Coast Guard pick wants to Slash homeland mission

One can only wonder where Potus found this fine fellow. But  looks like he planned to close down five of the 12 units in 2011. Guess he found a reflection of his image. Security be damned. I close my eyes when thinking about all of our infrastructure along our coastline– Cities, Refineries. One can only wonder if Napolitano had her fingers in this.

President Barack Obama’s pick to lead the Coast Guard wants to make major cuts to the agency’s counterterrorism mission. An internal memo from Vice Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., Obama’s nominee to become Coast Guard commandant, says that starting in 2012, he would slash funding for programs in the agency’s homeland security plan, including patrols and training exercises.

In the memo, Papp said he wants to eliminate teams that are trained to respond to and prevent terror attacks. These teams also train other Coast Guard forces on counterterrorism operations.

“In view of the fiscal horizon, we must make bold and systematic strategic decisions,” Papp wrote in the memo, dated Nov. 10, 2009. Obama announced his intention to nominate Papp on Dec. 22.

The memo, marked “sensitive — for internal Coast Guard use only,” was obtained by The Associated Press.

He also calls for cuts to the Coast Guard’s largest homeland security operation, which patrols critical infrastructure and other sensitive security structures on or near waterways. And he would decrease the number of specialized units stationed in key coastal areas where an attack could be devastating.

Obama has already proposed closing five of the 12 specialized units in 2011.

Papp’s outline is significant because it could mean major changes for the more than 200-year-old agency that took on substantial homeland security duties after Sept. 11, 2001. Obama’s 2011 proposed budget cuts for the Coast Guard have already caused outrage from some lawmakers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100225/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_coast_guard_nominee;_ylt=An15OUVuAnBo6y2U3kGH5elp24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTJ0MmZiODA2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMjI1L3VzX2NvYXN2d1YXJkX25vbWluZWUEcG9zAzEzBHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2NvYXN0Z3VhcmRwaQ