many high-level rescues, drug seizures and other operations, ranging from far-away missions in the Caribbean and the Pacific this past year.

    In September, the Golden Ray, a cargo ship carrying automobiles, rolled onto its side as it was leaving a port in Georgia bound for Baltimore. Coast Guard resources from Charleston rushed to the area and assisted in the rescue of four men trapped inside.

    In May, Charleston-based Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton seized a fishing boat in the Galapagos Island that had a half-ton of cocaine in the hold. In June, the Hamilton unloaded 26,000 pounds of cocaine and 1,500 pounds of marijuana at a port in Florida.

    The other vessels here are the James and the Willow.

    But the Coast Guard has also seen political hardships. At the beginning of 2019, some 800 Charleston-area Coast Guard members went unpaid. Because the branch falls under the Department of Homeland Security, it wasn’t spared from the pause in pay caused by the month-long government shutdown.

    During his planned remarks, Schultz will also honor Ensign Roberto DiRado, a Charleston-based service member who played a role in intercepting 13,000 pounds of illegal drugs last year.

    The news of an expanding Coast Guard presence in Charleston comes more than 25 years after the Naval Shipyard in North Charleston was ordered closed. In the years leading up to the official closure, the shipyard went from 8,700 military personnel to 900, economically devastating the region.

    In recent history, military dollars started flooding back to the Palmetto State. A Post and Courier analysis of five years’ worth of the most recent spending data from the Pentagon’s Office of Economic Adjustment shows $13.1 billion worth of Department of Defense contracts were performed or awarded in South Carolina.

    Overall, defense spending accounted for 2.3 percent of the state’s gross domestic product in 2017.

    Thursday’s event will be live-streamed at 1 p.m. on the Commandant’s Facebook page and the Coast Guard’s website.
    Dum Spiro Spero

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Petaluma CA / Moncks Corner SC
    Posts
    3,920

    Default

    I’m on the Hamilton now. It’s a 418ft National Security Cutter and is the Coast Guards newest and most technically advanced cutter. The James is our sister ship and they are bringing three more here in the next few years. The Coast Guard is looking at purchasing the entire FLETC facility in order to give us the infrastructure to support the five NSC’s and the Willow along with the small boat station and aids to navigation team.
    Living in Moncks Corner but looking forward to moving back to the West Coast in 2020 where there are more ducks and less duck hunters!! LOL

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Gobbler's Knob, GA/ Bamberg,SC
    Posts
    21,442

    Default

    Thanks for your service RK. From me and my family, we appreciate all you do.
    F**K Cancer

    Just Damn.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Bowman
    Posts
    6,421

    Default

    RK, are you saying they are going to give up the station downtown and bring it all up to the Cooper River?
    cut\'em

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Petaluma CA / Moncks Corner SC
    Posts
    3,920

    Default

    I'm not sure of the final details concerning the station downtown but I wouldn't be surprised. There's a lot of land and pier space at FLETC. It would surprise me if they left it downtown. It's just easier to consolidate all of the operations and that base downtown is so small that it barely holds the members that are stationed there now. Most people park along the battery and walk back to the station to go to work each day.
    Living in Moncks Corner but looking forward to moving back to the West Coast in 2020 where there are more ducks and less duck hunters!! LOL

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Sullivan\'s Island
    Posts
    12,865

    Default

    Anybody want to bet that the Beach Company ends up developing the downtown Charleston Coast Guard base if they give it up?
    Last edited by Palmetto Bug; 02-19-2020 at 12:49 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    764

    Default

    Bennett seems to be doing a lot these days also

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •