Maritime Defense Zone Command
MARDEFCOM
A 1994 Memorandum of Agreement streamlined the MDZ organization and renamed the sectors as Maritime Defense Commands (MARDEFCOMs). The two MDZ's are each divided into sectors. These sectors generally follow the Coast Guard district boundaries. Most sectors are commanded by the local Coast Guard district commander, with a senior Navy officer serving as the deputy sector commander. However, there are four sectors, Five, Six, Ten, and an as yet unidentified district (two on each coast) where the situation is reversed; they are commanded by Navy officers and senior Coast Guard officers serve as the deputies.
Maritime Defense Zone Commands are assigned as the Fleet CINC's Echelon III Navy command responsible for planning, exercising, and conducting CONUS Naval Coastal Warfare (NCW) operations, a Navy mission within the United States coastal regions including Alaska, the Aleutians, Hawaii, Midway, and Puerto Rico.
The MARDEFCOMs coordinate, support and execute harbor defense within their assigned geographic area, as tasked by the MDZ Commander. The primary MARDEFCOM role is to fulfill the DOD responsibilities of the assigned NCW Commander through the maintenance and execution of specific port level defense plans (i.e., Coast Guard 9700 series Port Contingency Plans). The MARDEFCOM serves as the Naval Coastal Warfare Commander for his respective assigned area of operations. In addition, he he responsible for assessing the coastal defense requirements within our AO and request via the Maritime Defense Zone Operational Commander, the Naval Coastal Warfare force package that he judges is required to provide an adequate level of defense.
At the port level, the MARDEFCOM is also responsible for assigning a Harbor Defense Commander, normally, the Captain of the Port (COTP) who would normally exercise direct command over a specific area of operation.
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