Coast Guard still cruising at 226

Thanks, Mr. Hamilton.

It was the nation’s first Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who brought us the U.S. Coast Guard. He proposed building 10 single-mast, cutter ships to collect revenue (and prevent smuggling) for our new Republic, to serve as the Treasury’s “useful sentinels of the law.” Thus the Revenue Cutter Service — part of the Tariff Act signed into law in August of 1790 — was born. The Treasury’s little fleet would soon evolve into the nation’s premier maritime law enforcement service.

While the Coast Guard is fundamentally domestic, it also deploys units overseas to support national security interests, assist foreign naval and maritime forces through training and joint operations, and aid diplomatic efforts to promote democracy and economic prosperity. The Coast Guard’s versatile mission covers both economic and security interests, going beyond coastal patrols in “any maritime region in which those interests may be at risk.” That includes responding to environmental pollution, as well as to smuggling, piracy, drugs, and other crimes which destabilize nations. They also conduct life-saving rescue operations — often dangerous and sometimes fatal to crewmen. Coast Guard men and women have rescued stranded sailors in violent storms, evacuated Marines from Guadalcanal in World War II, participated in major military conflicts such as in Vietnam and Iraq, and once operated lighthouses which guided ships to safety.

“Semper paratus” (always ready) is their apt motto.

The USCGS 2016 “Budget in Brief” outlines a focus on key areas which include: (1) combating transnational organized crime networks (mostly drug trafficking-related) in North and South America, (2) securing the nation’s southern border, (3) safeguard maritime commerce (the conduit for 90 percent of U.S. trade by volume), (4) enhancing cybersecurity (working with port partners), and (5) adapting in the polar regions (i.e., manage new trade routes and climate change).

Most coastal nations have some form of coast guard, by air as well as by sea. Some are part of the military (Argentina) or police (Vietnam), although in a few countries the service is civilian (Canada), or volunteer (Australia). The U.S. Coast Guard as it was formalized in 1915 is both a military and a law enforcement organization, one of seven components of the uniformed service. Other branches of armed services can’t enforce certain laws, so the Coast Guard provides enforcement detachments to Navy ships when arrests are warranted.

In peacetime, the Coast Guard reports to the Department of Homeland Security (to the Department of Transportation until 2003); in wartime, to the Secretary of the Navy. Our coast guard’s size compares to the entire navies of some nations, but is the smallest of the U.S. armed forces. With more than 40,000 active duty personnel, 7,500 reservists, 32,000 volunteer auxiliarists, 8,000 civilian staff, 244 cutters, 1,850 boats, and 205 aircraft, “small” is relative.

For more information, see USCG.mil. Thanks to reader and former Coast Guardsman R. C. for the topic suggestion, and for serving the nation.

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at sholeh@cdapress.com.