The U.S. Coast Guard in Guam and the Pacific

Conversations about the Islands: the U.S. Territories and the Freely Associated States.

Join us in this conversation series to learn more about the islands - the people, the work,  reminiscences, and what lies ahead. What do you know about islands? Let's have some conversations and learn together.

Retired U.S. Coast Guard Captain and now Advisor to U.S. Coast Guard District 14, William Marhoffer talks with us about the scope and breadth of the U.S. Coast Guard's work in the Pacific and in the insular areas.

There's More to Islands ...

Hosted by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) Deputy Policy Director and Communications Lead Tanya Harris Joshua, this conversation series highlights people and issues of importance to the U.S. territories and the freely associated states.

This audio-recorded conversation is derived from the OIA Conversations series available on YouTube and is provided as a public service to bring more awareness and information about the Office of Insular Affairs and the insular areas with which it works and the programs in the insular areas to which it provides funding. These conversations do not meet requirements for financial reporting nor and neither are any opinions expressed therein endorsed by the U.S. Department of the Interior or the Office of Insular Affairs.

OIA Conversation Series  |  #WhatWeDoIslands  |  www.doi.gov/oia  |  @InsularAffairs

Transcript

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welcome and greetings from washington

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d.c

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i'm tanya joshua deputy director of

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policy and communications lead

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in the office of insular affairs at the

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u.s department of the interior

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we thank you for joining oia

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conversations where we share

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information and learn more about people

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programs and issues

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that are important and relevant to the

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us territories

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and to the freely associated states i am

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supported today and for this series by

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philippe izedian

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a duke university student today we are

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joined by retired captain and former

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commander of the u.s coast guard sector

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guam where he served as sector commander

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from 2005 to 2008

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a native of massachusetts captain

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marhoffer has retired after 30 years of

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service

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but since 2012 has been serving as a

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civilian as the coast guard co-chair

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of the oceania regional response team

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district 14

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emergency preparedness liaison to fema's

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region 9 and pacific area office

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and district 14 disaster response

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liaison

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to usaid's office of foreign disaster

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assistance

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your resume is much longer but captain

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marhopper thank you welcome and thank

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you for joining us today

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good morning tanya aloha my name is

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so you've been uh could you tell us a

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little bit about your duties as

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sector commander on guam uh as the

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sector commander

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of coast guard sector guam i was

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the senior coast guard service component

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representative

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in the marianas and i was responsible

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for

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the execution of the majority of the

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coast guard statutory missions

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in the mariana islands maritime mobility

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maritime security

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national defense i also served as

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the search-and-rescue mission

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coordinator

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for nearly all the waters of the

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republic of palau

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and the federated states of micronesia

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thank you um bill uh does anything in

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your mission

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on guam differ from any other part of

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the united states where coast guard

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serves

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well the the coast guard 14th district

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headquarters in honolulu which covers

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all of the

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u.s affiliated pacific islands

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is responsible for 10

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of the coast guard's 11 statutory

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missions

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we don't find ourselves with many

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opportunities to engage

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in domestic or polar icebreaking

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i would say there is uh one other

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somewhat unique difference about coast

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guard sector guam

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and that is the responsibility

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for search and rescue mission

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coordination

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for several independent nations

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uh our search and rescue mission

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coordination

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international search and rescue regions

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are broken up around the world and

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assigned to different countries

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by the international maritime

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organization and the international civil

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aviation organization

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specialty agencies of the united nations

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and it's not many coast guard

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sectors that actually execute that

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responsibility

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over several sovereign nations as i did

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with palau

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and the federated states of micronesia

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so

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not a day not a day goes by across coast

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guard district 14

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and not a day would go by on guam

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without some international engagement

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whether it was search and rescue whether

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it was

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fisheries enforcement or other maritime

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law enforcement

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issues and there's not many coast guard

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sectors

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domestically that have that level of

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consistent

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international engagement

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you you did not mention the marshall

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islands are they included in that

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uh in under that jurisdiction

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not under coast guard sector guam and

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rescue sub-center guam's search and

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rescue

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mission they are however the

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responsibility of the u.s coast guard

