United States Coast Guard

A boatswain's mate watching from the side port door as the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf's Over-The-Horizon small boat departs to receive personnel from the Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur in 2008

The Coast Guard carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are:

• Maritime safety
• Maritime security
• Maritime stewardship

With a decentralized organization and much responsibility placed on even the most junior personnel, the Coast Guard is frequently lauded for its quick responsiveness and adaptability in a broad range of emergencies. In a 2005 article in Time magazine following Hurricane Katrina, the author wrote, "the Coast Guard's most valuable contribution to [a military effort when catastrophe hits] may be as a model of flexibility, and most of all, spirit." Wil Milam, a rescue swimmer from Alaska told the magazine, "In the Navy, it was all about the mission. Practicing for war, training for war. In the Coast Guard, it was, take care of our people and the mission will take care of itself."[15]

A Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician assisting with the rescue of a pregnant woman during Hurricane Katrina in 2005

A demonstration of warning shots fired at a non-compliant boat by a USCG HITRON MH-65C and its M240 machine gun

The eleven statutory missions as defined by law are divided into homeland security missions and non-homeland security missions:[16]

• Ice operations, including the International Ice Patrol
• Living marine resources (fisheries law enforcement)
• Marine environmental protection
• Marine safety
• Aids to navigation
• Search and rescue

• Defense readiness
• Maritime law enforcement
• Migrant interdiction
• Ports, waterways and coastal security (PWCS)
• Drug interdiction

Logo of the Search and Rescue Program of the U.S. Coast Guard

See National Search and Rescue Committee[17]

See Joint Rescue Coordination Centers

While the U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue (CG-SAR) is not the oldest search and rescue organization in the world, it is one of the Coast Guard's best-known operations.[18] The National Search and Rescue Plan designates the Coast Guard as the federal agency responsible for maritime SAR operations, and the United States Air Force as the federal agency responsible for inland SAR.[19] Both agencies maintain rescue coordination centers to coordinate this effort, and have responsibility for both military and civilian search and rescue.[20] The two services jointly provide instructor staff for the National Search and Rescue School that trains SAR mission planners and coordinators. Previously located on Governors Island, New York, the school is now located at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown at Yorktown, Virginia.

An NRC FEMA First Team truck being loaded onto a Coast Guard plane for flight to Puerto Rico

Operated by the Coast Guard, the National Response Center (NRC) is the sole U.S. Government point of contact for reporting all oil, chemical, radiological, biological, and etiological spills and discharges into the environment, anywhere in the United States and its territories.[21] In addition to gathering and distributing spill/incident information for Federal On Scene Coordinators and serving as the communications and operations center for the National Response Team, the NRC maintains agreements with a variety of federal entities to make additional notifications regarding incidents meeting established trigger criteria. The NRC also takes Maritime Suspicious Activity and Security Breach Reports. Details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.[22] The Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) database system is managed and used by the Coast Guard for tracking pollution and safety incidents in the nation's ports.

The National Maritime Center (NMC) is the merchant mariner credentialing authority for the USCG under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security. To ensure a safe, secure, and environmentally sound marine transportation system, the mission of the NMC is to issue credentials to fully qualified mariners in the United States maritime jurisdiction.[23]

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT) hooking and climbing onto a target to show the skills needed to complete a variety of missions dealing with anti-terrorism, protecting local maritime assets, and harbor and inshore security patrols as well as detecting, stopping, and arresting submerged divers, using the Underwater Port Security System

The six uniformed services that make up the U.S. Armed Forces are defined in Title 10 of the U.S. Code:

The term "armed forces" means the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard.[24][25]

The Coast Guard is further defined by Title 14 of the United States Code:

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. The Coast Guard shall be a service in the Department of Homeland Security, except when operating as a service in the Navy.[26]

Coast Guard organization and operation is as set forth in Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

On 25 November 2002, the Homeland Security Act was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush, designating the Coast Guard to be placed under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The transfer of administrative control from the U.S. Department of Transportation to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was completed the following year, on 1 March 2003.[27][28][29]

The U.S. Coast Guard reports directly to the Secretary 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 under the Department of Defense as a service in the Department of the Navy.

