{"product_id":"red-crew-fighting-the-war-on-drugs-with-reagans-coast-guard-9781682475553","title":"Red Crew: Fighting the War on Drugs with Reagan's Coast Guard","description":"\u003ci\u003eRed Crew\u003c\/i\u003e is a first-hand account of U.S. Coast Guard anti-smuggling operations during the early years of the nation's maritime war on drugs. Jim Howe describes his experience as the executive officer of a specialized drug-hunting crew that sailed in then-state-of-the-art surface effect ships, a small flotilla of high-speed vessels pressed into the drug war on short notice.\u003cp\u003eIn the early 1980s, South Florida and the Caribbean were awash in illicit drugs, with hundreds of smuggling organizations bringing huge loads of marijuana, and later cocaine, into the United States. To fight this epidemic, the Reagan administration led a massive effort to disrupt shore-side gangs while bolstering interdiction activity at sea. To increase the number of days at sea for each surface effect ship, a multi-crewing concept was employed, with four teams of sixteen sailors--the Red, Blue, Green, and Gold Crews--rotating among three hulls.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough its first-person narrative, \u003ci\u003eRed Crew\u003c\/i\u003e offers a rare glimpse into the day-to-day pressures, challenges, failures, and successes of Coast Guard cuttermen as they carried out complex and dangerous missions. Red Crew provides a unique historical view of the early days in the Coast Guard's war on drugs, and is the only book-length history of the diminutive, one-of-a-kind surface effect ship fleet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-11398555\"\u003eJim Howe\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e US Naval Institute Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/15\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.04lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.72d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781682475553\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1682475557\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SOC\"\u003eSocial Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SOC000000\"\u003eGeneral\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS027150\"\u003eMilitary | Naval\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"US Naval Institute Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42693116100845,"sku":"9781682475553","price":25.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_13d963c9-82f3-49ec-8bae-5dbace503d4f.jpg?v=1649857337","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/red-crew-fighting-the-war-on-drugs-with-reagans-coast-guard-9781682475553","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}