Port of San Diego Executives Brief Coast Guard Commander on Security Issues

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Region-wide cooperation among local, state and federal agencies to ensure a steady stream of grant funding to protect San Diego Bay and key installations was underscored during a Port of San Diego briefing for Rear Admiral Joseph “Pepe” Castillo, the head of the 11th Coast Guard District, which includes San Diego. The Rear Admiral made a courtesy call to Charlie Wurster, the Port’s president and CEO, who retired from the Coast Guard as a Vice Admiral.

The Port administrative executives told the Rear Admiral that the San Diego Unified Port District and other key agencies have received more than $30 million in grant funds that are being used to enhance security across the Port region. The cooperation has been vital in securing the funds and enhancing seaport and Port security. The Port, working closely with the Area Maritime Security Committee that includes the Navy and Coast Guard, has worked over the years to secure San Diego Bay, including the National City Marine Terminal, the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal.

Rear Admiral Castillo, who assumed command of the 11th Coast Guard District about a month ago, was briefed by Port administrative officials on Tuesday, August 18, 2009. Besides making the courtesy call to the Port, Rear Admiral Castillo visited Coast Guard and Navy installations in the area. Wurster was unable to attend the briefing because of a death in the family. Before joining the Port, Wurster served 37 years in the Coast Guard.

The 11th Coast Guard District includes more than 2,300 personnel and encompasses a 3.3-square-mile area stretching 1,000 miles off the California Coastline to the Columbian and the Ecuadorian borders. Before assuming command of the District, Rear Admiral Castillo was the Chief of Staff for the 9th Coast Guard District in Cleveland, Ohio, and he also held a high-level position with the Coast Guard’s 8th District where he lead efforts to rescue and evacuate more than 33,500 people in New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama after Hurricane Katrina swept through the area. The Rear Admiral works from Coast Guard headquarters in Alameda.

Included in the Port briefing was a demonstration by Ben, a Dutch Shepherd and member of the Harbor Police Department’s K-9 team. With 10 suitcases lined along the Port of San Diego’s second story outdoor area on Pacific Highway, the eager dog began sniffing. At the sixth suitcase, Ben sniffed away then he sat, alerting his handler, Harbor Police Corporal Del MacGray, that something may be inside. He was right. The suitcase contained two sticks of explosives.

Five dogs are members of the Harbor Police K-9 team. The dogs’ primary mission is to detect explosives, patrol San Diego International Airport and often they are called upon to conduct searches for the Secret Service. They also have been involved in searches for other law enforcement agencies throughout the region.

Besides viewing Ben in action, the Rear Admiral was shown underwater equipment that the Port and Harbor Police purchased with about $940,000 in federal grant money. Included were diving gear and a remote operated vehicle that is capable of conducting deep underwater searches in locations where it would be unsafe for police divers to venture.

Since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 and the emphasis on security following the devastation, the Port of San Diego has stepped up security throughout San Diego Bay and the tidelands which it manages. The Harbor Police Department dive team has gone from just nine members to 25 since 2001.

The Harbor Police Department’s central communications command is located in what is called the JHOC, the Joint Harbor Operations Center where Coast Guard personnel and personnel from other law enforcement agencies are located.

Rear Admiral Castillo was complimentary of the cooperative relationship between the Coast Guard and the Port, as was Captain Tom Farris, the head of the Coast Guard sector in San Diego and the Captain of the Port.

“I’m appreciative of the relationship,” said Captain Farris, who noted the cooperation is so good that Harbor Police Chief Kirk Sanfilippo calls him frequently on operational matters.

“I admire this relationship,” he said.

Port administrative officials taking part in the briefing included John MacIntyre, the Port’s Homeland Security Program Manager; Ellen Corey Born, Executive Vice President; Wayne Darbeau, Vice President, Administration; Paul Libuda, the Facility Security Officer for the Port’s Maritime operations and Captain Don Claypool and Lieutenant Kirk Nichols of the Harbor Police Department.

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