As members of the military, Coast Guardsmen on active and reserve service are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and receive the same pay and allowances as members of the same pay grades in the other uniformed services.

The service has participated in every major U.S. conflict from 1790 through today, including landing troops on D-Day and on the Pacific Islands in World War II, in extensive patrols and shore bombardment during the Vietnam War, and multiple roles in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Maritime interception operations, coastal security, transportation security, and law enforcement detachments have been its major roles in recent conflicts in Iraq.

USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) and USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717) cruising side by side in the Java Sea on May 28, 2010

On 17 October 2007, the Coast Guard joined with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps to adopt a new maritime strategy called A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower that raised the notion of prevention of war to the same philosophical level as the conduct of war.[30] This new strategy charted a course for the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps to work collectively with each other and international partners to prevent regional crises, man-made or natural, from occurring, or reacting quickly should one occur to avoid negative impacts to the United States. During the launch of the new U.S. maritime strategy at the International Seapower Symposium at the U.S. Naval War College in 2007, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen said the new maritime strategy reinforced the time-honored missions the service has carried out in the United States since 1790. "It reinforces the Coast Guard maritime strategy of safety, security and stewardship, and it reflects not only the global reach of our maritime services but the need to integrate and synchronize and act with our coalition and international partners to not only win wars ... but to prevent wars," Allen said.[30]

A member of USCG Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 106 performing a security sweep aboard a tanker ship in the North Persian Gulf in July 2007

A Coast Guardmen stands guard over more than 40,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $500 million being offloaded from the Cutter Sherman, April 23, 2007. The drugs were seized in three separate busts near Central America. The offload included approximately 38,000 pounds of cocaine seized in the largest cocaine bust in maritime history.

Title 14 USC, section 2 authorizes the Coast Guard to enforce U.S. federal laws.[31] This authority is further defined in 14 U.S.C. § 89, which gives law enforcement powers to all Coast Guard commissioned officers, warrant officers, and petty officers.[32] Unlike the other branches of the United States Armed Forces, which are prevented from acting in a law enforcement capacity by 18 U.S.C. § 1385, the Posse Comitatus Act, and Department of Defense policy, the Coast Guard is exempt from and not subject to the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act.[33]

Further law enforcement authority is given by 14 U.S.C. § 143 and 9 U.S.C. § 1401, which empower U.S. Coast Guard active and reserve commissioned officers, warrant officers, and petty officers as federal customs officers.[34][35] This places them under 19 U.S.C. § 1589a, which grants customs officers general federal law enforcement authority, including the authority to:

(1) carry a firearm;
(2) execute and serve any order, warrant, subpoena, summons, or other process issued under the authority of the United States;
(3) make an arrest without a warrant for any offense against the United States committed in the officer's presence or for a felony, cognizable under the laws of the United States committed outside the officer's presence if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a felony; and
(4) perform any other law enforcement duty that the Secretary of Homeland Security may designate.

— 19 USC §1589a. Enforcement authority of customs officers[36]

The U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to the House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary on its 2006 Survey of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Functions and Authorities, identified the Coast Guard as one of 104 federal components that employed law enforcement officers.[37] The report also included a summary table of the authorities of the Coast Guard's 192 special agents and 3,780 maritime law enforcement boarding officers.[38]

Coast Guardsmen have the legal authority to carry their service-issued firearms on and off base. This is rarely done in practice, however; at many Coast Guard stations, commanders prefer to have all service-issued weapons in armories when not in use. Still, one court has held in the case of People v Booth that Coast Guard boarding officers are qualified law enforcement officers authorized to carry personal firearms off-duty for self-defense.[39]

Title 14 USC, section 2, 14 U.S.C. § 89, 18 U.S.C. § 1385 and the case of People v. Booth mentioned above all served to codify what had been long standing informal practice during the Coast Guard's long residence in the Department of Transportation. During this period USCG commissioned, chief petty and petty officers occasionally served as Law Enforcement officers at several levels with arrest authority both on and off duty and also enforced border and immigration law within a maritime context. By moving to Homeland Security, members of the Coast Guard were effectively made into one of the more powerful law enforcement officials simply because of the broad range of their legal mission and authority.

