§279 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

The Defense and Homeland Security Secretaries must put Coast Guard members trained to enforce the law on suitable Navy surface ships at sea in areas where drug smuggling is happening. Those Coast Guard members must have Coast Guard arrest and search powers and carry out law‑enforcement work, including drug interdiction, as the two Secretaries agree and as the Coast Guard is allowed to do. At least 500 active‑duty Coast Guard members must be assigned to this duty each fiscal year. If there are not enough Navy ships, the Homeland Security Secretary, after consulting the Defense Secretary, can give those personnel other law‑enforcement assignments listed in another law. A "drug‑interdiction area" is an area outside U.S. land that the Defense Secretary, after consulting the Attorney General, says has drug‑smuggling activity.

Title 10, §279

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide that there be assigned on board every appropriate surface naval vessel at sea in a drug-interdiction area members of the Coast Guard who are trained in law enforcement and have powers of the Coast Guard under title 14, including the power to make arrests and to carry out searches and seizures.

(b)Members of the Coast Guard assigned to duty on board naval vessels under this section shall perform such law enforcement functions (including drug-interdiction functions)—

(1)as may be agreed upon by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security; and

(2)as are otherwise within the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.

(c)No fewer than 500 active duty personnel of the Coast Guard shall be assigned each fiscal year to duty under this section. However, if at any time the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with the Secretary of Defense, determines that there are insufficient naval vessels available for purposes of this section, such personnel may be assigned other duty involving enforcement of laws listed in section 374(b)(4)(A) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title.

(d)In this section, the term “drug-interdiction area” means an area outside the land area of the United States (as defined in section 374(b)(4)(B) 1 of this title) in which the Secretary of Defense (in consultation with the Attorney General) determines that activities involving smuggling of drugs into the United States are ongoing.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 374 of this title, referred to in subsecs. (c) and (d), was renumbered section 274 of this title by Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title XII, § 1241(a)(2), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2497.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 279, added Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 822(d)(1), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1707, authorized acceptance of gratuitous services of officers of reserve components, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, §§ 1661(a)(2)(A), 1691, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2979, 3026, effective Dec. 1, 1994. See section 10212 of this title. Another prior section 279, added Pub. L. 85–861, § 1(5)(C), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1439; amended Pub. L. 94–273, § 11(2), Apr. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 378, directed Secretary of Defense to report to President and Congress, in January of each year, on the status of training of each reserve component and the progress made in strengthening the reserve components during the preceding fiscal year, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 95–485, § 406(b)(1).

Amendments

2016—Pub. L. 114–328 renumbered section 379 of this title as this section. 2002—Subsecs. (a), (b)(1), (c). Pub. L. 107–296 substituted “of Homeland Security” for “of Transportation”. 1988—Pub. L. 100–456 amended section generally, substituting “every appropriate surface naval vessel” for “appropriate surface naval vessels” in subsec. (a), substituting “section 374(b)(4)(A)” for “section 374(a)(1)” in subsec. (c), and inserting “(as defined in section 374(b)(4)(B) of this title)” in subsec. (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2002 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section 1704(g) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

§279 Assignment of Coast Guard Personnel to Naval Vessels for Law Enforcement Purposes