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for search and rescue mission

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coordination

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search and rescue mission coordination

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for the republic of the marshall islands

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falls under the 14th coast guard

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district's command

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center designated as joint rescue

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coordination center

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honolulu for both civil aviation and

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maritime

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rescue coordination people might not

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realize the size of this region

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perhaps you could help give us a picture

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the big picture from a maritime safety

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and a maritime law enforcement

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perspective

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is that the coast guard 14th district

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stretches

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across two oceans the pacific and the

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indian ocean

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from 150 nautical miles east of the main

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hawaiian islands

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to the tip of south africa our

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search and rescue uh international

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search and rescue

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region is 12.2

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million square nautical miles

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of the central and western pacific which

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would easily

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encompass the contiguous 48 mainland

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states

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incredible i've heard that you do not

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have a huge staff

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and how many assets in terms of ships

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and cutters do you have

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we have one ocean-going buoy tender

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located in honolulu and another in guam

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we have a fleet of three

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of our newest ships the 154-foot

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fast response cutters enhanced patrol

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boats

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here in honolulu two are currently in

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guam

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and its third is in transit

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from the west coast of the united states

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to guam

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via hawaii at this time

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we also have home ported

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in honolulu but not under the

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operational command

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of the 14th coast guard district two of

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our

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largest and most capable ships are

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national security cutters those

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are under the operational command of the

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commander coast guard pacific area

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based in alameda california but they are

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home

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ported here so you're the coast guard

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but this is this the furthest sort of it

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seems the furthest from the coast that

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you you are are mobilized

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well guam american samoa

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saipan where we have coast guard members

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stationed

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are are certainly uh far from the

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mainland and far

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from the major coast guard hubs of

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activity

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but we also have as uh operational

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commands

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under the 14th coast guard district our

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far east activities

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located at yokota air force base in

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japan

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and they have a marine safety detachment

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located in singapore i would say those

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are about the most

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far-flung coast guard assignments

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that you can get other than uh some of

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our units that are

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supporting the department of defense and

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the centcom

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aor or some of our coast guard attaches

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attached to various embassies around the

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world

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so the coast guard has been very busy

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lately i've seen

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uh the coast guard has participated in

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response to palau

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for typhoon sergey bringing materials

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also participating in repatriating

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uh people from uh to micronesia who were

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stranded

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uh when the coat when the borders were

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closed uh due to covid

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does that still fall within coast

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guard's mission

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uh it it actually falls

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more under our agency assistance

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authorities uh 14 united states code

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section 141 alpha

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allows the coast guard to provide

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assistance

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to any other federal agency having the

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authority to act

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internationally if we have personnel

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and facilities that are especially

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qualified

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to assist the disaster response

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mission carrying relief supplies from

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guam

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to palau was at the request of

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our u.s ambassador to palau ambassador

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hennessey neyland

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the c-130 repatriation of diplomatic

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personnel

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to the federated states of micronesia

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was again

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conducted at the request not only of

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the fsm government but also the united

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states state department

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the state department clearly has the

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authority to engage in these

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international matters

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they made a formal request to the coast

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guard and that statutory authority

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permits us to provide that assistance on

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in

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as available as capable basis

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well that was certainly beautiful some

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of those images of the coast guard

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plane flying in to this uh fun bay

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harbor

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um also not to not to be lost is uh

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search and rescue i know you do a lot of

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support for

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the coast guard does and in fact in 2020

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there was a story that went viral

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uh of the coast guard rescuing perhaps

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with some other partners folks who had

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they had put sos on the beach in the

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sand

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and that story went viral oh i saw that

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story

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in every news outlet practically in the

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us

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yes that that was uh a very fortuitous

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circumstance

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we rarely perform any of our

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missions alone especially here in the

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14th coast guard district

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where we have such a massive area to

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cover and

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such limited resources we succeed only

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through

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our partnerships our partnerships with

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the department of defense

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with other federal agencies including

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the office of insular affairs

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and with our international partners

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we have a number of memorandums of

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understanding

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memorandums of agreement bilateral

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international agreements that

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allow us to better conduct our mission

0:10:53.279,0:11:00.079

and to assist our partners in achieving

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mutual goals captain marhop or perhaps

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you could share with us

0:11:01.519,0:11:06.320

some of the primary missions of coast

0:11:03.600,0:11:09.120

guard district 14.

