The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the United States 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 duties. It is the largest coast guard in the world, rivaling the capabilities and size of most navies.
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.
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.
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.
Coast Guard Intelligence (CGI) is the military intelligence branch of the United States Coast Guard, and a component of the Central Security Service of the United States Department of Defense.
The Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) is the tactical unit of the United States Border Patrol. In 2007, BORTAC was placed under the command of the newly formed Special Operations Group (SOG) together with the Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR).
Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct and support maritime law enforcement, interdiction, or security operations. LEDETs are the operational elements of the Coast Guard’s two Tactical Law Enforcement Teams (TACLETs) which were part of the Coast Guard’s Deployable Operations Group (DOG) from 2007 to 2013. As of April 2010 there are seventeen LEDETs.
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:
Maritime security operations (MSO) are the actions of modern naval forces to "combat sea-based terrorism and other illegal activities, such as hijacking, piracy, and slavery, also known as human trafficking." Ships assigned to such operations may also assist seafaring vessels in distress. These activities are part of an overall category of activities which fall short of open warfare called military operations other than war (MOOTW). MSO also involve the marine environmental protection, creating a safer and clean environment.
Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay is a United States Coast Guard station located on Lake Michigan and the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal in the Town of Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin, just outside the city of Sturgeon Bay. The Sturgeon Bay Canal Light is located within the limits of the station. Duties of the station include search and rescue, law enforcement and ice rescue missions during the winter months.
Coast Guard Station Chicago is a United States Coast Guard station located on Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois. Station Chicago is both the largest and busiest station in the Ninth Coast Guard District. The station partakes in many missions including Search and Rescue, Law enforcement and Marine safety. The station also conducts about ten Presidential Security Zones.
Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located at the Rafael Hernandez International Airport, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
United States Coast Guard Station Point Allerton is a United States Coast Guard station located in Hull, Massachusetts.
The Deployable Operations Group (DOG) was a United States Coast Guard command that provided properly equipped, trained and organized Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF), which still exist today, to the Coast Guard, United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Department of Defense (DoD) and inter-agency operational and tactical commanders. Formerly headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, it was established on 20 July 2007, and was commanded by a captain and was decommissioned by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Robert Papp on 1 October 2013, although many of the units existed long before the 2007 commissioning. Upon decommissioning, the units previously assigned to the DOG were split between Coast Guard Pacific and Atlantic Area commands.
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.
USCGC Hollyhock (WLB-214) is a 225-foot (69 m) Juniper-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard.
USCGC Monomoy (WPB-1326) was a United States Coast Guard Island class patrol cutter. She was the 26th ship of her class. The second ship of the Coast Guard to bear the name, Monomoy was named after Monomoy Island which lies off the coast of Cape Cod.
District 9 is a United States Coast Guard district, based at the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, in Cleveland, Ohio. District 9 is responsible for all Coast Guard operations on the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and surrounding states accumulating 6,700 miles of shoreline and 1,500 miles of international shoreline with Canada.
