When it comes to tracking and stopping illegal activity like narcotics smuggling, the Coast Guard's surveillance capacity is so limited that it must rely on aircraft and drones from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Most of these requests go unfilled, says a lawmaker who argues it's time the Coast Guard got its own drone fleet.

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

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