Coast Guard unveils new Special Missions Command amid demand for elite units

WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard is creating a new Special Missions Command to centralize its deployable specialized forces, the service announced today.  

The new command, which is slated for official commissioning in October, establishes a single command to house these elite units. That’s a departure from the existing structure, where the Coast Guard’s two area commanders for the Pacific and the Atlantic currently oversee administrative and operational control over the service’s specialized forces units.

“The creation of the Special Missions Command is a vital evolution for our service,” Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Kevin Lunday said in a statement today. “We are forging our most elite operators into a single, razor-sharp instrument of national power. The Special Missions Command is not an administrative change; it is an investment ensuring these elite teams are the best trained, equipped, and organized force possible, ready to protect the Homeland and support the Joint Force.”

The command’s announcement comes amid an uptick in demand for these elite units, and in an effort to optimize the operational effectiveness of the Coast Guard in responding to a host of threats and emergencies, the service said. Likewise, the unified command structure aims to assist the service as it adapts to emerging threats, enhanced border security operations, and special national security events, the Coast Guard said.

Maritime security response teams, tactical law enforcement teams, maritime safety and security teams, port security units, regional dive lockers, and a national strike force will fall under the command’s umbrella. These teams respond to maritime terrorism and other high-risk threats, as well as natural disasters including oil, chemical, or nuclear incidents. They also conduct drug interdiction and coastal security missions, among others.  

“The geo-political landscape is evolving and the demand for Coast Guard Deployable Specialized Forces is at an all-time high,” Capt. Robert Berry, Special Missions Command pre-commissioning team lead, said in a statement today. “These forces are instrumental to the Coast Guard’s readiness and its role as a global leader in maritime contingency response. The Service has always turned to its specialized forces to respond to national threats and disasters, and establishing this command is the natural next step to enabling our forces to lead the way at the tip of the spear.”

The command will be based out of Kearneysville, W. Va., and could expand to include additional units, capabilities, and functions, according to the service.