Not Your Father's Coast Guard: The Untold Story of U.S. Coast Guard Special Forces

by Matthew Mitchell

While the Coast Guard's many battles at sea in the War on Drugs are widely known, its participation in the ground offensive is not. Indeed, the Guard didn't just send its cutters to interdict narcotics-laden vessels attempting to bring their illicit cargo into Uncle Sam's territorial waters, it sent ground troops to foreign lands to train their forces and, when necessary, directly engage the enemy. But to create the type of force needed was no small task and would not be without tribulation, both from within and outside the organization. The road traveled to complete the mission was laden with obstacles. This is not a story about the Coast Guard you know, or think you know. Rather, this is a story about the other side, the side that history nearly forgot; not the standard, but the antithesis of standard. It is a story that will undoubtedly make even the most seasoned Coast Guardsmen question their understanding of the organization to which they belong. To be sure, "This is not your father's Coast Guard."

Genres: History, Military Fiction

260 pages, Hardcover

First published November 14, 2009

Reviews

[John Becker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting story about the U.S. Coast Guard's little known but important involvement in the war on drugs in the jungle rivers of South America in the 1980's and early 1990's. I was a Petty Officer in the Coast Guard (1964 -1968), but THIS WAS NOT MY COAST GUARD.

Apparently Federal law prohibited military units under the Department of Defense (DOD) to engage in law enforcement activity in foreign lands. Drug Enforcment Administration (DEA) agents working with the Department of State (DOS) were invited by several South American counties to train and assist their military and police to stop the manufacture and distribution of cocaine bound for the United States and elsewhere. The DEA lacked skills in navigating and maintenance of small boats on the rivers and boarding a searching procedures. In comes the Coast Guard with the requisite skill and experience. The USCG has always been a law enforcement organization among many other responsibilities and is not under the (DOD) except in times of war.

So, this is the story of those brave Coasties who were embedded with DEA agents in harm's way wearing jungle camouflage, with M16's, blowing up jungle airfields and burning cocaine factories and fire fights. An exciting story. I was proud of those who served in this little known activity.

The author, a Coast Guard Officer, did a commendable job in researching and telling this story. Not always an easy read, sometimes reading like a military report with some repetition and lots of DOD, DOS, DEA, SOF, DIAT, IMLET, etc.

[Ryan Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The long flights from Juneau to, well, anywhere gives me ample time to read and digest books (I'm playing in Yorktown this week) so I usually jump in right away to get a book or two behind me. This fist book has been on my radar since it came out a few years ago... I just kept forgetting to read it.

Not Your Father's Coast Guard , by Matthew Mitchell (a Coastie no less), takes you back to the anti-drug operations circa late 1980s through the early 90s. Most think they know about the War on Drugs- but aside from what one could see on the evening news there wasn't much that would be know about how embedded the USCG actually was initially.

I first heard of our services foray into international drug operations via a Chief of mine. He'd tell fables of some ops that he took part in "down south" before my entrance into aviation in 2000. Honestly I did chalk these up as "fables" or, at the very least, a way to keep me excited about aviation and nothing more; after all, why was the Coast Guard in Bolivia? I read the book... now I know.

Appropriately the forward, and book opening, concentrate on ADM Paul Yost (Ret.). I'm not going to spoil it for you but it would suffice to say he had his hands in some of the most exciting operations the CG has ever been part of.

Mitchell takes his readers on a whirlwind tour of an "international" U.S. Coast Guard diving into foreign authority's and our associated missions (Coast Guard jungle ops anyone?). He does so in a way you wish your teachers would have taught you.

The first half, or so, of the book looks at how the Coast Guard's answer to Special Operations Forces (SOF), the Drug Interdiction and Assist Team, DIAT, came to be. The second part concentrates on how the U.S. Coast Guard came to be pseudo Plank-owners to newly formed Coast Guards around the world. It also looks at the evolution of our International Training Division and the demise of a potential SOF contingent.

