JUNE 30, 2026 – The Olympic Peninsula is home to one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. Noteworthy for its extreme elevation changes—the landscape spanning coastline to the snow-capped Olympic Mountains— it is home to the largest temperate rainforest in the continental United States and species of wildlife and plants found nowhere else on earth due to the region’s geographic isolation. Continue north to where towering pine trees give way to the rocky coastline of the Salish Sea, one can even find the U.S. Coast Guard Station that serves as an operational hub for the Maritime Force Protection Unit (MFPU) Bangor.
Established in 2007, the MFPU is a specialized single-mission unit dedicated to providing strategic in-transit security escorts for U.S. Navy ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) as they transit U.S. territorial waterways until they slip silently beneath the waves.There are only two MFPUs in the United States—one at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor and the other at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia—to coincide with the two bases that support the Navy’s fleet of SSBNs. For Lt. Cmdr. James Provost, the operations officer and lead patrol commander of MFPU Bangor, mission success begins the day prior to an escort event with rigorous study of potential risk and threat factors.
“I’m looking at the weather, looking at civilian traffic going to and from the major ports in the area like Vancouver, Seattle, and Tacoma,” said Provost, who describes himself as a “cutterman” by trade—referring to Coast Guard ships greater than 65 feet in length—and who had been vying for an opportunity to serve at the MFPU after previously being stationed in Seattle.
For Provost, it was the MFPU’s unique mission and prospect of working closely with the Navy that drew him to his current role.
“The joint work with the Navy feels like a very important mission. It’s gratifying when you have a busy day, you’re working really hard to maintain the integrity of the security zone, and clear a safe path for the submarine,” explains Provost. “For us, boring days are good days. We don’t want exciting days.”
When asked what the most difficult aspect of the job is from an operations perspective, Provost likens the MFPU mission to a chess match. The unit is responsible for ensuring submarines receive the best possible escort from homeport to dive point, or from dive point to homeport.
Comprising the pieces of the “Chess Board”, the MFPU has small boats, ships or “blocking vessels,” and a mix of personnel to support the ceaseless operational tempo of Commander, Submarine Group (COMSUBGRU) 9’s fleet of SSBNs.
The MFPU remains at the cutting edge of security operations due to its high standards and rigorous training. Their impeccable record of mission success is a testament to their expertise and something this unit of elite operators is extremely proud of.
“Nothing can beat watching from the bridge when you have the full escort in place with blocking vessels, multiple screening vessels, all working in coordination with one another. Seeing the team executing the mission to keep the public away and screening all the recreational and fishing vessels is just very impressive,” describes Provost.
One thing that sets the MFPU apart from other Coast Guard units is the tremendous amount of responsibility granted to its members. While other Coast Guard units have to request permission from senior command elements to employ weapons, this isn’t the case for the MFPU, where the ability to respond rapidly to a potential threat is critical to national security.
“Our coxswains, a [petty officer 3rd class], have weapons release authority,” states Provost. “If they’ve demonstrated the proper judgment and maturity necessary, our commanding officer has designated weapons release authority down to them, which is very serious. To see a junior person like that succeed and grow into a seasoned tactical coxswain is incredibly satisfying.”
One of those coxswains is 1st Class Petty Officer Jacob Guilford, whose diverse career spans search and rescue operations in Galveston, Texas, drug interdiction operations in Charleston, South Carolina, and small boat operations on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
For Guilford, the MFPU was an opportunity to further diversify his career.
“I had done pursuit at a couple of units which are like offensive operations,” describes Guilford, “but I had never done tactics before, which is more defensive and the primary mission here.”
Like Provost, the joint aspect of the MFPU drew Guilford to the Pacific Northwest. Significantly, this tour was the first time Guilford worked so closely with the Navy, and the first time he had ever seen a submarine.
“You hear about nuclear subs, and you see it in the movies, but seeing it in person and seeing the size of it and just knowing their capability—you could feel the importance of our mission. Being up close to it added a weight to what we’re doing. We’re protecting them so that they can maintain stability in the world.”
Due to the Coast Guard’s unique authorities that do not exist anywhere else inside the U.S. Armed Forces, they were an ideal partner to provide the Navy with strategic domestic waterway security. Today, MFPU members work hand-in-hand with their Navy counterparts to ensure seamless integration between the partner sea services. That integration begins with daily communication with representatives from COMSUBGRU 9, Submarine Squadron 17, and Submarine Readiness Squadron 31 regarding ship schedules, future events, logistics, and intelligence sharing.
Additionally, MFPU boat crews fine-tune their skills at the Trident Training Facility—a state-of-the-art hub that traditionally allows submariners to build proficiency and where every patrol commander, boat crew, and gunner can train for a wide variety of scenarios that test judgment, reaction time, and management of multiple threats.
This level of training is how the Coast Guard ensures personnel assigned to the MFPU are prepared to deter threats to the SSBN during transit. The unique capabilities MFPU provides bolsters Navy and Coast Guard joint objectives for robust security of strategic assets.
The partnership between the MFPU and Bangor’s submarine crews goes beyond the TTF. A deep appreciation for each other’s respective roles is embedded into their culture in addition to the understanding that synergy between the two is emblematic of Joint Force integration.
For Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Nicholas Civelli, seeing the inside of an SSBN was an eye-opening experience. “It was amazing to go from seeing how large and looming the SSBN is from the perspective we have during an escort, then seeing the size of accommodations for the crew. To hear how many personnel work on those subs compared to the size of the galley is impressive.”
As a weapons division lead petty officer, Civelli is an expert in employing the weapons systems the MFPU uses to prevent a potential threat from entering the security zone.
For him, his experience at the MFPU has been an opportunity to develop his leadership skills. The large number of subordinates he oversees is yet another example of the authority and responsibility granted to members of the unit.
Additionally, the MFPU mission has given him the chance to experience a wide variety of weapons systems within his rating, from small arms to the .50-caliber machine gun, and even new systems designed to counter emerging threats.
Regardless of how future threats evolve, the MFPU will remain Semper Paratus—“Always Ready”—to protect the nation’s “boomers” on their way to the deep.
And for Provost, another “boring” day is reward enough to keep him going, though a little recognition doesn’t hurt.
“A few weeks ago we got a chance to talk to a [commanding officer] of an SSBN we had just escorted and he was like, ‘you guys are awesome. The way your [escort vessels] came out and took position perfectly and intercepted two targets of interest—that was so cool.’”
“Knowing we’re seen and appreciated—that just feels good.”
Story by Lt. Zachary Anderson
Commander, Submarine Group Nine