The Coast Guard's current district organization is divided into 9 districts. Their designations, district office and area of responsibility are as follows:

The Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters building in St. Elizabeths West Campus

Shore establishment commands exist to support and facilitate the mission of the sea and air assets and Coastal Defense. U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters is located in Southeast Washington, DC. Other shore establishments are Coast Guard Sectors (which may include Coast Guard Bases), Coast Guard Stations, Coast Guard Air Stations, and the United States Coast Guard Yard. Training centers include the United States Coast Guard Academy, Training Center Petaluma, Training Center Cape May, Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center, Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, and Training Center Yorktown.

Commissioned officers in the Coast Guard hold pay grades ranging from O-1 to O-10 and have the same rank structure as the Navy.[50][51] Officers holding the rank of ensign (O-1) through lieutenant commander (O-4) are considered junior officers, commanders (O-5) and captains (O-6) are considered senior officers, and rear admirals (O-7) through admirals (O-10) are considered flag officers. The Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard are the only members of the Coast Guard authorized to hold the rank of admiral.[52]

The Coast Guard does not have medical officers or chaplains of its own. Instead, chaplains from the U.S. Navy, as well as officers from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are assigned to the Coast Guard to perform chaplain-related functions and medical-related functions, respectively. These officers wear Coast Guard uniforms but replace the Coast Guard insignia with that of their own service.[53]

The Navy and Coast Guard share identical officer rank insignia except that Coast Guard officers wear a gold Coast Guard Shield in lieu of a line star or staff corps officer insignia.

Commissioned Officer grade structure of the United States Coast Guard

Ensign (ENS)	Lieutenant (junior grade) (LTJG)	Lieutenant (LT)	Lieutenant commander (LCDR)	Commander (CDR)	Captain (CAPT)	Rear admiral (lower half) (RDML)	Rear admiral (RADM)	Vice admiral (VADM)	Admiral (ADM)
O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10

Insignia of the twenty-one different warrant officer specialties within the USCG

Highly qualified enlisted personnel in pay grades E-6 through E-9 with a minimum of eight years experience can compete each year for appointment as warrant officers (WO). Successful candidates are chosen by a board and then commissioned as chief warrant officers (CWO2) in one of twenty-one specialties. Over time, chief warrant officers may be promoted to CWO3 and CWO4. The ranks of warrant officer (WO1) and chief warrant officer five (CWO5) are not currently used in the Coast Guard. Chief warrant officers may also compete for the Chief Warrant Officer to Lieutenant Program. If selected, the warrant officer will be promoted to lieutenant (O-3E). The "E" designates over four years active duty service as a warrant officer or enlisted member and entitles the member to a higher rate of pay than other lieutenants.

Warrant officer grade structure of the United States Coast Guard

Chief warrant officer 2	Chief warrant officer 3	Chief warrant officer 4
CWO-2	CWO-3	CWO-4

Enlisted members of the Coast Guard have pay grades from E-1 to E-9 and also follow the same rank structure as the Navy. Enlisted members in pay grades of E-4 and higher are considered petty officers and follow career development paths very similar to those of Navy petty officers.

Petty officers in pay grade E-7 and higher are chief petty officers and must attend the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy, or an equivalent Department of Defense school, in order to be advanced to pay grade E-8. The basic themes of the school are:

• Professionalism
• Leadership
• Communications
• Systems thinking and lifelong learning

Enlisted rank insignia is also nearly identical to Navy enlisted insignia. The Coast Guard shield replacing the petty officer's eagle on collar and cap devices for petty officers or enlisted rating insignia for seamen qualified as a "designated striker". Group Rate marks (stripes) for junior enlisted members (E-3 and below) also follow Navy convention with white for seaman, red for fireman, and green for the airman. In a departure from the Navy conventions, all petty officers E-6 and below wear red chevrons and all chief petty officers wear gold

Non-commissioned officer grade structure of the United States Coast Guard
Note: Crossed anchors in the graphics indicate a rating of Boatswain's Mate

Petty Officer Third Class (PO3)	Petty Officer Second Class (PO2)	Petty Officer First Class (PO1)	Chief Petty Officer (CPO)	Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO)	Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO)	Command Master Chief Petty Officer (CMC)	Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Reserve Force or Area/DCO/DCMS Command Master Chief Petty Officer	Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG)
E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9			E-9 with special pay

