U.S. Coast Guard Veteran Emblem "Freedom Is Not Free " Semper Paratus Sweatshirt

U.S. Coast Guard Veteran Emblem "Freedom Is Not Free " Semper Paratus Sweatshirt.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's seven uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the U.S. military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters) and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy by the U.S. President at any time, or by the U.S. Congress during times of war. To date, this has happened twice, in 1917 and 1941, during World War I and World War II, respectively.[6][8]

Created by Congress on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton as the "Revenue Marine", it is the oldest continuous seagoing service of the United States, although the U.S. Navy lists its founding as 1775, the formation of the Continental Navy. However, that was disbanded in 1785, and the modern U.S. Navy in its present form was founded in 1794. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue Marine, whose original purpose was that of a collector of customs duties in the nation's seaports. By the 1860s the service was known as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue Marine gradually fell into disuse.[11]

The Coast Guard was formed from the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915, as an organization under the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As one of the country's five armed services, the Coast Guard has been involved in every war from 1790 up to the Iraq War[12] and the War in Afghanistan.[13] As of 2012 the Coast Guard had approximately 42,000 men and women on active duty, 7,900 reservists, 32,000 auxiliarists, and 8,700 full-time civilian employees.[2] In terms of size, the U.S. Coast Guard by itself is the world's 12th largest naval force.[14]

The Coast Guard's legal authority differs from the other four armed services: it operates simultaneously under Title 10 of the U.S. Code and its other organic authorities, e.g. Titles 6, 14, 19, 33, 46, etc. Because of its legal authority, the Coast Guard can conduct military operations under the U.S. Department of Defense or directly for the President in accordance with Title 14 USC 1–3. The Coast Guard's enduring roles are maritime safety, security, and stewardship. To carry out those roles the Coast Guard has 11 statutory missions as defined in 6 U.S.C. § 468, which include enforcing U.S. law in the world's largest exclusive economic zone of 3.4 million square miles (8,800,000 km2).[15] The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus (English: Always ready)


The Coast Guard has roles in maritime homeland security, maritime law enforcement (MLE), search and rescue (SAR), marine environmental protection (MEP), and the maintenance of river, intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation (ATON).

With a decentralized organization and much responsibility placed on even the most junior personnel, the Coast Guard is frequently lauded for its quick responsiveness and adaptability in a broad range of emergencies. In a 2005 article in Time magazine following Hurricane Katrina, the author wrote, "the Coast Guard's most valuable contribution to [a military effort when catastrophe hits] may be as a model of flexibility, and most of all, spirit." Wil Milam, a rescue swimmer from Alaska told the magazine, "In the Navy, it was all about the mission. Practicing for war, training for war. In the Coast Guard, it was, take care of our people and the mission will take care of itself."[16]

Missions[edit]





A Coast Guard rescue swimmer assisting with the rescue of a pregnant woman during Hurricane Katrina.
The Coast Guard carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are:
Maritime safety
Maritime security
Maritime stewardship

The eleven statutory missions as defined by law are divided into homeland security missions and non-homeland security missions:[17]

Non-homeland security missions[edit]
Ice operations
Living marine resources (fisheries law enforcement)
Marine environmental protection
Marine safety
Aids to navigation
Search and rescue

Homeland security missions[edit]
Defense readiness
Maritime law enforcement
Migrant interdiction
Ports, waterways and coastal security (PWCS)
Drug interdiction

Search and Rescue[edit]





Search and Rescue Program Logo of the United States Coast Guard.See National Search and Rescue Committee[18]See Joint Rescue Coordination Centers
While not the oldest, search and rescue (SAR) is one of the Coast Guard's best known missions. The National Search and Rescue Plan[19] designates the Coast Guard as the federal agency responsible for maritime SAR operations, and the United States Air Force as the federal agency responsible for inland SAR. Both agencies maintain rescue coordination centers to coordinate this effort, and have responsibility for both military and civilian search and rescue.[20] The two services jointly provide instructor staff for the National Search and Rescue School that trains SAR mission planners and coordinators. Previously located on Governor's Island, New York, the school is now located at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown at Yorktown, Virginia.

