Coast Guard concerned about aging ships

Coast Guard concerned about aging ships    The U.S. Coast Guard is 'ready and resilient,' but its leader said Friday he is concerned about the condition of his force's ships.
   'The current condition of our high endurance cutters is of serious concern to me,' said Commandant Thad Allen, giving his annual 'state of the Coast Guard' address at the National Press Club last week.
   'The Coast Guard operates one of the oldest fleets in the world. No amount of maintenance can outpace the ravages of age,' Allen said.
   'The average age of our high endurance cutters is over 41 years compared to 14 years for a Navy ship. The condition of our fleet continues to deteriorate, putting our crews at risk, jeopardizing our ability to do the job,” he said.

Allen

   Two Coast Guard high endurance cutters, the Gallatin and Dallas, had to undergo extensive repairs to be brought back into service over the last 18 months, and Allen said, 'we continue to experience increasing casualties to other high endurance cutters that are indicative of overall declining readiness.'
   He added the Coast Guard is 'also facing challenges this winter with an aging Great Lakes ice-breaking fleet.'
   President Obama said in his State of the Union address that 'families across the country are tightening their belts. The federal government should do the same,' Allen said, adding he has 'rogered for this message.'
   Under the budget, the Coast Guard will reduce personnel by 773. He also said the budget has provided him the with flexibility to remove “cutters and aircraft from service that are aging and in need of replacement” and “optimize our performance and protect the nation within the funding provided and still replace aging cutters and aircraft.”
   Allen noted the budget includes $1.4 billion to replace aging assets, including $538 million to buy a fifth national security cutters, $254 million for fast response cutters, and $40 million for maritime patrol aircraft. ' Chris Dupin