-----Original Message-----
From: Allen, Thad Admiral
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 05:09 PM Eastern Standard Time
Subject: State of the Coast Guard Address

To the Men and Women of the Coast Guard:

This afternoon, I delivered my first State of the Coast Guard Address as your Commandant.  I also had the opportunity to recognize a number of Coast Guard heroes in attendance from around the nation.  They represented each of you in the extraordinary performance of your duties. 

As I told more than 600 Coast Guard men and women, government officials, industry representatives and media in attendance, the State of the Coast Guard is strong today.  At the same time, we have challenges before us, and we need to position the Service for the future.  The Coast Guard demonstrates operational excellence in everything we do, and our men and women are a source of personal inspiration and pride.  This excellence is the result of your collective effort and your adherence to our core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty.  Your dedication, hard work and courage have made the Coast Guard more relevant and more visible to the Nation than any time in our history.

In the course of my remarks, I highlighted the fact that we also face significant challenges.  These challenges will require us to think and act differently if we are to sustain our tremendous pace and our operational excellence.  Our command and control structures, our support systems, and our business practices have failed to keep up with our rapid growth.  We can sustain operations like this for a while, and we will always muster all hands for events like Katrina.  But we cannot do so indefinitely. 

To meet the challenges and threats of the 21st Century, we need to reorganize our command and control structure around one commander in the field responsible for Mission Execution and reorganize and realign our support systems around one commander in the field responsible for Mission Support.  We will do both during the course of my tenure.  While this change may seem radical, it is necessary.  But it will take the support and willingness of our entire Service.  I ask you, as I did this afternoon, to be responsive and flexible as individuals, so that the Coast Guard can remain so as an organization. 

I also unveiled a new Coast Guard Strategy for Maritime Safety, Security and Stewardship.  This strategy will guide strategic change through my tenure as commandant.  It lays out the necessary changes required to strengthen maritime regimes, achieve domain awareness, and enhance operational capabilities.  It is the Coast Guard's commitment to the American people to remain Semper Paratus for all hazards and all threats.  Two copies will be mailed to each unit and a copy is now available on CG Central.  I encourage everyone to read it. 

I have committed to the Secretary and the President to build a Coast Guard that will be Semper Paratus - not just today but tomorrow as well.  It will be a journey of learning and change. 

The world is changing and so is America's Coast Guard.  I invite you to join me on this journey.

Admiral Thad Allen

A complete transcription of the Commandant's State of the Coast Guard Address is available on CG Central and on the Internet at www.uscg.mil/comdt.  A PODCAST of the address is also available online at www.military.com to viewers outside of the Coast Guard Standard Network.