Patrol Forces Southwest Asia or PATFORSWA is a United States Coast Guard command based in Manama, Bahrain. PATFORSWA was created in November 2002 as a contingency operation to support the U.S. Navy with patrol boats. The command’s mission is to train, equip, deploy and support maritime forces conducting operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) In the Naval Forces Central Command’s area of responsibility.[1] It was commissioned as a permanent duty station in June 2004.[2] In July 2003 PATFORSWA moved from its own compound to facilities at Naval Support Activity Bahrain.[3]
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There are six Coast Guard 110' Island class patrol boats assigned to PATFORSWA: USCGC Adak (WPB-1333), USCGC Aquidneck (WPB-1309), USCGC Baranof (WPB-1318), USCGC Maui (WPB-1304), USCGC Monomoy (WPB-1326), and USCGC Wrangell (WPB-1332).[4]
The Middle East Training Team (METT) is responsible for providing specialized law enforcement training to all cutters in theater and certifying their Level II Non-Compliant Boarding Teams. They also regularly augment other teams and assets in theater and perform boardings in the Northern Persian Gulf, train foreign military units throughout the region, and conduct demonstrations for visiting VIP's.[5]
Redeployment Assistance Inspection Detachments (RAID) consist of Coast Guard members deployed with the U.S Army to support the shipment of materials in and out of war zones. Their mission is to assist the Department of Defense with the safe re-deployment of containerized cargo as well as the storage and segregation of hazardous materials. The Coast Guard's goal is to ensure that hazardous material is properly prepared for shipment and re-entry to U.S. ports. The team moves from one Forward Operating Base to another, making them among the few Coast Guardsmen that have been so far forward with the U.S. Army in a combat zone.[6]
While the first RAID was deployed in 2003, they were first brought under the PATFORSWA command structure in 2010.[7]
Shore-side personnel augment and share responsibility for all cutter maintenance, much like a Maintenance Assistance Team and a Sector. In addition, all shore-side personnel provide anti-terrorism force protection (ATFP) support.[8]