Coast Guard Packs a Punch at RIMPAC.

• Author: Carberry, Sean

SAND ISLAND, Hawaii--While many think of the Coast Guard as a law enforcement and maritime safety force that operates close to America's shores, the service showed during Rim of the Pacific 2022 that it has capabilities that could bolster the military in an Indo-Pacific conflict.

The Coast Guard National Security Cutter USCGC Midgett commanded Combined Task Force 175, which included ships from France, Peru and the U.S. Navy. The force conducted missile defense, gunnery, mass rescue and anti-submarine warfare exercises during RIMPAC 2022 in July.

"It is a unique opportunity to be in charge of a particular task force, and that certainly fits right into our ability to interoperate with the U.S. Navy and partner nation navies as well," said Capt. Willie Carmichael, commander of the Midgett.

The Coast Guard typically operates on its own and has to respond quickly to crises. Therefore, it doesn't focus on long-range planning the way the Navy does. Also, even though National Security Cutters are the largest and most advanced ships in the Coast Guard fleet, they don't sail with the same network and communications platforms used by the military, Carmichael said.

The exercises began with an integration phase, during which the Midgett's crew focused on learning their way around the planning approach and systems used by the Navy and partner forces, he said.

"We were the first national security cutter to have the Link 16 [tactical network] system installed on board," he said. "Just the value that provides, being able to share a maritime picture with other assets--U.S. and our foreign partners as well--that was tremendous."

The Midgett used the Centrix communication system for the first time during the exercise. "A lot of our partners use that Centrix system, so the better we are at using that particular system, the better we can communicate, the better we can plan. It ultimately gives us higher-level execution in complex maritime environments," he said.

The 418-foot Midgett also sailed with a Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter on board. Unlike the MH-60T models used by the Coast Guard, the "R" variant has a folding tail and rotors that allow it to fit into the hangar on National Security Cutters. That means the aircraft can stay aboard for a long deployment, which the "T" variant can't do, he said.

"I think that was a huge success," he added. "Being able to integrate with a Navy aviation platform like that, understanding the maintenance support that's...