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across the coast guard district 14 area

0:11:09.120,0:11:14.399

of responsibility

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our work is focused on five

0:11:14.399,0:11:23.120

major core roles maritime security

0:11:19.440,0:11:26.560

maritime safety maritime mobility

0:11:23.120,0:11:30.279

protection of natural resources and

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national defense it's somewhat of an

0:11:30.279,0:11:34.320

oversimplification

0:11:31.680,0:11:34.800

but we like to say in the coast guard

0:11:34.320,0:11:38.160

that

0:11:34.800,0:11:38.800

our job is to protect humanity from the

0:11:38.160,0:11:41.440

sea

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and to protect the sea from the worst

0:11:41.440,0:11:46.800

aspects of humanity

0:11:43.200,0:11:50.320

like marine pollution plastic pollution

0:11:46.800,0:11:52.639

illegal unreported unregulated fishing

0:11:50.320,0:11:53.360

speaking of illegal and unreported

0:11:52.639,0:11:55.920

fishing

0:11:53.360,0:11:56.399

you have several fish rider agreements

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or you

0:11:56.399,0:11:59.519

are how can you explain that a little

0:11:59.040,0:12:01.440

bit more

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the fish writer agreement the coast

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guard 14th district has

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a number of bilateral

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maritime law enforcement agreements with

0:12:09.440,0:12:13.120

pacific

0:12:10.000,0:12:16.560

island nations primarily

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but not exclusively focused on

