A Sector Commander’s Perspective
Posted by LT Dave French, Saturday, March 14, 2009
>Captain Fred Midgette is the Commander of Sector Detroit in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Ninth District. He was responsible for coordinating the service’s response to the Lake Erie Ice Rescue February 7, 2009. The following is his perspective on the rescue, false rumours of a cutter’s possible involvement in contributing to the incident, and why the Coast Guard doesn’t charge for its rescue service:
“There has been a lot of discussion about the recent rescue of 134 ice fishermen from a breakaway ice floe in Southern Lake Erie. Some of what I have heard or read about is fact, some is opinion and some is just plain misinformation. As the Operational Commander headquartered at Coast Guard Sector Detroit, I coordinated the Coast Guard’s rescue response to this event. These are my observations.
The scale of the response. The Coast Guard prides itself on being a good steward of public funds. We assign resources to rescue cases based on the circumstances of the distress. In this particular case, the initial reports indicated that there were up to 500 persons in need of assistance. Among the first decisions we made in responding was to call up resources from Detroit, St Clair Shores, Toledo, and Marblehead. We also called in a C-130, long range aircraft from Elizabeth City, N.C.
The concept of Pay for Service. The idea of paying for rescue services has been widely discussed throughout the Coast Guard, with Congress, and with the Office of Management and Budget. After a lot of discussion and analysis, the Coast Guard decided not charge “user fees.” In 1999, then Commandant, Admiral James Loy articulated the Coast Guard’s reasoning – those reasons are as sound today as they were then:
• User fees will cause people to balance financial decisions against the severity of their situation in the early stages of a rescue case. The outcome would be fewer calls, calls during the later stages of an emergency and more people would die at sea.
• If the Coast Guard required payment for rescues, we would be constantly trying to balance costs and resources – why did we send a helicopter, why not just a small boat? The questions and second guessing would be endless. In addition, it’s nearly impossible to construct an objective test for deciding when someone should have to pay. Was it a real emergency? Should they have known better? Do they have the means to pay?
Partnerships. Even though we are a branch of the armed services and a representative of the federal government, the Coast Guard has always valued and nurtured our relationships with the local communities where we are stationed. This is certainly true in the Great Lakes. Sector Detroit, Station Marblehead and Station Toledo have a long-established, strong, and positive relationship with our state and local partners in Ohio. We work together with law enforcement agencies, emergency rescue personnel and other first responders in a coordinated and cooperative fashion on a daily basis.
Tags: Coast Guard, Great Lakes, ice breakers, ice rescue, ice safety, icebreaking, Lake Erie ice rescue, Ninth Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard