An overhaul of the U.S. Coast Guard provides only half of the ships and two-thirds of the aircraft it needs to protect the 95,000 miles of U.S. shoreline, a study said on Monday. To meet the security challenges in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the United States should double spending for Coast Guard purchases and speed up its 20-year “Deepwater” modernization program started in 2002, the study by the RAND think tank said. “The assets slated to be acquired through Deepwater would be inadequate to meet the USCG’s (U.S. Coast Guard’s) traditional missions and emerging responsibilities, regardless of the schedule the USCG uses,” said the study, which was commissioned by the Coast Guard. Full Story