Maritime Domain Awareness: The Key to Maritime Security

• Author: Joseph L. Nimmich - Dana A. Goward
• Position: US Coast Guard - US Coast Guard (Ret.)
• Pages: 57-65

IV

Maritime Domain Awareness:

The Key to Maritime Security

Joseph L. Nimmich and Dana A. Goward*

Maritime security is burdened by thousands ofyears ofhistory and tradition.

Wein the Coast Guard are reminded of this truism on adaily basis. One

particularly poignant reminder came in October of 2002, ascant thir-

teen months after the 9/11 attacks. In the middle of aweekday afternoon, afifty-

foot long boat pulled up near the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami, Florida and

offloaded 220 illegal aliens directly into the heart of downtown. Naturally, anews

helicopter was overhead and the event was almost instantly broadcast nationwide. 1

The US Coast Guard is supposed to play aleading role in preventing these kinds of

incidents, and the commandant of the Coast Guard at the time, Admiral Thomas

Collins, ended up briefing the secretary of transportation. After he was told of the

incident, the secretary, in some disbelief, asked Admiral Collins, "How in the

world did they get through?" The Admiral's reply was "Sir, with all due respect,

how did they get through what?"

This is an amusing story for those of us in the maritime community because we

have long known and accepted the openness and vulnerabilities of our many port

and coastal areas. It should be an instructive story for us as well, though, as it makes

two important points. First, it dramatically reminds us of the vulnerability of these

*Rear Admiral Joseph L. Nimmich, US Coast Guard and Captain Dana A. Goward, US Coast

Guard (Ret.). An earlier version of this article was published in the April 2007 issue of the U.S.

Naval Institute Proceedings and is republished with permission.