0:12:16.560,0:12:22.720

protection of marine resources fisheries

0:12:19.680,0:12:23.360

law enforcement the first two were

0:12:22.720,0:12:24.959

signed

0:12:23.360,0:12:26.639

with the republic of palau and the

0:12:24.959,0:12:29.920

federated states of micronesia

0:12:26.639,0:12:33.120

while i was in command on guam and

0:12:29.920,0:12:36.399

i'm pleased to have been involved in

0:12:33.120,0:12:37.519

some training and joint operations while

0:12:36.399,0:12:39.760

i was there

0:12:37.519,0:12:43.440

with both republic of palau and

0:12:39.760,0:12:43.440

federated states of micronesia

0:12:44.160,0:12:50.079

these allow us

0:12:47.200,0:12:50.800

in the u.s coast guard to operate our

0:12:50.079,0:12:53.440

ships

0:12:50.800,0:12:54.959

in the exclusive economic zones of these

0:12:53.440,0:12:58.240

sovereign nations

0:12:54.959,0:13:01.519

with their shipwriters on board

0:12:58.240,0:13:03.040

so we can provide boarding platforms of

0:13:01.519,0:13:07.360

opportunity

0:13:03.040,0:13:09.839

to help regulate their

0:13:07.360,0:13:12.000

strategic resources it's not only food

0:13:09.839,0:13:13.519

security it's economic security

0:13:12.000,0:13:15.279

for a number of the pacific island

0:13:13.519,0:13:18.639

nations certainly including

0:13:15.279,0:13:20.639

the freely associated states i wanted to

0:13:18.639,0:13:22.480

highlight uh one instance where the

0:13:20.639,0:13:24.720

department of the interior partnered

0:13:22.480,0:13:27.360

with the coast guard to help palau

0:13:24.720,0:13:27.920

with aids to navigation and i believe it

0:13:27.360,0:13:31.440

was in

0:13:27.920,0:13:33.040

2020 uh in palau

0:13:31.440,0:13:35.279

do you could you speak to us a little

0:13:33.040,0:13:36.399

bit about aids to navigation projects

0:13:35.279,0:13:38.079

and and

0:13:36.399,0:13:39.920

what's what's the purpose and why are

0:13:38.079,0:13:42.399

they important

0:13:39.920,0:13:43.279

each navigation is part of maritime

0:13:42.399,0:13:45.360

mobility

0:13:43.279,0:13:47.600

it's it's keeping ships and cargos

0:13:45.360,0:13:49.920

moving safely

0:13:47.600,0:13:51.199

you know we're islanders we live on

0:13:49.920,0:13:54.000

import dependent

0:13:51.199,0:13:55.600

economy islands unfortunately we're no

0:13:54.000,0:13:56.160

longer in a position to sustain

0:13:55.600,0:13:58.720

ourselves

0:13:56.160,0:14:02.000

even with food security so we need to

0:13:58.720,0:14:05.040

keep the ships and the cargos coming in

0:14:02.000,0:14:05.920

aids to navigation facilitate that it

0:14:05.040,0:14:08.720

also

0:14:05.920,0:14:10.160

facilitates maritime safety preventing

0:14:08.720,0:14:13.279

vessel casualties

0:14:10.160,0:14:13.920

and that minimizes adverse environmental

0:14:13.279,0:14:15.680

impacts

0:14:13.920,0:14:17.199

from spills of oil or hazardous

0:14:15.680,0:14:20.800

substances

0:14:17.199,0:14:25.040

so it's an often overlooked

0:14:20.800,0:14:27.839

uh unglamorous mission area

0:14:25.040,0:14:29.760

it involves i would say the industrial

0:14:27.839,0:14:31.040

coast guard as opposed to the baywatch

0:14:29.760,0:14:34.560

coast guard

0:14:31.040,0:14:37.440

but it is critical in maintaining

0:14:34.560,0:14:38.240

the safety of maritime commerce that all

0:14:37.440,0:14:41.279

of our

0:14:38.240,0:14:43.440

islands here depends upon

0:14:41.279,0:14:45.120

the united states coast guard used to

0:14:43.440,0:14:48.079

provide aids to navigation

0:14:45.120,0:14:49.680

service to the freely associated states

0:14:48.079,0:14:52.000

when they fell under the trust

0:14:49.680,0:14:55.040

territories of the pacific

0:14:52.000,0:14:58.560

upon attaining independence

0:14:55.040,0:14:59.279

the only one of the freely associated

0:14:58.560,0:15:02.160

states

0:14:59.279,0:15:02.639

where under the compact we still provide

0:15:02.160,0:15:06.160

some

0:15:02.639,0:15:09.279

limited aids to navigation service

0:15:06.160,0:15:13.839

is the republic of the marshall islands

