A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy and the transit police, while in certain countries they have similarities to both.
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.
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs ; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water.
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 and four HC-130H Hercules aircraft assigned to CGAS Clearwater. Also on static display is USCG 1023, a restored Grumman HU-16 Albatross.
USCGC Chase (WHEC-718) was a Hamilton-class High Endurance Cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She was laid down on October 26, 1966, at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, launched on May 20, 1967, and commissioned on March 11, 1968. Chase is the fourth of twelve Hamilton class, 378-foot (115 m) cutters, and the third cutter named in honor of Salmon Portland Chase. She was decommissioned on March 29, 2011, and transferred to the Nigerian Navy as an excess defense article under the Foreign Assistance Act as NNS Thunder (F90).
A Maritime Safety and Security Team, or MSST, is a counter-terrorism team of the United States Coast Guard established to protect local maritime assets. It is also a harbor and inshore patrol and security team that includes detecting and, if necessary, stopping or arresting submerged divers, using the Underwater Port Security System. It is the only special force that can arrest submerged divers.
Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City is a United States Coast Guard Air Station co-located at Elizabeth City Regional Airport in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, along the Pasquotank River near the opening of the Albemarle Sound. The base has a garrison of approximately 855 officers and enlisted. The Coast Guard air station is also one of the busiest in the U.S. Coast Guard, operating missions as far away as Greenland, the Azores and the Caribbean.
Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is a federal law enforcement component within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). AMO's mission is to protect the American people and nation's critical infrastructure through the coordinated use of air and marine assets to detect, interdict and prevent acts of terrorism and the unlawful movement of people, illegal drugs, and other contraband toward or across the borders of the United States. Air and Marine Operations Agents and Officers are endowed with the authority to enforce Title 8 and Title 19 (Customs) of the United States Code in addition to the general law enforcement powers bestowed upon federal law enforcement agents.
The history of the United States Coast Guard goes back to the United States Revenue Cutter Service, which was founded on 4 August 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. The Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Life-Saving Service were merged to become the Coast Guard per 14 U.S.C. § 1 which states: "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." In 1939, the United States Lighthouse Service was merged into the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard itself was moved to the Department of Transportation in 1967, and on 1 March 2003 it became part of the Department 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 as a service in the Department of the Navy.
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:
USCGC Escanaba (WMEC-907) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter based in Portsmouth, Virginia. Her keel was laid on April 1, 1983, at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated, Middletown, Rhode Island. She was launched February 6, 1985 and is named for her predecessor, USCGC Escanaba (WPG-77) which sank during World War Two, and was named for the Escanaba River and Escanaba, Michigan. Escanaba (WMEC-907) was formally commissioned August 29, 1987 in Grand Haven, Michigan, the home port of her predecessor.
A Sector is a shore-based operational unit of the United States Coast Guard. Each Sector is responsible for the execution of all Coast Guard missions within its Area of Responsibility (AOR), with operational support from Coast Guard Cutters and Air Stations. Subordinate commands within a Sector typically include Stations and Aids-to-Navigation (ATON) Teams. Some Sector commands also have subordinate units such as Sector Field Offices and Marine Safety Units that are responsible for mission execution in parts of the Sector's AOR. There are 37 sectors within the Coast Guard.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria (JRCC Victoria) is a rescue coordination centre operated by the 1 Canadian Air Division (Canadian Armed Forces) and staffed by personnel of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is a base of the United States military located in Belle Chasse, unincorporated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. NAS JRB New Orleans is home to a Navy Reserve aggressor squadron and a fleet logistics support squadron, the 159th Fighter Wing of the Louisiana Air National Guard, Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, a detachment of a Marine Corps Reserve light helicopter attack squadron, as well as other US Navy and US Army activities. The base has a 24/7 operating schedule to support both the 159 FW's NORAD air sovereignty/homeland defense requirements and for Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans search and rescue/maritime law enforcement/port security missions. It contains a military airport known as Alvin Callender Field which is located three nautical miles (6 km) south of the central business district of New Orleans. The base's predecessor, NAS New Orleans, occupied the current location of the University of New Orleans's principal campus until 1957.
Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located 9 miles northwest of Atlantic City at the Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. It is the northernmost, largest air station within the Coast Guard Fifth District.
Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Humboldt Bay is a United States Coast Guard Air Station and Sector, 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 four air stations in the Eleventh Coast Guard District.
Coast Guard Air Station Savannah is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia.
Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located 13 miles (21 km) 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.
United States Coast Guard Air Station Houston is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located 15 miles (24 km) southeast of downtown Houston, Texas on board the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base (JRB).
USCGC Margaret Norvell (WPC-1105) is the fifth Sentinel-class cutter, based at Miami, Florida. She was launched on January 13, 2012, and delivered to the Coast Guard on March 21, 2013. She was commissioned on June 1, 2013. She was commissioned at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans, near where her namesake, Margaret Norvell, staffed a lighthouse for decades.
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