Role of law enforcement rating developing

Role of law enforcement rating developing
By Amy McCullough - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 29, 2008 11:38:55 EST

As the Coast Guard’s four new master chief maritime enforcement specialists transition into their new roles, many questions remain about the direction of the new rating and its role in the Coast Guard. But few question the necessity of a law enforcement-focused specialty in the post-Sept. 11 world.

Commandant Adm. Thad Allen announced the three active-duty billets and one reserve master chief billet — the first-ever MEs — during a ceremony Dec. 16 at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington. The decision came six months after the new rating was announced in a servicewide message.

The maritime enforcement specialists rating, slated for full implementation in January 2010, is expected to absorb nearly all of the 1,200 reserve-only port security specialists. Officials estimate the rating will include 600 to 1,000 active-duty members and 600 to 1,200 reservists, Lt. Clayton Beal, ME implementation project manager, has said. Besides the port security specialists, the rest of the ME rating will be made up of lateral movers from other job fields.

The first members of the new rating are MECM Gordon Muse, rating force manager; MECM Steven Lowry, non-resident course writer; MECM Randy Krahn, ME A-School chief; and MECM Sam Allred, who is the port security rating force manager.

“We manage the bulk of our people through ratings, and our existing personnel system could not effectively support this capability without one. I believe the creation of this rating is the single most important action the Coast Guard needed to maintain expertise and operate these units’ safely,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles “Skip” Bowen wrote in a guest post on the commandant’s blog.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/coastguard_mecm_122908w/%2e