The Coast Guard is making cutter connectivity faster and more reliable than ever before. You heard that right: the Coast Guard is completing a years-long effort to improve cutters’ internet access. Think of it as upgrading from 1990s dial-up to 2025 Wi-Fi.
The cutter internet project installed satellite technology on more than 160 Coast Guard cutters—over 80 percent of the cutter fleet—including all National Security Cutters and legacy major cutters such as the WMEC-270s, WMEC-210s, and the Eagle. The project was a joint effort undertaken by the Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Cyber and Intelligence Service Center (C5ISC) Deployed Connectivity Section, the Office of Cutter Forces (CG-751), the Coast Guard Research and Development Center, and the Office of C5I Program Management (CG-68).
The new satellites are increasing bandwidth and internet speed, allowing members with Coast Guard network access to communicate with each other and shore units, make calls around the world, and easily use the internet, DoD365 Teams, and CG Portal.
This upgrade is the Coast Guard’s latest effort to improve life at sea. The service has also increased pay for members assigned to cutters, expanded virtual training options, and made workforce announcements easier to access by posting them on the public web, rather than making afloat members log onto the Coast Guard network to find information.
The new technology uses 100 new clusters of satellites, also known as proliferated Low Earth Orbit (pLEO) satellites. Because they orbit lower than other satellites, pLEO satellites decrease the distance signals need to travel from one point to another. The result is internet underway that is 20-50 times faster than cutters experienced before the upgrade.
Cutter crews can now communicate in real time with colleagues in different hemispheres, according to Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Bennett, afloat workforce manager in the Office of Cutter Forces (CG-751). “You can be supporting the Indo-Pacific mission in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and still be able to receive emails and Teams calls from the San Francisco District Commander,” Bennett explained. “You’re increasing your operational capability by having faster intelligence – by having communications with other cutters that could be patrolling.” In short, he said, “you’re increasing your operational capability exponentially.”
MyCG tested out the new technology by placing Teams video calls to U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Venturous, which is on the front lines of the Service’s drug interdiction and law enforcement efforts.
We experienced zero lag or speed issues during our conversation with the ship’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Karen Kutkiewicz, and Executive Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Ben Yahle.
Just two years ago, Yahle told us, video calling from cutters was unimaginable. “The overall impact is game-changing,” he emphasized. “We can not only do our jobs infinitely more effectively than we could before, but the impact on work-life balance underway is tremendous.”
Previously, Kutkiewicz explained, Venturous’ training officers had to use liberty time to complete paperwork. Better connectivity underway means these officers can handle administrative duties underway and have their time off to themselves.
Yahle knows the personal impacts of cutter connectivity firsthand. He has appreciated his newfound ability to regularly call his wife and children while at sea. “One of the most daunting parts of getting underway for months at a time was knowing that you’d have very limited ability to stay in touch,” he said. “We could email, but that’s not the same as being able to see and talk in real time to the people you love.”
Kutkiewicz says the improved connectivity has fostered greater morale and community for her crew, who use the technology to enjoy sporting events together on the mess deck and stay connected to life on land.
It also helps members aboard different ships support each other.
Recently, Kutkiewicz told MyCG, “One incredible thing is access to health care. We can video chat with the flight surgeon to determine if a medevac is required for my crew’s urgent medical issues. Other shipboard emergencies happen all the time. My EO can chat with other EOs dealing with similar issues, like our finicky generators for example.”
Beyond conversations with shipmates and doctors, improved cutter connectivity lets members use Teams to seek support from Employee Assistance Program Coordinators (EAPC), chaplains, and resilience coordinators. It also helps members access the CG SUPRT website with its hundreds of articles, a legal library, educational videos, self-assessments, quizzes, courses, financial tools and much more.
Ultimately, better cutter connectivity will support the next generation of Coast Guard leaders and members. For members who are fresh out of boot camp, Kutkiewicz noted, the ability to talk to family on the phone “can really get you through a tough time when you’re in the same berthing area as 21 guys and you feel like you’re out of place.” And given Generation Z’s use of social media and affinity for the digital world, she added, it will help the Service recruit top talent and build its workforce for the future.
What’s next? Program staff are exploring new ways to improve and expand connectivity, but it’s safe to say that new cutter acquisitions will come equipped with satellite technology.
“While the pLEO service is brand new, we’ve been trying to improve [the afloat experience] as we can,” said Justin Cotter, a civilian who helps manage the cutter connectivity program for the Office of C5I Program Management (CG-68). “The field asked, and we listened.”
-USCG
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