National Response Center[edit]

Operated by the Coast Guard, the National Response Center (NRC) is the sole U.S. Government point of contact for reporting all oil, chemical, radiological, biological, and etiological discharges into the environment anywhere in the United States and its territories.[21] In addition to gathering and distributing spill data for Federal On Scene Coordinators and serving as the communications and operations center for the National Response Team, the NRC maintains agreements with a variety of federal entities to make additional notifications regarding incidents meeting established trigger criteria. The NRC also takes Terrorist/Suspicious Activity Reports and Maritime Security Breach Reports. Details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.[22] The Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) database system is managed and used by the Coast Guard for tracking pollution and safety incidents in the nation's ports.

Authority as an armed service[edit]





Members of the Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT) hook and climb onto a target
The five uniformed services that make up the Armed Forces are defined in Title 10 of the United States Code:


The term "armed forces" means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.[23]

The Coast Guard is further defined by Title 14 of the United States Code:


The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times. The Coast Guard shall be a service in the Department of Homeland Security, except when operating as a service in the Navy.[24]

Coast Guard organization and operation is as set forth in Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

On 25 November 2002, the Homeland Security Act was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush, designating the Coast Guard to be placed under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The transfer of administrative control from the U.S. Department of Transportation to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was completed the following year, on 1 March 2003.[4][25][26]

The U.S. Coast Guard reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security. However, under 14 U.S.C. § 3 as amended by section 211 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, upon the declaration of war and when Congress so directs in the declaration, or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the Department of Defense as a service in the Department of the Navy.

As members of the military, Coast Guardsmen on active and reserve service are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and receive the same pay and allowances as members of the same pay grades in the other uniformed services.

The service has participated in every major U.S. conflict from 1790 through today, including landing troops on D-Day and on the Pacific Islands in World War II, in extensive patrols and shore bombardment during the Vietnam War, and multiple roles in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Maritime interception operations, coastal security, transportation security, and law enforcement detachments have been its major roles in recent conflicts in Iraq.

On 17 October 2007, the Coast Guard joined with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps to adopt a new maritime strategy called A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower that raised the notion of prevention of war to the same philosophical level as the conduct of war.[27] This new strategy charted a course for the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps to work collectively with each other and international partners to prevent regional crises, man-made or natural, from occurring, or reacting quickly should one occur to avoid negative impacts to the United States. During the launch of the new U.S. maritime strategy at the International Seapower Symposium at the U.S. Naval War College in 2007, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen said the new maritime strategy reinforced the time-honored missions the service has carried out in the United States since 1790. "It reinforces the Coast Guard maritime strategy of safety, security and stewardship, and it reflects not only the global reach of our maritime services but the need to integrate and synchronize and act with our coalition and international partners to not only win wars ... but to prevent wars," Allen said.[27]

Authority as a law enforcement agency[edit]





A member of Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 106 performs a security sweep aboard a tanker ship in the North Persian Gulf in July 2007.
Title 14 USC, section 2 authorizes the Coast Guard to enforce federal law.[28] This authority is further defined in Title 14 USC, section 89, which gives law enforcement powers to all Coast Guard commissioned officers, warrant officers, and petty officers.[29] Unlike the other branches of the United States Armed Forces, which are prevented from acting in a law enforcement capacity by Title 18 USC, section 1385, the Posse Comitatus Act, and Department of Defense policy, the Coast Guard is exempt from and not subject to the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act.[30]

Further law enforcement authority is given by Title 14 USC, section 143 and Title 19 USC, section 1401, which empower U.S. Coast Guard active and reserve commissioned officers, warrant officers, and petty officers as federal customs officers.[31][32] This places them under Title 19 USC, section 1589a, which grants customs officers general federal law enforcement authority, including the authority to:



(1) carry a firearm;
(2) execute and serve any order, warrant, subpoena, summons, or other process issued under the authority of the United States;
(3) make an arrest without a warrant for any offense against the United States committed in the officer's presence or for a felony, cognizable under the laws of the United States committed outside the officer's presence if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a felony; and
(4) perform any other law enforcement duty that the Secretary of Homeland Security may designate.

—19 USC §1589a. Enforcement authority of customs officers[33]

The U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to the House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary on its 2006 Survey of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Functions and Authorities, identified the Coast Guard as one of 104 federal components that employed law enforcement officers.[34] The report also included a summary table of the authorities of the Coast Guard's 192 special agents and 3,780 maritime law enforcement boarding officers.[35]

Coast Guardsmen have the legal authority to carry their service-issued firearms on and off base. This is rarely done in practice, however; at many Coast Guard stations, commanders prefer to have all service-issued weapons in armories. Still, one court has held that Coast Guard boarding officers are qualified law enforcement officers authorized to carry personal firearms off-duty for self-defense.[36]

History[edit]

Main article: History of the United States Coast Guard





Private First Class William A. McCoy and Private First Class Ralph L. Plunkett holding a sign thanking the U.S. Coast Guard after the Battle of Guam.[37]
The roots of the Coast Guard lie in the United States Revenue Cutter Service established by Alexander Hamilton under the Department of the Treasury on 4 August 1790. The first Coast Guard station was in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Until the re-establishment of the Navy in 1798, the Revenue Cutter Service was the only naval force of the early United States. It was established to collect taxes from a brand new nation of patriot smugglers. When the officers were out at sea, they were told to crack down on piracy; and to rescue any mariners in distress.[38]

"First Fleet" is a term occasionally used as an informal reference to the Coast Guard, although there is no indication that the United States has ever officially used this designation with reference either to the Coast Guard or any element of the Navy. The informal appellation honors the fact that between 1790 and 1798, there was no United States Navy and the cutters that were the predecessors of the Coast Guard were the only warships protecting the coast, trade, and maritime interests of the new republic.[39]

The modern Coast Guard can be said to date to 1915, when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service [40] when Congress formalized the existence of the new organization. In 1939, the Lighthouse Service was brought under the Coast Guard's purview. In 1942, the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation was transferred to the Coast Guard.[41] In 1967, the Coast Guard moved from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to the newly formed U.S. Department of Transportation, an arrangement that lasted until it was placed under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2002 as part of legislation designed to more efficiently protect American interests following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

In times of war, the Coast Guard or individual components of it can operate as a service of the Department of the Navy. This arrangement has a broad historical basis, as the Coast Guard has been involved in wars as diverse as the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War, in which the cutter Harriet Lane fired the first naval shots attempting to relieve besieged Fort Sumter. The last time the Coast Guard operated as a whole within the Navy was in World War II. More often, military and combat units within the Coast Guard will operate under Navy or joint operational control while other Coast Guard units will remain under the Department of Homeland Security.

Organization[edit]

Main article: Organization of the United States Coast Guard





Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building in St. Elizabeths West Campus.
The new Department of Homeland Security headquarters complex is being built on the grounds of the former St. Elizabeths Hospital in the Anacostia section of Southeast Washington, across the Anacostia River from former Coast Guard headquarters.[42]

Shore establishments[edit]

Shore establishment commands exist to support and facilitate the mission of the sea and air assets. U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters is located in Southwest Washington, DC. Other shore establishments are Coast Guard Sectors (which may include Coast Guard Bases), Coast Guard Stations, Coast Guard Air Stations, and the United States Coast Guard Yard. Training centers include the United States Coast Guard Academy, Training Center Petaluma, Training Center Cape May, Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center, Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, and Training Center Yorktown.

Personnel[edit]

The formal name for a uniformed member of the Coast Guard is "Coast Guardsman", irrespective of gender. "Coastie" is an informal term commonly used to refer to current or former Coast Guard personnel. In 2008, the term "Guardian" was introduced as an alternative, but was later dropped. Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr. stated that it was his belief that no Commandant had the authority to change what members of the Coast Guard are called as the term Coast Guardsman is found in Title 14 USC which established the Coast Guard in 1915.[43] "Team Coast Guard" refers to the four components of the Coast Guard as a whole: Regular, Reserve, Auxiliary, and Coast Guard civilian employees.

Commissioned officers[edit]

Commissioned officers in the Coast Guard hold pay grades ranging from O-1 to O-10 and have the same rank structure as the Navy.[44][45] Officers holding the rank of ensign (O-1) through lieutenant commander (O-4) are considered junior officers, commanders (O-5) and captains (O-6) are considered senior officers, and rear admirals (O-7) through admirals (O-10) are considered flag officers. The Commandant of the Coast Guard is the only member of the Coast Guard to hold the rank of admiral.[44]

The Coast Guard does not have medical officers or chaplains of its own. Instead, chaplains from the U.S. Navy, as well as officers from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are assigned to the Coast Guard to perform chaplain-related functions and medical-related functions, respectively. These officers wear Coast Guard uniforms but replace the Coast Guard insignia with that of their own service.[46]


Commissioned Officer grade structure of the United States Coast Guard


Admiral
(ADM)

Vice Admiral
(VADM)

Rear Admiral
(RADM)

Rear Admiral
(lower half)
(RDML)

Captain
(CAPT)

Commander
(CDR)

Lieutenant
Commander
(LCDR)

Lieutenant
(LT)

Lieutenant
(junior grade)
(LTJG)

Ensign
(ENS)


O-10

O-9

O-8

O-7

O-6

O-5

O-4

O-3

O-2

O-1



US CG O10 insignia.svg


US CG O9 insignia.svg


US CG O8 insignia.svg


US CG O7 insignia.svg


US CG O6 insignia.svg


US CG O5 insignia.svg


US CG O4 insignia.svg


US CG O3 insignia.svg


US CG O2 insignia.svg


US CG O1 insignia.svg


Warrant officers[edit]

Highly qualified enlisted personnel in pay grades E-6 through E-9 with a minimum of eight years experience can compete each year for appointment as warrant officers (WO). Successful candidates are chosen by a board and then commissioned as chief warrant officers (CWO-2) in one of sixteen specialties. Over time, chief warrant officers may be promoted to CWO-3 and CWO-4. The ranks of warrant officer (WO-1) and chief warrant officer (CWO-5) are not currently used in the Coast Guard. Chief warrant officers may also compete for the Chief Warrant Officer to Lieutenant Program. If selected, the warrant officer will be promoted to lieutenant (O-3E). The "E" designates over four years active duty service as a warrant officer or enlisted member and entitles the member to a higher rate of pay than other lieutenants.


Warrant Officer grade structure of the United States Coast Guard


Chief Warrant Officer 4

Chief Warrant Officer 3

Chief Warrant Officer 2


W-4

W-3

W-2



US CG CW4 insignia.svg


US CG CW3 insignia.svg


US CG CW2 insignia.svg


Enlisted personnel[edit]

Enlisted members of the Coast Guard have pay grades from E-1 to E-9 and also follow the same rank structure as the Navy. Enlisted members in pay grades of E-4 and higher are considered petty officers and follow career development paths very similar to those of Navy petty officers.

Petty officers in pay grade E-7 and higher are chief petty officers and must attend the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy, or an equivalent Department of Defense school, in order to be advanced to pay grade E-8. The basic themes of the school are:
Professionalism
Leadership
Communications
Systems thinking and lifelong learning


Non-commissioned officer grade structure of the United States Coast Guard
Note: Crossed anchors in the graphics indicate a rating of Boatswain's Mate


Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
(MCPOCG)

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Reserve Force or Area/DCO/DCMS Command Master Chief Petty Officer

Command Master Chief Petty Officer
(CMC)

Master Chief Petty Officer
(MCPO)

Senior Chief Petty Officer
(SCPO)

Chief Petty Officer
(CPO)

Petty Officer First Class
(PO1)

Petty Officer Second Class
(PO2)

Petty Officer Third Class
(PO3)


E-9

E-8

E-7

E-6

E-5

E-4

USCG MCPOCG Collar.png


USCG MCPOCG.svg
USCG MCPO Collar.png


USCG MCPOCG (reserve).svg
USCG MCPO Collar.png


USCG CMC.svg
USCG MCPO Collar.png


USCG MCPO.svg
USCG SCPO Collar.png


USCG SCPO.svg
USCG CPO Collar.png


USCG CPO.svg
CG-PO1.PNG


USCG PO1.svg
CG-PO2.PNG


USCG PO2.svg
CG-PO3.PNG


USCG PO3.svg


Enlisted grade structure of the United States Coast Guard


Seaman
(SN)

Seaman Apprentice
(SA)

Seaman Recruit
(SR)


E-3

E-2

E-1



USCG SM.svg






PSALM 91

THE SOLDIER, AIRMEN, MARINE & SAILORS PRAYER

1You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,*

who abide in the shade of the Almighty,*

2Say to the LORD, “My refuge and fortress,

my God in whom I trust.”a

3He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare,

from the destroying plague,

4He will shelter you with his pinions,

and under his wings you may take refuge;b

his faithfulness is a protecting shield.

5You shall not fear the terror of the night

nor the arrow that flies by day,c

6Nor the pestilence that roams in darkness,

nor the plague that ravages at noon.d

7Though a thousand fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

near you it shall not come.

8You need simply watch;

the punishment of the wicked you will see.e

9Because you have the LORD for your refuge

and have made the Most High your stronghold,

10No evil shall befall you,

no affliction come near your tent.f

11*For he commands his angels with regard to you,g

to guard you wherever you go.h

12With their hands they shall support you,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.i

13You can tread upon the asp and the viper,

trample the lion and the dragon.j

II

14Because he clings to me I will deliver him;

because he knows my name I will set him on high.k

15He will call upon me and I will answer;l

I will be with him in distress;m

I will deliver him and give him honor.

16With length of days I will satisfy him,

and fill him with my saving power.n

* [Psalm 91] A prayer of someone who has taken refuge in the Lord, possibly within the Temple (Ps 91:1–2). The psalmist is confident that God’s presence will protect the people in every dangerous situation (Ps 91:3–13). The final verses are an oracle of salvation promising salvation to those who trust in God (Ps 91:14–16).

* [91:1] The shelter of the Most High: basically “hiding place” but in the Psalms a designation for the protected Temple precincts, cf. Ps 27:5; 31:21; 61:5. The shade of the Almighty: lit., “the shadow of the wings of the Almighty,” cf. Ps 17:8; 36:8; 57:2; 63:8. Ps 91:4 makes clear that the shadow is an image of the safety afforded by the outstretched wings of the cherubim in the holy of holies.

* [91:11–12] The words are cited in Lk 4:10–11; Mt 4:6, as Satan tempts Jesus in the desert.

a. [91:2] Ps 18:3; 31:3–4; 42:10; 142:6; 2 Sm 22:3.

b. [91:4] Ps 17:8; 36:8; 57:2; 63:8; Dt 32:11; Ru 2:12; Mt 23:37.

c. [91:5] Prv 3:25; Sg 3:8.

d. [91:6] Dt 32:24.

e. [91:8] Ps 92:12.

f. [91:10] Prv 12:21; Dt 7:15.

g. [91:11–12] Mt 4:6; Lk 4:10f.

h. [91:11] Heb 1:14.

i. [91:12] Ps 121:3; Prv 3:23.

j. [91:13] Is 11:8; Lk 10:19.

k. [91:14] Ps 9:11; 119:132.