The Bush Administration's National Strategy for Homeland Securityidentified six critical mission areas to focus federal efforts onthe objectives of preventing terrorist attacks, reducing America'svulnerabilities to terrorism, and minimizing the damage andrecovering from attacks that do occur. An analysis of spendingpriorities suggests that most of the proposed major programs fallinto one of the six critical mission areas. It is not clear,however, that in every case the level of resources requested isadequate to meet the critical goals the Administration hasestablished in its strategy or that these efforts are appropriateto address future threats. In particular, while notable progresshas been made in virtually every critical mission area, shortfallsin maritime security top the list of concerns.
How should the Coast Guard transform to meet the missions of a post-9/11 environment? At a recent Heritage Foundation lecture, Admiral Thomas H. Collins, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, gavean overview of how the Coast Guard plans to meet the current andfuture challenges of the post-9/11 world and the Coast Guard's manymaritime domain responsibilities, from homeland security toprotecting natural resources.