Closing small boat stations has proven difficult. Leaving them unchanged is operationally inefficient. These units are enduring parts of the Coast Guard’s force structure, yet their full potential is not always realized. This article proposes a model to better align their mission with national priorities.During the recent Senate confirmation hearing for the next commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, senators raised a wide range of global maritime concerns, including Arctic competition, cyber threats targeting ports, migration pressures, and increasingly severe storms. Yet the hearing repeatedly returned to a far more local subject: the Coast Guard units in senators’ backyards.Coast Guard The post Presence or Capacity? The Coast Guard Can Have Both Through Small Boat Stations appe