The dreams of a U.S. Coast Guard SOF were nearly upon us as a service. Mitchell looks at what went wrong and even allows the reader to draw some of their own conclusions on the matter. It's worth your time for a look at our past. It would seem we were nearly in a position to try and recreate that push for a SOF within the last few years. However, history has a nasty habit of completely repeating itself time and time again.

[Steven Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being personally opposed to the War on Drugs, I find the missions undertaken by military and law enforcement in support of the war to be nothing short of fascinating. Tales of raw courage under fire and sheer grit can be unearthed, even if the underlying cause is (in my opinion) ultimately unjust.

Operation: SNOWCAP is one bit of history that particularly grabs my attention. From 1987 to 1994, several federal law enforcement agencies participated in what would be termed in the military special operations community as foreign internal defense missions, aiding host nations in standing up anti-drug forces and taking the fight to drug cartels throughout South America. The DEA is front and center in SNOWCAP's history, along with the Border Patrol's Tactical Unit.

Little known about SNOWCAP are the contributions from the Coast Guard. Devised by a commandant who saw combat in the Vietnam War, what would come to be known as the Drug Interdiction Assistance Teams (DIAT) were the first of their kind, a Coast Guard special operations unit that pushed the envelope in taking the fight to the narcos.

Undergoing infantry training with either the US Army Rangers or the Marine Corps, learning explosives at the FBI Academy at Quantico, and training alongside the DEA to form a cohesive unit, DIAT (sections of which would later come to be known as the International Maritime Law Enforcement Team, the International Maritime Law Enforcement Training Team, and the International Training Division) started out with riverine operations and quickly escalated to small unit missions in-land with host nation forces, destroying drug labs and narco airplane runways.

The pros of this account are that the Coasties involved are comprehensively interviewed, and their history is documented. Tales of derring-do and political battle in DC are covered in detail, and it serves as an eye-opener to those unaware of the fighting Coasties and their lesser-known contributions to the Drug War.

The con is that the narrative can be disjointed at times, hopping back and forth between timelines and leaving the reader slightly confused. But, I found that this was eventually overcome and the book served as an extremely educational piece of non-fiction.

I'd highly recommend this to fans of Coast Guard history and those wanting to delve into the nooks and crannies of the Drug War.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 1980's US government needed specific set of maritime skills to achieve upper hand in conflict with the drug cartels in South America. Being unable to use military they turned to unique organization that blends law enforcement and military skills on the sea and rivers - US Coast Guard.

This is story of the USCG operating well outside their usual duties - in order to effectively support Bolivian task force and DEA, USCG sailors found themselves on the boats and on the ground, going through advanced infantry training and slowly taking over the role of special operations forces.

While this more active role of USCG was a goal of USCG commander of the time (Admiral P.A. Yost Jr) as soon as he left active command, new commanders started dismantling the USCG special ops support teams, all of their activities culminating in complete organizational removal of special ops capabilities (although some of it should have remained in new integrated training division of USCG).

Author describes in very much details birth of new USCG teams, their involvement in War on Drugs, organization hurdles and abilities of seamen assigned the new and challenging task followed by subsequent dissolution of USCG special ops teams. Also described in great detail are international training teams and their success with preparing, training and on several occasions creating-from-scratch coast guard units of allied countries.

While goal of all the post-Yost-era commanders was to keep USCG outside the actual armed combat all the events post September 2001 brought USCG back to the front of maritime security and defense the US coast. I hope someone will publish (semi)official history of the USCG with latest developments and capabilities. I have to admit that this is one highly effective, trained, versatile and capable force.

Only issue I had with the book are reproductions of some of the pictures - some are so small that it is very difficult to see anything on them (this is especially case of panoramic shots of river estuaries and jungle areas). But in general this wont affect your reading experience [well in my case anyway :)].

I wholeheartedly recommend it to all military history fans.

