Public OutReach America's Military and You - Coast Guard Deployment to Middle East

Coast Guard PSU's will use the highly maneuverable 25' Raider boats similar to this one while on detail in Southwest Asia. The boats carry a crew of 3 or 4, can reach speeds up to 40 knots, and are equipped with a forward .50 caliber machine gun and two aft M60 machine guns.

Coast Guard Deploying to Middle East

By Coast Guard 7th District
Public Affairs

Miami, February 22, 2000 — Dozens of U.S. Coast Guard men and women from Port Security Unit (PSU) 307, based in St. Petersburg, Fla., and PSU 309, based in Port Clinton, Ohio, will depart Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., Sunday at 1 p.m. to complete training at Camp LeJeune, N.C., prior to deploying to Southwest Asia later in the year. The port securitymen have been training in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area for several weeks.

Supporting the Department of Defense is an important Coast Guard military mission. Members of PSU 307 and PSU 309 will deploy to assist other naval coastal warfare elements in support of the U.S. Central Command, which is headquartered in Tampa, Fla.

The majority of PSU 307 personnel are Coast Guard Reservists living in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Coast Guard PSUs are capable of worldwide deployment and are responsible for providing maritime defense of military positions, equipment and personnel within a critical harbor. They are organized to provide for command and control, waterborne security, shore security, and logistics support.

This will be PSU 307's first deployment since it was stood up in 1999, although members of PSU 307 have performed port security duties with other units. Other Coast Guard PSUs have supported U.S. military operations around the world. They served in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait City, and in Haiti as part of Operation Uphold Democracy. PSU members have also responded to other missions such as when they deployed to locations throughout the Caribbean in September 1995 to support Hurricane Luis recovery operations and when they provided waterside security for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Port Security Unit details:

Staffed by 140 selected reservists and 5 active-duty military personnel

Can deploy within 96 hours of notification as a 117-person unit

Self sustainable and able to establish limited operations within 24 hours of arrival in theater

PSU 307 is one of six port security units in the United States. The other five are:

PSU 305, Fort Eustis, Va.

PSU 308, Gulfport, Miss.

PSU 309, Port Clinton, Ohio.

PSU 311, Long Beach, Calif.

PSU 313, Tacoma, Wash.

NOTE: Press are invited to see the members of the PSU load and depart from the Coast Guard Air Station at the Clearwater International Airport starting at noon Sunday. For additional information, contact the Seventh Coast Guard District public affairs office at (305) 415-6683. B-roll of PSU operations is available through the public affairs office or at Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla.