Newsday.com has the story on why this photograph is making headlines.
The Montauk docks were abuzz with disbelief and disappointment Saturday over the removal of their top Coast Guard officer, stripped of his duties after he and a subordinate took a pair of rescue boats on training exercises for which they were not certified.
And one photographer who created dramatic shots of those exercises in heavy surf after Hurricane Bill passed Long Island in August says he’s despondent to think he might have made it look more dangerous than it was.
Chief Petty Officer James Weber, a well-liked, 21-year Coast Guard veteran, has been reassigned from the Montauk Station to the Guard’s New Haven office. He will lose his command permanently unless he prevails in an appeal. A Guard spokeswoman said Saturday Weber has not decided whether to appeal. He could not be reached for comment. Senior Coast Guard officials said Friday he had violated procedures vital to crew safety. Read More at Newsday.com
The photographer Thomas Colla took the photos on the morning of August 23rd and posted them to his website – tcolla.com. Following news of the officers loss of command, Colla wrote on his facebook “Really sorry if my photos had anything to do with this . . . Not feeling good at all about this:”
The images are strikingly similar to a some photos (below) of a training excersize held in Morro Bay, CA, right near gCaptain Headquarters.
Rauma Marine Constructions in Finland has made rapid progress on the first of two Arctic Security Cutters it is building for the U.S. Coast Guard, with almost half of the vessel's blocks already launched and construction of the second ship approaching, according to the Finnish shipbuilder's chief executive.
The United States is watching China's presence in its Arctic zone "very closely" amid concerns regarding the security of the US homeland, a senior US Arctic military official said.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaker Healy will not carry out its planned high-latitude Arctic mission this summer following a serious engineering casualty in July, a spokesperson said. The statement provides the clearest indication yet of the impact of the incident on the Coast Guard’s key icebreaker.
September 16, 2026
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