0:15:09.279,0:15:13.839

in support of kwajalein and ebuy

0:15:14.079,0:15:20.880

palau's easter navigation have been

0:15:17.800,0:15:23.440

deteriorating they required

0:15:20.880,0:15:25.120

survey and some repair perhaps

0:15:23.440,0:15:26.720

replacement

0:15:25.120,0:15:28.720

request was made through the state

0:15:26.720,0:15:30.399

department and through the office of

0:15:28.720,0:15:32.959

insular affairs

0:15:30.399,0:15:34.959

under our agency assistance authority

0:15:32.959,0:15:37.519

that i cited earlier

0:15:34.959,0:15:38.480

the u.s coast guard was uniquely

0:15:37.519,0:15:41.600

qualified

0:15:38.480,0:15:44.639

to provide that technical assistance

0:15:41.600,0:15:46.320

and with the requests the authorization

0:15:44.639,0:15:48.480

and funding support

0:15:46.320,0:15:50.480

from state department and office of

0:15:48.480,0:15:53.199

insular affairs

0:15:50.480,0:15:54.000

we made i believe it was two trips to

0:15:53.199,0:15:56.639

palau

0:15:54.000,0:15:58.639

with the coast guard cutter sequoia our

0:15:56.639,0:15:59.680

ocean-going buoy tender homeported in

0:15:58.639,0:16:03.440

guam

0:15:59.680,0:16:06.639

to do those assessments and to identify

0:16:03.440,0:16:10.399

recommended repairs replacement upgrades

0:16:06.639,0:16:14.320

to palau's aids navigation system

0:16:10.399,0:16:16.959

now as a former uh commander for guam

0:16:14.320,0:16:17.519

guam sector guam what advice would you

0:16:16.959,0:16:19.759

give

0:16:17.519,0:16:23.120

uh coast new coast guard members coming

0:16:19.759,0:16:27.040

out to to guam and the region

0:16:23.120,0:16:29.759

i would give i have given in the past

0:16:27.040,0:16:31.440

um a simple piece of advice that was

0:16:29.759,0:16:34.560

provided to me

0:16:31.440,0:16:38.160

shortly after i reported to guam by the

0:16:34.560,0:16:42.880

late former guam senator paul bordaglio

0:16:38.160,0:16:42.880

respect the history respect the culture

0:16:44.320,0:16:48.160

thank you very much for for that message

0:16:46.720,0:16:50.320

and um

0:16:48.160,0:16:51.600

in honor of asian american pacific

0:16:50.320,0:16:53.920

islander native

0:16:51.600,0:16:55.440

hawaiian and pacific islander month here

0:16:53.920,0:16:57.199

in the month of may

0:16:55.440,0:16:59.040

i was very impressed by an article that

0:16:57.199,0:17:01.040

i that you shared with me

0:16:59.040,0:17:03.040

called the long blue line the history of

0:17:01.040,0:17:05.919

pacific island men and women in the u.s

0:17:03.040,0:17:07.760

coast guard could you speak a little bit

0:17:05.919,0:17:09.679

to that

0:17:07.760,0:17:11.280

that was an article produced by the

0:17:09.679,0:17:14.720

coast guard historians

0:17:11.280,0:17:17.120

office specifically for

0:17:14.720,0:17:18.720

asian-american pacific islanders month

0:17:17.120,0:17:21.439

this month of may

0:17:18.720,0:17:22.079

to highlight not only the coast guard's

0:17:21.439,0:17:24.880

roles

0:17:22.079,0:17:26.799

in the pacific going back to the revenue

0:17:24.880,0:17:29.120

cutter lawrence arriving in honolulu

0:17:26.799,0:17:32.400

harbor in 1847

0:17:29.120,0:17:35.919

but also the participation

0:17:32.400,0:17:38.400

of pacific islanders in the coast guard

0:17:35.919,0:17:39.600

and several of its predecessor services

0:17:38.400,0:17:42.400

such as the u.s

0:17:39.600,0:17:43.440

lighthouse service i think the most

0:17:42.400,0:17:46.720

famous that i've

0:17:43.440,0:17:49.280

recognized was duke yes

0:17:46.720,0:17:51.280

i wanted to ask you about islanders from

0:17:49.280,0:17:53.760

guam from the northern mariana islands

0:17:51.280,0:17:55.679

from american samoa from micronesia

0:17:53.760,0:17:57.679

marshals and palau

0:17:55.679,0:17:59.440

and even the virgin islands who are in

0:17:57.679,0:18:02.480

the coast guard what can you tell

0:17:59.440,0:18:04.720

us about that well it's a i think it's a

0:18:02.480,0:18:05.360

fairly well known fact that the insular

