Coast Guard hosts foreign defense attachés in Honolulu

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard hosted foreign defense attachés representing 34 nations in Honolulu today.

The defense attachés visited the 378-foot Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau and Coast Guard Base Honolulu as part of an Operations Orientation Program to highlight military programs of all services, introduce them to the U.S. military, homeland security, defense missions, facilities, systems and capabilities and also expose them to historical and cultural aspects of American society.

The Operations Orientation Program serves many purposes, according to the Coast Guard. It enables the corps of foreign defense attachés to meet with and hear from senior Department of Defense leaders in joint and operational commands and key supporting commands across four services, with a focus on joint war fighting.

It also assists the foreign defense attachés in the conduct of their Vienna Convention mission of observing and reporting on “the receiving state,” in the case of the United States. The program is used to underscore the transparency and openness of the U.S. society and encourage closer cooperation between Department of Defense and the participants’ respective militaries.