A crewmember from USCGC Bertholf tries to defend a soccer ball from a crewmember of the
Russian vessel Vorovsky at the Coast Guard gym at Base Kodiak, Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard
photo by Petty Offcer Charly Hengen.
administrationwillcontrolissuesofdirectinterestto
theUSCGintheChukchiSeaadjacenttoAlaska.Gettingtoknowtheleadersandresponsibilitiesofthis
RussianagencywouldbegoodforbothAmericans
andRussians.
TheU.S.CoastGuard'sestablishedrelationshipsare
good,butthefuturedemandsadditionaleffort.As
Russiachoosestoshiftcontrolofcoastguard-related
issuesamongandwithinministries,theUSCGmust
forgenewrelationshipsthatwillreapvaluableoperational coordination.
About the author:
LCDR Iain McConnell has served in the U.S. Coast Guard for
14 years, and has experience in the Arctic and Antarctic as a junior
76
Proceedings
Summer 2013
offcer aboard icebreaker USCGC PolarStar.Following fight school
and two tours as an MH-60J helicopter pilot, LCDR McConnell
earned a master's degree in international affairs and now serves
as the Coast Guard's regional advisor for Russian and Asia-Pacifc
affairs.
Note:Theviewsexpressedaretheauthor'sanddonotnecessarilyrepresentthoseoftheU.S.CoastGuard,theDepartment
ofHomelandSecurity,orrepresentoffcialpolicy.
Endnotes:
1 ibraryofCongressCountryStudies,Russia,FederalSecurityService.
L
Availableathttp://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html.
2. Protecting the Polar regions from shipping, protecting ships in Polar waters.
AvailableattheIMOwebsitewww.imo.org/mediacentre/hottopics/
polar/Pages/default.aspx.
3. Search and Rescue in the Arctic. AvailableattheArcticCouncilwebsite
www.arctic-council.org/index.php/en/oceans/search-and-rescue/157-saragreement.
www.uscg.mil/proceedings