0:18:04.720,0:18:07.520

areas

0:18:05.360,0:18:09.039

of the pacific and the caribbean have

0:18:07.520,0:18:11.840

among the highest

0:18:09.039,0:18:13.200

rates of service per capita in the u.s

0:18:11.840,0:18:16.240

armed forces

0:18:13.200,0:18:19.520

of of any of the united states

0:18:16.240,0:18:22.160

and that is fairly true

0:18:19.520,0:18:22.799

for the coast guard as well as one of

0:18:22.160,0:18:26.240

the

0:18:22.799,0:18:26.799

armed forces i have served throughout my

0:18:26.240,0:18:29.919

career

0:18:26.799,0:18:30.720

not just when based here in the pacific

0:18:29.919,0:18:34.160

islands but

0:18:30.720,0:18:37.039

when i've served in the mainland with uh

0:18:34.160,0:18:39.520

with chamorros with carolinians with

0:18:37.039,0:18:42.960

american samoans

0:18:39.520,0:18:46.400

certainly among our reserve forces who

0:18:42.960,0:18:50.080

tend to be recruited from the local area

0:18:46.400,0:18:53.679

and generally serve in their home area

0:18:50.080,0:18:56.799

we have a number of pacific islanders

0:18:53.679,0:18:57.679

serving at coast guard sector guam as

0:18:56.799,0:19:01.760

well as

0:18:57.679,0:19:01.760

in american samoa and in saipan

0:19:02.480,0:19:06.960

um captain mahoffer thank you for your

0:19:05.039,0:19:09.840

time we've been speaking to captain

0:19:06.960,0:19:10.960

william marhoffer u.s coast guard

0:19:09.840,0:19:13.200

district 14

0:19:10.960,0:19:14.400

out of honolulu could you please tell us

0:19:13.200,0:19:16.480

what that picture is

0:19:14.400,0:19:18.960

behind you your background picture

0:19:16.480,0:19:22.080

you're looking at

0:19:18.960,0:19:25.120

the view of honolulu harbor from

0:19:22.080,0:19:27.120

my lanai um if i were to uh

0:19:25.120,0:19:28.960

turn my ipad around and just look out

0:19:27.120,0:19:32.880

the window you would see essentially

0:19:28.960,0:19:34.640

that view um having been

0:19:32.880,0:19:37.280

in the coast guard for nearly all of my

0:19:34.640,0:19:39.039

adult life joining at the age of 17

0:19:37.280,0:19:41.919

and having been a licensed merchant

0:19:39.039,0:19:44.400

marine officer for more than 30 years

0:19:41.919,0:19:47.840

i like living here on the the working

0:19:44.400,0:19:51.120

waterfront of honolulu harbor

0:19:47.840,0:19:52.000

and is that aloha tower is that a that

0:19:51.120,0:19:56.240

seems to be

0:19:52.000,0:19:58.480

um a tour an important tourist spot

0:19:56.240,0:20:00.480

yes yeah or at least when we're not

0:19:58.480,0:20:02.320

under covert restrictions here in the

0:20:00.480,0:20:04.799

city and county of honolulu

0:20:02.320,0:20:06.480

right right uh could you just tell us

0:20:04.799,0:20:07.520

really quickly what is happening in

0:20:06.480,0:20:10.640

honolulu

0:20:07.520,0:20:14.400

under kovid there are tourists coming uh

0:20:10.640,0:20:17.840

hawaii has been open to tourism

0:20:14.400,0:20:18.799

with a number of restrictions hawaii

0:20:17.840,0:20:22.880

still has a

0:20:18.799,0:20:26.320

statewide mask mandate in public

0:20:22.880,0:20:29.840

there have been varying county by

0:20:26.320,0:20:33.120

county additional requirements for

0:20:29.840,0:20:36.080

tourist travel at this point

0:20:33.120,0:20:36.559

people who want to travel to hawaii need

0:20:36.080,0:20:40.480

to

0:20:36.559,0:20:44.480

have a negative covid test a particular

0:20:40.480,0:20:47.440

type of test by a testing facility

0:20:44.480,0:20:48.080

recognized by the state of hawaii within

0:20:47.440,0:20:51.120

72

0:20:48.080,0:20:53.120

hours of of departure or 72 hours of

0:20:51.120,0:20:55.600

arriving here in hawaii

0:20:53.120,0:20:57.520

and several of the counties have in the

0:20:55.600,0:21:00.480

past imposed their own

0:20:57.520,0:21:01.200

post-arrival test requirements in order

0:21:00.480,0:21:04.400

to avoid

0:21:01.200,0:21:06.880

quarantine we have been open to

0:21:04.400,0:21:07.679

travelers we have been open to tourists

0:21:06.880,0:21:11.120

