COAST GUARD TO COMMISSION ANTITERRORISM TEAM
Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) 91102, the second of six Coast Guard antiterrorism/force protection teams to be established as a direct result of the Sept. 11 attacks, will be commissioned today after an intensive four-week training course that culminated in a 36-hour exercise in the Port of Wilmington, NC, last month.
The team received training in advance boat tactics and maneuvers, use of lethal and non-lethal weapons and advanced law enforcement tactics.
The domestic, mobile MSST, modeled after pre-existing Coast Guard Port Security Units and Law Enforcement Detachments, will be stationed in Hampton Roads to respond to terrorist threats or incidents in ports and waterways throughout the country.
Each MSST, consisting of approximately 100 Coast Guard personnel, has two deployable teams — each with a boat detachment and a landside security team.
The first MSST was commissioned July 3 in Seattle. Five other teams are scheduled to complete training by the end of September. This fiscal year, along with the Hampton Roads team, teams will be established in Los Angeles/Long Beach, and Houston/Galveston. Next fiscal year will see teams assigned to the ports of New York/New Jersey and Jacksonville, Fla.
