Kelly (Mogk) Larson was the first woman to complete Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer School in the United States on May 23, 1986. She had joined the Coast Guard two years earlier, in 1984. She earned an Air Medal in 1989 for rescuing a downed Air National Guard F-4 pilot. [1] In 2009, she retired with the rank of lieutenant commander. [2] She was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2019. [3]
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States of America. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and forms military policy with the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), both federal executive departments, acting as the principal organs by which military policy is carried out. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States.
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 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 duties. It is the largest and most powerful coast guard in the world, rivaling the capabilities and size of most navies.
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast Guard officers in one of nine major fields of study. Unlike the other service academies, the Coast Guard Academy does not require a congressional nomination for admission.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally established on 1 February 1977 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are U.S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were established by Act of Congress, 20 June 1874; later authorized by 14 U.S.C. § 500. These decorations are two of the oldest medals in the United States and were originally established at the Department of Treasury as Lifesaving Medals First and Second Class. The Department of the Treasury initially gave the award, but today the United States Coast Guard awards it through the Department of Homeland Security. They are not classified as military decorations, and may be awarded to any person.
Elmer "Archie" Fowler Stone was a United States naval aviator and a commander in the United States Coast Guard.
Nicole Margaret Ellingwood Malachowski is a retired United States Air Force officer and the first female pilot selected to fly as part of the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Thunderbirds. She later became a speaker and advocate on behalf of patients suffering from tick borne illnesses.
Vivien S. Crea was the 25th Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard under Admiral Thad W. Allen. Crea held the second highest position in the Coast Guard, and she is the first woman to do so. She is the former Commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, and was confirmed by the Senate to her historic post in June 2006. Crea retired on August 7, 2009, and was replaced by VADM David Pekoske.
Doris Burke is an American sports announcer and analyst for NBA on ESPN, NBA on ABC, College Basketball on ESPN, and College Basketball on ABC games. She formerly worked as an analyst for WNBA games on MSG, and has worked on New York Knicks games. Burke was the first female commentator to call a New York Knicks game on radio and television.
Rescue swimmer is a designation given to rescue specialists, most commonly in the service of the military. Rescue swimmers usually are charged with the rescue, assessment, and rendering of medical aid to persons in distress in the sea, on the land, or in the air. This highly specialized position is extremely challenging.
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 01 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.
Emily Howell Warner was an American airline pilot and the first woman captain of a scheduled US airline.
Olivia Juliette Hooker was an American psychologist and professor. She was one of the last known survivors of the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, and the first African-American woman to enter the U.S. Coast Guard, in February 1945. She became a SPAR, a member of the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, during World War II, earning the rank of Yeoman, Second Class during her service. She served in the Coast Guard until her unit was disbanded in mid-1946; she went on to become a psychologist intern at a women's correctional facility and a clinical professor at Fordham University.
This article lists events involving Women in warfare and the military in the United States since 2011. For the previous decade, see Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2000–2010.
Agnes Fong Sock Har is a Singaporean former military officer. She was the first woman to hold the appointment of a commanding officer in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) when she took command of the first Air Supply Base in 1979.
Major General Carol A. Timmons was an American military officer who served as Adjutant General of Delaware from February 1, 2017 until her retirement on March 2, 2019. She was also the first female General in Delaware National Guard history.
Florene Miller Watson was an American aviator and educator from Texas. Watson was one of the first Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) volunteers. She went on to fly for the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) throughout World War II. During that time, she worked as a trainer, ferried aircraft and was a test pilot.
Benjamin Bottoms (1913-1942) was a United States Coast Guardsman who died while attempting to rescue the crew of a USAAF bomber that had crashed-landed in Greenland in November 1942. Bottoms was the radioman of the USCGC Northland's Grumman J2F-4 Duck floatplane. When a B-17 bomber crash landed near Northland his aircraft was assigned to search for it. Bottoms's pilot Lieutenant John A. Pritchard sighted the bomber, and landed as close to the wreck as possible—four miles away. Pritchard and Bottoms were able to assist two of the injured bomber crew to their plane, and take them back to Northland. However, on their second rescue visit they encountered bad weather, and crashed. It took seventy-five years to locate their bodies.
Joan Sullivan Garrett is a former critical care flight nurse, telemedicine pioneer, and American business executive who founded MedAire, Inc. in 1985 and its service arm, MedLink, in 1987. She served as MedAire CEO until 2008 and today is chairman. Sullivan Garrett and her startup, MedAire, are credited with innovating the first global in-flight medical assistance program, sometimes referred to as the "911 of the sky," which segued into a full suite of medical and security solutions for the aviation and maritime sectors.