Passagemaker Magazine

there are always exceptions. Have I had black, steel-toe tactical boots leaving marks on on a pristine deck? Yes. Have I witnessed boarding officers woefully untrained, or not knowing how to conduct a boarding? Yes. What I am trying to convey is that I’ve seen many instances and heard many stories of the boarding officer or team bouncing all over a boat with no tact, or displaying an open and apparent lack of understanding of the mariner’s situation.

LANDLUBBER BACKGROUNDS Many Coast Guard boarding officers do not come from boating backgrounds, and until they joined the service, some had never witnessed a body of water larger than an inland lake. There’s no requirement for boarding officers to be master mariners, or even possess a good understanding of what type of vessels they are likely to encounter in their given area of operation.

That is not to say that a boarding officer has not had extensive on-the-job training and supervision to become qualified. His or her performance is reviewed annually—as was mine—to determine whether they should remain qualified as a boarding officer, as well as whenever they are transferred to a new unit.

Later in my career, my job was to train the trainers in matters of maritime law enforcement, personnel and procedures. I took this as an opportunity to add to the training regimen. I wanted to see that the senior boarding officer in the district educated the candidates about the type of vessels they would encounter and what these vessels would be doing. This would inform young boarding officers about the vagaries of the local boating scene.

In this case, the Coast Guard is boarding with local police officers as part of a joint safety inspection that could lead to arrests if evidence of a crime is detected.