Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Elizabeth City is one of several commands located on the campus of the Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City. The base complex houses the Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC) (a headquarters level command which trains enlisted Coast Guardsmen in aviation ratings in "A" Schools and advanced "C" Schools), the Aviation Logistics Center (ALC) and Station Elizabeth City, the small boat search and rescue station. Base Elizabeth City also provides military healthcare including sick call, physicals, and dental at the on-board clinic, as well as emergency services with a staffed 24 hours a day Fire and Police Department (ambulance service is provided by local EMS). Base Fire & Police Departments, staffed by a mix of civilian GS positions and active duty members, frequently respond to off-base emergencies supporting local agencies on various types of incidents.
Currently, CGAS Elizabeth City maintains and operates five HC-130J Hercules aircraft and four MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters.
History
Floatplanes at CGAS Elizabeth City in March 1942.
CGAS Elizabeth City was commissioned on August 15, 1940, with four officers, 52 enlisted men and ten aircraft including three Hall PH-2 seaplanes, four Fairchild J2K landplanes, and three Grumman J2F Duckamphibious aircraft. It is located sixty miles north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, north of Albemarle Sound and along the East Coast's northernmost ice-free river. Bayside Plantation, owned by the Hollowell family, near Elizabeth City, North Carolina, was selected by the United States Coast Guard in 1938 for its potential strategic value as a seaplane base.
Since then, the AIRSTA Elizabeth City's missions and assigned aircraft have shifted and grown with changing national priorities and technologies. In 1966 Air Station Elizabeth City expanded after absorbing the coast guard air stations at Kindley AFB, Bermuda and NAS Argentia, Newfoundland.[6]
Popular Culture
Air Station Elizabeth City was the setting (and used as a double for Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska) in the 2006 film The Guardian. Base personnel were instrumental in providing the infrastructure and support necessary to the filming of the motion picture.
In 2018, the Air Station provided a helicopter and flight crew to assist in the filming of the reboot Jack Ryan series on Amazon Prime. Four crew members including two pilots were featured in the pilot episode, with two members having speaking roles. In the episode, the HH60J Jayhawk helicopter lands in the back yard of a dinner party, with an Aviation Survival Technician and Aviation Maintenance Technician exiting the aircraft to search for the main character.
The Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin is a twin-engined helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for medevac-capable search and rescue (SAR) and armed Airborne Use of Force missions. It is a variant of the French-built Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin.
The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed forces.
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak is an Air Station of the United States Coast Guard located in Kodiak, Alaska. It is the largest in the service's Pacific Area, with a crew of 85 officers and 517 enlisted personnel, and the largest Coast Guard Base in terms of physical size at 23,000 acres. It is a tenant command of Base Support Unit Kodiak, and shares its airfield with Kodiak Airport. The station operates MH-60 Jayhawk and MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, and the HC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft.
United States Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater is the United States Coast Guard's largest air station. It is located at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport in Clearwater, Florida and is home to nearly 700 USCG aviation and support personnel. As of March 2021, there are ten MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters, four HC-130H Hercules aircraft assigned to CGAS Clearwater. Also on static display is USCG 1023, a restored Grumman HU-16 Albatross.
The Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk is a multi-mission, twin-engine, medium-range helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard for search and rescue, law enforcement, military readiness and marine environmental protection missions. It was originally designated HH-60J before being upgraded and redesignated beginning in 2007.
The Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard was an early amphibious helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was the first of the company's amphibious rotorcraft to fly.
A Coast Guard Air Station provides aviation support for the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard operates approximately 210 aircraft from 24 Coast Guard Air Stations in the United States. Fixed-wing aircraft, such as the HC-130 Hercules, are built for long range missions and operate from air stations. The MH-65D Dolphin and Sikorsky HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters also operate from Air Stations, Air Facilities and flight deck equipped cutters.
The United States Coast Guard is the coastal defense, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces and is one of the country's eight uniformed services. It carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are:
Air-sea rescue, and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their seagoing vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships. Specialized equipment and techniques have been developed. Both military and civilian units can perform air-sea rescue. Its principles are laid out in the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual. The International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue is the legal framework that applies to international air-sea rescue.
Aviation Survival Technician (AST) is a rating or job specialty in the United States Coast Guard. Rescue swimmer is the collateral duty or aircrew position of the AST. They are trained at the U.S. Coast Guard's enlisted Aviation Survival Technician/Rescue Swimmer school at Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center, Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The S-61R served in the United States Air Force as the CH-3C/E Sea King and the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, and with the United States Coast Guard as the HH-3F "Pelican".
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station San Diego is a Coast Guard Air Station based in San Diego, California, United States, across the street from San Diego International Airport. CGAS San Diego operates three MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters off the Coast Guard ramp.
Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod is a United States Coast Guard air station located on Joint Base Cape Cod in Sandwich, Massachusetts. It operates from New York City to the Canada–US border. It was founded in 1970 as a replacement to Coast Guard Air Station Salem.
Coast Guard Air Station Salem was a United States Coast Guard air station located in Salem, Massachusetts from 1935 to 1970. Its area of coverage extended from New York City to the Canada–United States border.
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Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay is a United States Coast Guard Air Station, with command and primary assets located at the Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville, California, 16 miles north of Eureka in Humboldt County. The station is the site of the command center for all Coast Guard personnel stationed and assets located on the coasts of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Del Norte Counties. It is one of five air stations in the Eleventh Coast Guard District.
Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco, California at the San Francisco International Airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County. The air station sits adjacent to the airport which consists of its own ramp, one hangar, an administration building and several other support structures.
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Coast Guard Air Station Sitka, Commanded by Commander Vincent J. Jansen, is an Air Station of the United States Coast Guard located in Sitka, Alaska. The station was originally established on Annette Island in March 1944, until relocating to Sitka in 1977. Early aircraft consisted of Grumman G-21's, PBY’s, HU-16’s, HH-52’s, and HH-3 Pelicans. Primary missions performed by the air station are Search and Rescue (SAR), law enforcement, and logistics covering the Southeast part of Alaska. Area of responsibility encompasses approximately 180,000 square miles of water and land extending across Southeast Alaska from Dixon Entrance to Icy Bay (Alaska), and from the Alaskan-Canadian border to the central Gulf of Alaska. This includes 12,000 miles of coastline distinguished by a rugged coast, mountainous terrain, severe weather, and many remote villages.
Oliver Fuller Berry was a chief petty officer in the United States Coast Guard who was chosen to be the namesake for the twenty-fourth cutter of the Sentinel class. He was one of the first Coast Guard aircraft technicians trained to work on helicopters.
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