Enlisted grade structure of the United States Coast Guard

Seaman Recruit (SR)			Seaman Apprentice (SA)			Seaman (SN)
E-1			E-2			E-3

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is a four-year service academy located in New London, Connecticut. Approximately 200 cadets graduate each year, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as an ensign in the Coast Guard. Graduates are obligated to serve a minimum of five years on active duty. Most graduates are assigned to duty aboard Coast Guard cutters immediately after graduation, either as Deck Watch Officers (DWOs) or as Engineer Officers in Training (EOITs). Smaller numbers are assigned directly to flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida or to shore duty at Coast Guard Sector, District, or Area headquarters units.

In addition to the Academy, prospective officers, who already hold a college degree, may enter the Coast Guard through Officer Candidate School (OCS), also located at the Coast Guard Academy. OCS is a 17-week course of instruction that prepares candidates to serve effectively as officers in the Coast Guard. In addition to indoctrinating students into a military lifestyle, OCS provides a wide range of highly technical information necessary to perform the duties of a Coast Guard officer.

Graduates of OCS are usually commissioned as ensigns, but some with advanced graduate degrees may enter as lieutenants (junior grade) or lieutenants. Graduating OCS officers entering active duty are required to serve a minimum of three years, while graduating reserve officers are required to serve four years. Graduates may be assigned to a cutter, flight training, a staff job, or an operations ashore billet.

OCS is the primary channel through which the Coast Guard enlisted grades ascend to the commissioned officer corps.

Lawyers, engineers, intelligence officers, military aviators holding commissions in other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces requesting interservice transfers to the Coast Guard, graduates of maritime academies, and certain other individuals may also receive an officer's commission in the Coast Guard through the Direct Commission Officer (DCO) program. Depending on the specific program and the background of the individual, the course is three, four or five weeks long. The first week of the five-week course is an indoctrination week. The DCO program is designed to commission officers with highly specialized professional training or certain kinds of previous military experience.

Unlike the other military services, the Coast Guard does not have a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program.

Recruit companies visiting Arlington National Cemetery for their one day of off-base liberty, which is their only break in an eight-week boot camp at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey

Newly enlisted personnel are sent to eight weeks of recruit training at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey. New recruits arrive at Sexton Hall and remain there for three days of initial processing which includes haircuts, vaccinations, uniform issue, and other necessary entrance procedures. During this initial processing period, the new recruits are led by temporary company commanders. These temporary company commanders are tasked with teaching the new recruits how to march and preparing them to enter into their designated company. The temporary company commanders typically do not enforce any physical activity such as push ups or crunches. When the initial processing is complete, the new seaman recruits are introduced to their permanent company commanders who will remain with them until the end of training. There is typically a designated lead company commander and two support company commanders. The balance of the eight-week boot camp is spent in learning teamwork and developing physical skills. An introduction of how the Coast Guard operates with special emphasis on the Coast Guard's core values is an important part of the training.

The current nine Recruit Training Objectives are:

• Self-discipline
• Military skills
• Marksmanship
• Vocational skills and academics
• Military bearing
• Physical fitness and wellness
• Water survival and swim qualifications
• Esprit de corps
• Core values (Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty)

Following graduation from recruit training, most members are sent to their first unit while they await orders to attend advanced training in Class "A" Schools. At "A" schools, Coast Guard enlisted personnel are trained in their chosen rating; rating is a Coast Guard and Navy term for enlisted skills synonymous with the Army's and Marine Corps' military occupation codes (MOS) and Air Force's Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC). Members who earned high ASVAB scores or who were otherwise guaranteed an "A" School of choice while enlisting may go directly to their "A" School upon graduation from Boot Camp.

The Coast Guard employs over 8,577 civilians in over two hundred different job types including Coast Guard Investigative Service special agents, lawyers, engineers, technicians, administrative personnel, tradesmen, and federal firefighters.[2][54] Civilian employees work at various levels in the Coast Guard to support its various missions.

