NORFOLK, Va — The top admiral in the US Coast Guard has ordered a 10 percent reduction in cutter and aircraft operations. Citing overworked crews and equipment, Vice Admiral John Shkor?s order will mean fewer ships and airplanes to patrol for drugs, secure maritime borders against alien smuggling, and enforce fishing grounds and regulations. "It is time to achieve an understanding among the American people and in Congress that the Coast Guard is losing its edge," he said before a Chapter of the Navy League of the US. The Coast Guard will still respond to search and rescue missions but the agency will "operate [its] assets to the level, and only to the level, that can be sustained by the systems which support them." Shkor said that the Coast Guard?s 35,000 active duty personnel, 5,700 civilians and 7,000 reservists "...are straining to keep up," with its mission of ensuring environmental and maritime safety.