for several

0:21:07.679,0:21:14.000

months uh they simply have to meet those

0:21:11.120,0:21:14.480

testing restrictions or they're subject

0:21:14.000,0:21:17.679

to

0:21:14.480,0:21:20.559

quarantine upon arrival it has

0:21:17.679,0:21:23.039

certainly had an effect on the state's

0:21:20.559,0:21:23.039

economy

0:21:23.120,0:21:27.840

very sorry to hear and and i hope that

0:21:25.360,0:21:30.880

that we can come back to a you know

0:21:27.840,0:21:33.360

a new new normal soon

0:21:30.880,0:21:34.320

captain marhofer i have enjoyed uh

0:21:33.360,0:21:36.240

working with you

0:21:34.320,0:21:37.840

and and receiving information about the

0:21:36.240,0:21:38.320

coast guard and all of the important

0:21:37.840,0:21:41.200

work

0:21:38.320,0:21:42.799

that you do out there uh in the pacific

0:21:41.200,0:21:45.520

uh it now seems that you've been

0:21:42.799,0:21:47.120

as we close you have been in the pacific

0:21:45.520,0:21:51.120

quite

0:21:47.120,0:21:55.039

some time it has become your home

0:21:51.120,0:21:57.520

yes um i've been living and working

0:21:55.039,0:21:58.159

in the pacific islands and uh even

0:21:57.520,0:22:02.000

though

0:21:58.159,0:22:05.520

based here in honolulu now

0:22:02.000,0:22:07.840

my job responsibilities include

0:22:05.520,0:22:08.799

all of the u.s affiliated pacific

0:22:07.840,0:22:10.880

islands

0:22:08.799,0:22:12.080

that all three territories all three of

0:22:10.880,0:22:14.880

the freely associated

0:22:12.080,0:22:16.799

states i also work with several

0:22:14.880,0:22:19.039

international organizations

0:22:16.799,0:22:21.679

including the secretariat of the pacific

0:22:19.039,0:22:25.120

regional environment program

0:22:21.679,0:22:27.760

which has membership across the broader

0:22:25.120,0:22:28.400

pacific island countries and territories

0:22:27.760,0:22:31.200

so yes

0:22:28.400,0:22:33.520

i would say this is my home after

0:22:31.200,0:22:36.640

retirement from active duty i wanted to

0:22:33.520,0:22:39.679

continue to help to provide

0:22:36.640,0:22:43.520

service to the often underrepresented

0:22:39.679,0:22:43.520

underserved insular areas

0:22:43.679,0:22:47.360

um before we do close actually i wanted

0:22:46.159,0:22:49.919

to ask you about

0:22:47.360,0:22:51.840

uh you are a member of the ancient order

0:22:49.919,0:22:53.039

of the chamori by the governor of guam

0:22:51.840,0:22:55.039

could you please tell us a little bit

0:22:53.039,0:22:59.520

more about that

0:22:55.039,0:23:02.400

that was uh a high honor bestowed on me

0:22:59.520,0:23:03.280

by the governor of guam upon my

0:23:02.400,0:23:07.280

departure

0:23:03.280,0:23:08.240

from command in guam my understanding is

0:23:07.280,0:23:10.960

that it is

0:23:08.240,0:23:12.080

a recognition from the government of

0:23:10.960,0:23:15.440

guam

0:23:12.080,0:23:18.080

to a non-chamorro who

0:23:15.440,0:23:20.880

has rendered great service to the island

0:23:18.080,0:23:25.039

and the people of guam

0:23:20.880,0:23:25.039

i consider that among my my high honors

0:23:25.440,0:23:28.799

thank you very much um captain

0:23:27.360,0:23:30.400

marlhoffer for joining us in our

0:23:28.799,0:23:32.799

discussion today

0:23:30.400,0:23:34.320

uh thank you for your service in in the

0:23:32.799,0:23:35.679

united states coast guard

0:23:34.320,0:23:37.200

on behalf of the american people and

0:23:35.679,0:23:38.159

thank you for your service to the people

0:23:37.200,0:23:39.679

of the islands

0:23:38.159,0:23:42.559

would you have any last words that you

0:23:39.679,0:23:42.559

would like to share with us

0:23:44.880,0:23:50.960

i love guam i miss my home and i

0:23:48.000,0:23:52.080

look forward to covert restrictions

0:23:50.960,0:23:55.600

allowing me to

0:23:52.080,0:23:58.240

return to micronesia very soon

0:23:55.600,0:23:59.120

thank you very much you're very welcome

0:23:58.240,0:24:05.840

tanya

0:23:59.120,0:24:05.840

it's been my pleasure

0:24:26.880,0:24:28.960

you