The US Coast Guard has been strengthening its presence in Alaska in order to increase its operations in the Arctic but must rely heavily on the private sector to extend its reach in the area, homeland security officials said this week.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to Alaska in the past several days to assess Coast Guard assets and agreements with other agencies and private companies to provide assistance to the Coast Guard when necessary.
