At its core, contingency planning reflects the Coast Guard’s motto: Semper Paratus — Always Ready. It’s the behind-the-scenes work that allows us to maintain mission continuity, respond swiftly and operate effectively to protect the nation’s interests during unexpected events like hurricanes, oil spills, or large-scale emergencies.
When disaster strikes, the Coast Guard is ready — not by chance, but by design. Contingency planning keeps ports open, rescues possible, and communities protected.
The Coast Guard prepares for a wide
variety of emergencies, whether it's
natural disaster, cyber security
threats, maritime incidents, and our
daily routine of search and rescue.
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
The Coast Guard has a number of
specialized teams that we use during
times of crisis. We try to pre-plan and
pre-stage a lot of these resources and
teams. Some of those teams that we use
are the MSSTs and MSR teams for port
safety and security and
counterterrorism. We have the National
Strike Force which could include the
incident management assist team, the
POT, the three strike teams we have
stationed throughout the country. They
help deal with oil spills and hazardous
materials. We have the cyber protection
teams which will deal with any kind of
cyber incidents and test vulnerabilities
and respond to incidents. We have our
tacklets who help out with illegal drugs
and migrants. And we have some of our
reserve units, our port security units
that will supplement some of our safety
and securities throughout the port.
[Music]
Disasters can be unpredictable. The
Coast Guard captures lessons learned
throughout the year for all of our
incidents and events. Two of our top
lessons learned that we have captured
over the last year have been the
importance of inter agency coordination.
Working together with our port partners
is paramount to a successful response.
The second is a critical role in
communication. Effective response is
critical for a successful response and
keeping the public informed.
[Music]
