Pacific Strike Team (PST)
The PST is one of three Special Teams that make up the National Strike Force. It is a vital national asset comprised of a unique, highly trained cadre of Coast Guard professionals who maintain and rapidly deploy with specialized equipment and incident management skills any time to any place or hazard.
The PST is recognized worldwide as an expert authority in the preparation for and response to the effects resulting from oil discharges, hazardous substance releases, weapons of mass destruction events, and other emergencies on behalf of the American public.
Our area of responsibility covers all or portions of the 8 th, 11 th, 13 th, 14 th, and 17 th Coast Guard Districts and Environmental Protection Agency Regions 8, 9, and 10. In addition to these areas we also have international responsibilities for Asia, the Arctic, Antarctica, and Western Canada (to 36° Longitude).
For a more complete summary of PST missions and capabilities, see our Briefing Book.
Services We Provide
The Strike Teams provide rapid response support in incident management, site safety, contractor performance monitoring, resource documentation, response strategies, hazard assessment, oil spill dispersant and in-situ burn use, operational effectiveness monitoring, and high capacity lightering and offshore skimming capabilities. The Strike Teams also train Coast Guard units in environmental pollution response, test and evaluate pollution response equipment, and operate as liaisons with response agencies within their areas of responsibility.
The NSFCC provides oversight and strategic direction to the Strike Teams, ensuring enhanced inter-operability through a program of standardized operating procedures for response, equipment, training, and qualifications. The NSFCC maintains a national logistics network using the Response Resource Inventory (RRI), coordinates the Coast Guard Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO) classification program, administers the National Maintenance Contract (NMC) for the Coast Guard’s thirty million dollar inventory of pre-positioned spill response equipment, and coordinates NIMS ICS programs for the NSF and other federal agencies.
National Strike Force Pocket Guide