Original Date: 04/29/2002
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Until 1987, the United States Coast Guard’s basic structure included twelve autonomous districts aggregated into two areas a Headquarters and a number of specialized commands. District Commanders provided oversight for subordinate commands that delivered services to the public. Engineering and other support was provided by a combination of generic unit level resources, district staffs, contractors, and in some cases by Headquarters. In August 1986, the Commandant concluded that some consolidation of these common support functions on an area- wide basis would require fewer resources. The plan, developed by the project team, created the Maintenance and Logistics Commands (MLCs) on the East and West Coasts. These new MLCs consolidated support services allowed reprogramming support personnel to operational mission areas.

The United States Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command - Atlantic (MLCLANT), located in Norfolk, Virginia, provides maintenance and logistics support to Coast Guard commands in 40 states east of the Rocky Mountains, as well as commands in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Europe. MLCLANT is committed to meeting or exceeding the support service requirements of Commander, Atlantic Area and Commander, U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic and their subordinate commands. MLCLANT’s resolve to "be ready" is achieved by engaging early in the planning process and working proactively with customers to understand their needs. MLCLANT seeks ways to lower costs and enhance Coast Guard operations, and develops and fosters a workplace that encourages trust and enables each member to fulfill his or her full potential. The men and women of MLCLANT are proud to perform their mission of providing world class support through the use of new technology and streamlined business processes, and are committed to renewing MLCLANT through continuous improvement and by embedding quality in all that they do. It is important to the Command that it "reach out" to build strong community relations and to educate the public on the value of the Coast Guard. MLCLANT reduces its workload by eliminating non value-added tasks and acts as a catalyst for implementing new technologies to improve its mission to "Keep Coast Guard units and personnel in the Atlantic Area Semper Paratus” (Always Ready). MLCLANT accomplishes this by identifying existing and future support requirements; providing responsive, integrated logistics services to meet those requirements; creating innovative support solutions; aggressively seeking opportunities to relieve operational commanders of support responsibilities; and developing deliberate support planning processes that facilitate the application of limited resources to achieve maximum benefits.

This survey was conducted in conjunction with the “Continuous Improvement of Drydocking Management” project of the Gulf Coast Region Maritime Technology Center. The BMP Survey Team observed the dedication of MLCLANT personnel in accomplishing their mission within the financial constraints that exist, and considers the practices in this report to be among the best in government and industry.

TABLE OF ACRONYMS:
The following acronyms were used in this report:

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.