Week 4 Key Insights
Key Learning Moments:
[1] Our beneficiaries are not patrol boat units — they’re the patrol coordinators in the command centers. (4.03, 4.08)
[2] Areas of operation do not overlap between USCG patrol stations, reducing the changes of overlapping patrols within the Coast Guard. However, patrol way points seem to be informed primarily by historic capture data (SD, 4.08) or static pre-set zones (LA-LB, last week), something that drew our attention during our time aboard a cutter at sector San Francisco.
[3] “Even a 10% increase in identification and captures would be worth it” (4.10)
Additional Learning Moments:
[4] No cellular signal allowed on patrol boats. Situational awareness maintained over encrypted radio. (4.03, 4.08)
[5] Coast Guard vessel boardings from foreign soils can take days, all the detect, identify, and classify steps (4.03, 4.14). When boarding, searching limited to “only what the eyes can see” (4.05). However, CBP does not have this jurisdictional issue. (4.03)
[6] Patrol boat cutters are overt — they can be seen and heard farther away than they can see suspect vessels. (4.08)
New Hypothesis:
OLD HYPOTHESIS: Visualizing past capture and route data will help the US Coast Guard identify choke points and narrow down patrol regions and asset allocations.
NEW HYPOTHESIS: patrol routes are primarily informed by historic capture data (in SD) or static pre-set zones (in LA-LB).
MVP:
Several different digital maps with different features we think could better inform and narrow down patrol region areas, as well as a ranking of these features in importance. Features include blue force tracking, predictive modeling of vessel location from current patterns, water depth, etc., asset schedule visualization, human intel updates.
Our goal with these features and narrowed down patrol area is to increase detection of suspicious vessels by 10%.
Interviewees:
4.01 — Hoover National Security Fellow [Mike]
4.02 — Chief Warrant Officer at Sector San Francisco [all]
4.03 — Lieutenant at Sector San Francisco [all]
4.04 —Petty Officer overseeing radio comms at Sector San Francisco [all]
4.05 — Petty Officer overseeing interbase comms at Sector San Francisco [all]
4.06 — VTS training manager at Sector San Francisco [all]
4.07 — Lieutenant on intel team at Sector San Francisco [all]
4.08 — 3rd in command on 87' cutter at Sector San Francisco [all]
4.09 —Intel analyst at Sector San Francisco [all]
4.10 — CDR at District 11 Command Center [Jacky, Mike, Perry]
4.11 — CDR at District 11 Command Center [Jacky, Mike, Perry]
4.12 — Senior intel analyst at District 11 Command Center [Jacky, Mike, Perry]
4.13 — Patrol manager at District 11 Command Center [Jacky, Mike, Perry]
4.14 — Chief of enforcement at District 11 Command Center [Jacky, Mike, Perry]
4.15 —Liaison CBP agent at District 11 Command Center [Jacky, Mike, Perry]
4.16 — Intel officer at District 11 Command Center [Jacky, Mike, Perry]
