Coast Guard cutters once carried Harpoon Anti-ship missiles, and could again

The Coast Guard is flexing its muscles and seeking missions far from US shores. They want to be a player in Oceania. And to do that they need offensive weapons (for deterrence). Looks like they will get their Harpoon anti-ship missiles back.

When you mention the U.S. Coast Guard to someone, usually patrolling near America's territorial waters, drug interdiction, and rescuing boaters come to mind, but the reality is that the Coastie's mission ranges far from home and into some pretty nasty neighborhoods. At one time, this reality, combined with a very serious foe, resulted in some of the service's most capable cutters being outfitted with RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles. Fast forward to today, and we may be on the precipice of another similar sea-change for the service in terms of how heavily armed some of its ships become.

Coast Guard ships are deployed around the globe, from the volatile Persian Gulf to the disputed waters of the South China Sea to the very tense Taiwan Strait, to execute higher-end missions sometimes alongside their more heavily armed U.S. Navy counterparts. As so-called "great power competition" among peer state adversaries heats up, the Coast Guard is getting called on to fill more of these types of missions traditionally executed by Navy surface combatants.

In fact, it has just been announced that the U.S. Coast Guard will be sending three of its newest Fast-Response Cutters to Guam and intends to have a greater presence overall in the region in an attempt to help counter-balance adversaries' growing influence and capabilities—namely China.

Commandant Admiral Karl Schultz, speaking during a visit to the Philippines, part a large tour of the Indo-Pacific region, said that the Coast Guard is "doubling down on Oceana," stating in part the following, according toStars and Stripes:
Read the quote and the rest of the article at the link.