Boardings are an all-hands evolution and come at all hours of the day and night. On April 22, at about 11 p.m., the boarding team was awakened to board a vessel the bridge watch spotted leaving Haiti. The Forward was under strict orders to board any vessel departing Haitian waters.
A handful of enlisted members and two officers were chosen to go on the boarding. The six men and women climbed down a ladder from the safety of the cutter to a waiting Coast Guard small boat in the black of night. Because the captain of the 82-foot cargo ship spoke little English, a Haitian interpreter accompanied the team. In heavy seas, the team motored over to a third-world style vessel consumed by rust, corrosion and filth. The boarding team had to leap aboard at the risk of falling in the dark Caribbean Sea.
Once aboard the rickety old cargo ship, the boarding team fanned out and checked every space for drugs, migrants and weapons, taking care not to slip through one of the many rust holes that dotted the interior and exterior of the ship. The boarding officer and assistant boarding officer headed to the bridge to check passports, visas and shipping documents.
Even though there were only six Coast Guardsmen on board the cargo ship, there were many more back at the Forward supporting them. The combat control center kept close contact with the 7th District and reported every detail of the boarding back to them. Electronics technicians controlled cameras and spotlights, helping officers and chiefs on the bridge keep a sharp lookout on the men and women sent to board a virtually unknown vessel. Deck hands waited on the Forward’s boat deck to pull their shipmates to safety after their mission was complete. Engineers responded to every speed and pitch command from the personnel on the bridge. There was even a cook in the galley preparing a hot meal for the crew after the boarding was complete. Each department, each division and each person on board the Forward relies upon one another to accomplish their missions.
Cutter teams all across the Coast Guard are answering the call to duty. The commandant of the Coast Guard has temporarily ordered the increase of patrol lengths for all the medium and highendurance cutters in the fleet by 10 days and decreased the frequency of mid-patrol breaks for the crew in response to the nation’s national security needs at home and abroad. This means less time at home with loved ones and less time in port where a phone call can be made.
The crew of the Forward is aware of the change, but few seem concerned.
“This may sound strange coming from a guy with three kids and a wife at home, but we have a job to do out here,” said Jordan. “We’re going to do that job no matter how long it takes.”
No matter how long their patrols are, the crew of the Forward will continue to operate with the rest of the cutter fleet. Crews will patrol the waters of faraway lands and those close to home just as they have done for the past 200 years.
