Small boats on the front lines of maritime security.

• Author: Pappalardo, Joe

As the profile of the U.S. Coast Guard's homeland security mission rises, the role of small boat operations is becoming central to the effort.

These missions vary from safety inspections of family sailboats to climbing onto smugglers' speedboats to make arrests. In each case, the young guardsmen on small-boat crews operate in an array of unique circumstances.

On the cutter USCG Mellon, for example, two teams are trained to take out a 23-foot, 9-inch boat on interdiction missions. On a recent patrol to Central America, these small "over-the-horizon" boats were used in joint counter-drug operations with armed helicopters.

"You're always in close quarters," said Chris Smanse, chief warrant officer on the Mellon. "You can't get that personal space most [law enforcement] people get on land."

There is also a feeling of isolation on the water, and of self-reliance. "You can't make a call and know that 10 or 15 cop cars will come as backup," Smanse said. "When you're out there, you're it."

The bulk of Coast Guard boardings, however, are in response to drunken boaters, unsafe practices and troubled boaters.

The post-9/11 emphasis on security is keenly felt on the water. "We've taken a more aggressive posture, rather than a reactive one," Smanse noted. "But it always amuses me to hear people say the Coast Guard is coming around to homeland security missions. A lot of these things have been driven to the forefront, but through history, the Coast Guard has been doing these things."

The crews working with the helicopter interdiction team went through a special training regimen at the Coast Guard's Special Missions Training Center at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

"It's a fast-paced school, and there's no room for mistakes," said Chief Bosun's Mate Charlie Salles, who drives the boats on interdiction missions and trains other crewmembers on how to handle the powerful craft.

Riding the high-speed boat turns the human body into a shock absorber. Knifing through the waves at nearly 40 knots, each six-foot swell turns into an obstacle that needs to be overcome. Over the headsets, each impact is accompanied by a grunt, or in the case of newcomers, small yelps. The driver, who answers to the call sign "Boats," slows and speeds the craft as appropriate, maneuvering through or around each swell.

Over-the-horizon boats are designed with an edged, fiberglass plastic hull that grips the water, but a risk exists that that edge won't catch, making the craft skip sideways once...