The Coast Guard D.O.G.

Panama City is where the D.O.G. started. What is the D.O.G.? Deployable Operations Group. The elite Coast Guard team attended the U.S. Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Florida. The commando units reflect back to World War II when highly trained Coast Guard personnel joined Office of Strategic Services (OSS) forces to conduct training and clandestine maritime operations in Europe and Asia. By 1944 the OSS included more than 100 Coast guards man who were attached to training schools and participated in firearms, signaling, swimming, boat handling, intelligence, espionage, and sabotage missions during the war.

After September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard became part of Homeland Security and developed the DOG in order to establish a single command authority to rapidly provide the Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Department of Justice and other interagency operational commanders adaptive force packages drawn from the U.S. Coast Guard's deployable specialized force units.

These six units, under a single command, create an organized quick reaction force that can be deployed to handle natural disasters, environmental catastrophes, terrorism and other threats to the United States and the world. The groups that are under DOG are the following:

Established in 2002, these tier 1 forces are anti terrorism and port security teams who can operate domestically as well as internationally. The MSSTs execute Coastal Security operations (enforce security zones, port state control boardings, protection of military out loads and major marine events, augment shore side security at waterfront facilities, detect WMD weapons/agents, and participate in port level anti-terrorism exercises.

NCWS -- Naval Coastal Warfare Squadrons

These Coast Guard units are part of an interoperable force and part of the Department of Defense international and domestic security. They provide anti-terrorism / force protection for forward deployed base camps and ports around the world where needed.

PSU -- Port Security Units

These units are integrated and interoperable and deploy nationally as well as internationally in support the Department of Defense port security. They can deploy within 24 hours.

NSF -- National Strike Force

These Coast Guard are immediate action teams and deploy to deal with HAZMAT, CHEM / BIO environmental disasters.

TACLET -- TACtical Law Enforcement Teams

Provide maritime drug interdiction and well as maritime interception domestically as well as where requested by the Department of Defense. Also they conduct training for foreign Navy and foreign Coast Guard.