Visit, Board, Search & Seizure

PO1 John Crafton CPO Ronnie Townes

Coast Guard has been doing this training for over 200 years. I never wore the fancy uniform. We generally wore navy blue coveralls, weapons belt (pistol, magazines, handcuffs, 6-cell metal flashlight, knife) body armor, with no bling. No need to advertise rank/rate. Sunglasses were a no-no, as was shiny watches, glasses, or jewelry. Need to see each others eyeballs and didn't want to limit vision in quickly changing lighting. Loose clothing, like a shoulder holster, was strictly prohibited. Too many things to get caught on. We never used M16's or long rifles. Not practical aboard ship. Too difficult to move around quickly holding or shouldering a rifle. Also, cumbersome going through tight hatches or manholes. Boarding teams, usually five member, carried 45's and one 12ga. Firing shotguns and pistols with one hand was frequently practiced. High velocity rounds ricochet in confined spaces made of steel, especially corrugated steel, or they may penetrate into something that may cause a big problem (steam lines, fuel tanks, hazmat, etc). Best to have a round stop at its intended target. Shotguns were used as passageway sweepers and crew control. If necessary, percussion grenades very safely neutralize crewmen in confined spaces. Best tool I carried was a K-Bar knife. Used it many times to speed searches. Most importantly, thank God those arrested were peaceful. Only had to fire warning/disabling shots on one drug boat (attached photo).

Coast Guard experimented with dogs, but transporting them and poor environmental conditions aboard a ship made it impractical.

The purpose of this training is not made clear. Is it for LE or military control? LE boardings must follow legal constraints and rules of evidence. A LE boarding team cannot be destructive without cause, or the taxpayer will be billed by very expensive lawyers. The article's title is misleading. Property is seized. People are arrested or detained. Military boardings follow rules of engagement. If the command orders a boarding party to break things and kill people, then go as strong and as fast as possible. Video shows training aboard a very large ship. It would take hundreds of people and many days to completely search a post-Panamax containership of over 1000ft. Best to search at anchor under controlled conditions. Once determined safe to search, magnetic robots with various non-destructive testing sensors can be used to scan contents of containers or create images through metal bulkheads/decks. Video didn't make it clear how these sailor got aboard the ship. If coming from a small boat, one will want to as light as possible. Leave the toys behind. Bring them after ship is secure. More equipment can be brought if embarking from land or helo.

Neat training.