[Brian Boland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly interesting story that I've heard anecdotal stuff about for years. Took a lot to compile all the interviews, so kudos to the author for that. Some grammatical errors are inevitable with self-publishing, but there are a few that detract from the story. The thesis is solid, but a bit repetitive at times. Yes, the CG is 'different' than the DoD, but no need to remind the reader in each chapter. Great insight into Admiral Yost, but glossed over some of the acquisitions stuff - mainly the modded Herc and the E-2s. We lost some dudes in a crash of one of the Hawkeyes - might have been worth exploring the cost of leaning that far forward. Overall a cool story otherwise lost in the basement of CG HQ.

[Robert Joslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing story. To read how the Coast Guard developed a means to train foreign law enforcement techniques and went into countries oftentimes putting themselves in harm's way to accomplish the mission, is a tale to tell. It feels almost unbelievable when you consider their size but also believable as Coasties are some of the most agile service members you'll ever meet. It's good to read of their role in this part of the war on drugs. Mitchell's ability to piece together a veiled piece of the service's history is to be commended. If you are a student of the war on drugs or Coast Guard history, this is a must read.

[Kenny Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously, I am researching a project about the Coast Guard. I have read two good books, and two not so good books. This one was one of the not-so good. My biggest issue of the book, was that it was extremely repetitive. Every chapter was about meeting a new Coastie who, was "Not Your Father's Coast Guard" meaning they are involved in an international mission in a country that does not have any "coast" Bolivia. They go there, it was tough, but they persevered. That's every chapter for like 200 pages. I made it through, and learned some things, but not one of my favorites.

[Ben Ubert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has an amazing story to share. It has a few rough edges with its editing--beware all ye who refuse to tolerate a few punctuation and syntax errors. This is not a weak Amazon published nothing-burger book. This is a well-cited walk through a barely recognized yet historically significant application of the USCG. Consider reading if you enjoy military history, international relations, and/or political science.

[Katie Busick · Rating 3 out of 5]

My husband is SF USCG and asked me to read this. It was very technical for me, but I’m glad I powered through. It’s crazy to see a brief insight into what the USCG has done. It’s maddening that there’s not more information out there. Although, I’m sure there is a reason for that…

[Rev James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coast Guard history

Very informative about Coast Guard special ops in war in Marco traffickers in Latin America. CG special ops is military, law enforcement, which don't get recognition. Really good read

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but I would have liked more descriptions of their on-the-ground exploits, and maybe their training. It tended to get bogged down too much by the administrative/political underpinnings.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fascinating book. There is not a lot of history kept on the Coast Guard, because it is such a small and underfunded service compared to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps without staff historians. This book chronicles a period from about 1988 to 1996 when the Coast Guard mounted operations in Latin America in support of the War on Drugs, training indigenous maritime police forces to combat the drug cartels. This including the Coast Guard building its own special operations teams that conducted riverine operations with the DEA and local police/naval forces. A Coast Guardsman dressed in fatigues and tromping through the jungle to burn drug labs is definitely not what people thing of when they hear "Coast Guard," but that is precisely what was going on. At least until Adm. Kime took over as commandant and was horrified. He unwound the special operations but did continue programs to train indigenous forces. Of course, now the Coast Guard's image has shifted again in the post-9/11 period from a rescue service that sometimes did law enforcement to a law enforcement agency that sometimes does SAR. A perfect example of the shift is the new national security cutters which are nuclear-biological-chemical capable and the expansion of the volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary to assume more of the marine safety responsibility.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I thought it was a great insight into the secret world of the Coast Guard special operations teams and their operations and goals in the 1980s and 1990s. The book gives a lot of detail on the planning of the programs created to help developing South American militaries gain training on counter drug operations. The first 20% really focuses on beginnings and plannings of the organization. The next 50% focuses on operations, training, and planning ops, while the remainder focuses in politics involved in foreign action, though there is a bit of everything so the book does not get boring or repetitive.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting study of a little known aspect of Coast Guard activity in the drug wars and in training of other countries' forces.

Not the best writing style, but did deliver information and a restrained message about the difficult politics of the operations.

[Skyelr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting read. I can't believe the CG used to do black ops stuff like this. I wish they still did.

[scott kobsar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Good history reporting of little known aspects of CG history. I applaud the author's initiative and research, including many first hand accounts.