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". Not Your Father's Coast Guard THE UNTOLD STORY OF U.S. COAST GUARD SPECIAL FORCES By Matthew Mitchell AuthorHouse Copyright © 2009 Matthew Mitchell All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4490-4440-4 Contents Dedication.................................................................................................viiForeword...................................................................................................ix1. "This Is Not Your Father's Coast Guard.": The Antithesis of Standard...................................12. "You Have to Lead the Charge.": Origins of a Philosophy................................................63. "We Needed to Get It at the Source.": Setting the Stage, the War on Drugs..............................154. "A Special Assignment": Called to Fight................................................................235. "Find Out and Let Us Know.": Pre-deployment............................................................306. "An Excruciating Death on an Isolated Jungle Floor": Snowcap in Peril..................................357. "I Don't Feel Comfortable Walking Around Town Without a Weapon.": First in Bolivia.....................408. "I Think We Might Have Just Pissed Some People Off.": Operations Commence..............................519. "I Know 101 Ways to Kill, Cook, and Eat a Snake.": Operations Continue.................................6110. "You've Got to be Fooling Me.": Operation Jester.......................................................7211. "Boy, Have We Got a Job for You.": Building the Team...................................................8612. "That Is Exactly Why You Are Not Involved.": Operation Pique Macho.....................................9513. "If We Pull Out Now, Who Will Set the Example?": Tactics and Tribulations..............................10614. "You Are to Refuse that Order.": The Raid on Santa Ana.................................................12215. "The Dismantling had Begun.": The Pendulum Changes Direction...........................................13116. "Adult Supervision": Change of Command.................................................................14717. "There Seems to be Some Confusion.": Continued Operations..............................................15418. "A Little Information Is a Dangerous Thing.": Killed in Action.........................................16419. "We Weren't Going to Let the Mission Fail.": Firefights and Politics...................................17520. "A Blank Check": The Expansion of International Training...............................................18421. "A Golden Opportunity": First Missions to Colombia.....................................................18922. "A Team of One": Standing Up the Colombian Coast Guard.................................................20023. "More Training Needed": Building the Panamanian National Maritime Service..............................21224. "It Was the Beginning of the End.": The Final Change...................................................224Epilogue...................................................................................................233Bibliography...............................................................................................239 Chapter One "This Is Not Your Father's Coast Guard.": The Antithesis of Standard Halloween Day, 1992, Deep in the Bolivian Jungle The mission was simple enough. Locate and destroy a clandestine cocaine lab somewhere in the Bolivian jungle. The team had progressed five hundred meters toward the location of a suspected lab. Five hundred meters might not seem like a lot if you're walking down the street, but every inch is earned when you're hacking through dense bush. Covered with sweat and what can only be described as a swarm of mosquitoes, the team finally made it to the encampment. It was then that the jungle exploded all around the insertion team. Bits of wood, dirt, leaves, an