Coast Guard says rescues still key mission

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard says that it is not shirking rescues at sea despite a government report that found it was spending more effort on homeland security tasks.

The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said in a report issued last week that there had been "clear trend toward emphasizing homeland security missions" that could make it more difficult for the Coast Guard to carry out its traditional safety roles.

USA Today said Tuesday that Coast Guard commanders saw the conclusions as misleading and that its boats and aircraft still spend plenty of time on non-homeland security tasks.

"Our priority has always been and will continue to be saving lives," Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Christopher O'Neil told the newspaper.

A major finding of the disputed report was a decrease in the number of rescue operations from around 84,000 in 2001 to 60,000 in 2007 at a time the Coast Guard's ranks were growing.

The report also noted the Coast Guard was spending more time patrolling U.S. fishing waters and intercepting boatloads of illegal immigrants.