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750), the first Legend-class national security cutters

The Coast Guard operates 243 Cutters,[12] defined as any vessel more than 65 feet (20 m) long, that has a permanently assigned crew and accommodations for the extended support of that crew.[55]

• National Security Cutter (WMSL): Also known as the "Legend"-class, these are the Coast Guard's latest class of 418-foot (127 m) military defense maritime ship. At 418 ft. these are the largest USCG military cutters in active service. One-for-one Legend-class ships are replacing individually decommissioned 1960s Hamilton-class high endurance cutters. A total of eight were authorized and budgeted; as of 2015 three are in service, and three are under construction. In 2016 a ninth National Security Cutter was authorized by Congress.
• High Endurance Cutter (WHEC): The 378-foot (115 m) Hamilton-class cutters were commissioned in the late 1960s. Missions include law enforcement, search and rescue, and military defense. This aged class of 12 are being individually decommissioned and replaced on a one-for one basis by the new Legend-class National Security Cutters.

USCGC Thetis (WMEC-910), the tenth Famous-class medium endurance cutters

• Medium Endurance Cutter (WMEC): These are mostly the 210-foot (64 m) Reliance-class, and the 270-foot (82 m) Famous-class cutters, although the 283-foot (86 m) Alex Haley also falls into this category. Primary missions are law enforcement, search and rescue, and military defense.
• Polar-class icebreaker (WAGB): There are three WAGB's used for icebreaking and research though only two, the heavy 399-foot (122 m) Polar Star and the newer medium class 420-foot (130 m) Healy, are active.[56][57][58][59] Polar Sea is located in Seattle, Washington but is not currently in active service. The icebreakers are being replaced with new heavy icebreakers under the Polar icebreaker program.
• USCGC Mackinaw: A 240-foot (73 m) heavy icebreaker built for operations on the Great Lakes.
• USCGC Eagle: A 295-foot (90 m) sailing barque used as a training ship for Coast Guard Academy cadets and Coast Guard officer candidates. She was originally built in Germany as Horst Wessel, and was seized by the United States as a prize of war in 1945.[60][61]
• Seagoing Buoy Tender (WLB): These 225-foot (69 m) ships are used to maintain aids to navigation and also assist with law enforcement and search and rescue.
• Coastal Buoy Tender (WLM): The 175-foot (53 m) Keeper-class coastal buoy tenders are used to maintain coastal aids to navigation.

USCGC Raymond Evans (WPC-1110), the tenth Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter

• Sentinel-class cutter (WPC): The 154-foot (47 m) Sentinel-class, also known by its program name, the "Fast Response Cutter"-class and is used for search and rescue work and law enforcement.
• Bay-class icebreaking tug (WTGB): 140-foot (43 m) icebreakers used primarily for domestic icebreaking missions. Other missions include search and rescue, law enforcement, and aids to navigation maintenance.[62]

USCGC Sea Dog and USCGC Sea Dragon, Marine Protector-class patrol boats

• Patrol Boats (WPB): There are two classes of WPBs currently in service; the 110-foot (34 m) Island-class patrol boats and the 87-foot (27 m) Marine Protector-class patrol boats[63][64]

A U.S. Coast Guard 45-foot (14 m) Response Boat Medium (RB-M)

A U.S. Coast Guard 25-foot (8 m) Defender Class Response Boat – Small (RB-S)

The Coast Guard operates about 1,650 boats,[12] defined as any vessel less than 65 feet (20 m) long, which generally operate near shore and on inland waterways.

The Coast Guard boat fleet includes:

• Motor Lifeboat (MLB): The Coast Guard's 47-foot (14 m) primary heavy-weather boat used for search and rescue as well as law enforcement and homeland security.
• Response Boat – Medium (RB-M): A new multi-mission 45-foot (14 m) vessel intended to replace the 41-foot (12 m) utility boat. 170 planned
• Special Purpose Craft – Near Shore Lifeboat: Only 2 built. Shallow draft, 42-foot (13 m) lifeboat substituted for the 47-foot (14 m) Motor Life Boat, based at Chatham, Massachusetts[65]
• Deployable Pursuit Boat (DPB): A 38-foot (12 m) launch capable of pursuing fast cocaine smuggling craft.
• Long Range Interceptor (LRI): A 36-foot (11 m) high-speed launch that can be launched from the stern ramps of the larger Deepwater cutters.
• Aids to Navigation Boats (TANB/BUSL/ANB/ANB): Various designs ranging from 26 to 55 feet (7.9 to 16.8 m) used to maintain aids to navigation.
• Special Purpose Craft – Law Enforcement (SPC-LE): Intended to operate in support of specialized law enforcement missions, utilizing three 300 horsepower (220 kW) Mercury Marine engines. The SPC-LE is 33 feet (10 m) long and capable of speeds in excess of 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) and operations more than 30 miles (48 km) from shore.
• Response Boat – Small (RB-S): A 25-foot (7.6 m) high-speed boat, for a variety of missions, including search and rescue, port security and law enforcement duties.
• Transportable Port Security Boat (TPSB): A 25-foot (7.6 m) well-armed boat used by Port Security Units for force protection.
• SPC-SW Special Purpose Craft, Shallow-water: 24 feet (7.3 m)
• Over-the-Horizon (OTH) boat: A 23-foot (7.0 m) rigid hull inflatable boat used by medium and high endurance cutters and specialized units.
• Short Range Prosecutor (SRP): A 23-foot (7.0 m) rigid hull inflatable boat that can be launched from a stern launching ramp on the National Security Cutters.

A C-37A Gulfstream in flight

An HC-144A Ocean Sentry in flight

An HC-130 Hercules in flight

C-27J Spartan

An HH-60J Jayhawk conducting rescue demonstration

An MH-65C Dolphin in flight

A grounded MH-65E Dolphin

The Coast Guard operates approximately 201 fixed and rotary wing aircraft[12] from 24 Coast Guard Air Stations throughout the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Most of these air stations are tenant activities at civilian airports, several of which are former Air Force Bases and Naval Air Stations, although several are also independent military facilities. Coast Guard Air Stations are also located on active Naval Air Stations, Air National Guard bases, and Army Air Fields.

Coast Guard aviators receive Primary (fixed-wing) and Advanced (fixed or rotary-wing) flight training with their Navy and Marine Corps counterparts at NAS Whiting Field, Florida, and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and are considered Naval Aviators. After receiving Naval Aviator Wings, Coast Guard pilots, with the exception of those slated to fly the HC-130, report to U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Training Center, Mobile, Alabama to receive 6–12 weeks of specialized training in the Coast Guard fleet aircraft they will operate. HC-130 pilots report to Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, for joint C-130 training under the auspices of the 314th Airlift Wing of the U.S. Air Force.

Fixed-wing aircraft operate from Air Stations on long-duration missions. Helicopters operate from Air Stations and can deploy on a number of different cutters. Helicopters can rescue people or intercept vessels smuggling migrants or narcotics. Since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the Coast Guard has developed a more prominent role in national security and now has armed helicopters operating in high-risk areas for the purpose of maritime law enforcement and anti-terrorism.

The Coast Guard is now developing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program that will utilize the MQ-9 Reaper platform for homeland security and search/rescue operations. To support this endeavor, the Coast Guard has partnered with the Navy and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to study existing/emerging unmanned aerial system (UAS) capabilities within their respective organizations. As these systems mature, research and operational experience gleaned from this joint effort will enable the Coast Guard to develop its own cutter and land-based UAS capabilities.

Most Coast Guard Cutters have one or more naval gun systems installed, including:

• The Oto Melara 76 mm, a radar-guided computer controlled gun system that is used on both Medium and High Endurance Cutters. The 3-inch gun's high rate of fire and availability of specialized ammunition make it a multi-purpose gun capable of anti-shipping, anti-aircraft, ground support and short-range anti-missile defense.
• The MK 110 57mm gun, a radar-guided computer controlled variant of the Bofors 57 mm gun. It is used on the Legend-class cutter, also known as the National Security Cutter (NSC). It is a multi-purpose gun capable of anti-shipping, anti-aircraft, and short-range anti-missile defense. The stealth mount has a reduced radar profile. Also, the gun has a small radar mounted on the gun barrel to measure muzzle velocity for fire control purposes and can change ammunition types instantly due to a dual-feed system. It can also be operated/fired manually using a joystick and video camera (mounted on gun).
• The Mk 38 Mod 0 weapons system consists of an M242 Bushmaster 25mm chain gun and the Mk 88 Mod 0 machine gun mount. A manned system, its gyro-stabilization compensates for the pitching deck. It provides ships with defensive and offensive gunfire capability for the engagement of a variety of surface targets. Designed primarily as a close-range defensive measure, it provides protection against patrol boats, floating mines, and various shore-based targets.
• The Mk 38 Mod 2 weapons system is a remotely operated Mk 38 with an electronic optical sight, laser range-finder, FLIR, a more reliable feeding system, all of which enhance the weapon systems capabilities and accuracy.
• The Phalanx CIWS (pronounced "sea-wiz") is a close-in weapon system for defense against aircraft and anti-ship missiles. it can also be used against a variety of surface targets. Consisting of a radar-guided 20 mm 6-barreled M61 Vulcan cannon mounted on a swiveling base, it is used on the Coast Guard's High Endurance Cutters. This system can operate autonomously against airborne threats or may be manually operated with the use of electronic optical sight, laser range-finder and FLIR systems against surface targets.
• The Sea PROTECTOR MK50 is a remotely controlled gyro-stabilized M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun. The sight package includes a daylight video camera, a thermal camera and an eye-safe laser rangefinder operated by a joystick. It is also furnished with a fully integrated fire control system that provides ballistic correction. The Mk50s are used on only four Marine Protector-class Cutters, the USCGC Sea Fox (WPB-87374), USCGC Sea Devil (WPB-87368), USCGC Sea Dragon (WPB-87367) and USCGC Sea Dog (WPB-87373)

The U.S. Coast Guard uses a wide variety of small arms and light weapons. Handguns, shotguns, and rifles are used to arm boat crew and boarding team members and machine guns are mounted aboard cutters, boats, and helicopters.

Small arms and light weapons arms include:

• M9 9mm pistol
• SIG Sauer P229R DAK .40 S&W pistol
• Remington M870P 12 gauge shotgun
• M16A2 rifle
• M4 carbine
• Mk 18 carbine
• M14 Tactical rifle
• Mk 11 Mod 2 precision rifle
• FN M240 machine gun
• M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun
• Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher[67]
• Barrett M107 .50-caliber rifle, used by marksmen from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron and Law Enforcement Detachments to disable the engines on fleeing boats.

The Coast Guard, like the other armed services of the United States, has a set of core values that serve as basic ethical guidelines for all Coast Guard active duty, reservists, auxiliarists, and civilians. The Coast Guard Core Values are:

Honor: Integrity is our standard. We demonstrate uncompromising ethical conduct and moral behavior in all of our personal actions. We are loyal and accountable to the public trust.
Respect: We value our diverse workforce. We treat each other with fairness, dignity, and compassion. We encourage individual opportunity and growth. We encourage creativity through empowerment. We work as a team.
Devotion to Duty: We are professionals, military and civilian, who seek responsibility, accept accountability, and are committed to the successful achievement of our organizational goals. We exist to serve. We serve with pride.

— Coast Guard Core Values[68]

In 2008, the Coast Guard introduced the Guardian Ethos. As the Commandant, Admiral Allen noted in a message to all members of the Coast Guard: [The Ethos] "defines the essence of the Coast Guard," and is the "contract the Coast Guard and its members make with the nation and its citizens."[69]

In an ALCOAST message effective 1 December 2011 the Commandant, Admiral Papp, directed that the language of Guardian Ethos be superseded by the Coast Guard Ethos in an effort to use terminology that would help with the identity of personnel serving in the Coast Guard.[70] The term Coast Guardsman is the correct form of address used in Title 14 USC and is the form that has been used historically. This changed the line in the Guardian Ethos "I am a Guardian." to become "I am a Coast Guardsman."[71]

The Ethos is:

I am a Coast Guardsman.
I serve the people of the United States.
I will protect them.
I will defend them.
I will save them.
I am their shield.
For them I am Semper Paratus.
I live the Coast Guard core values.
I am proud to be a Coast Guardsman.
We are the United States Coast Guard.

— The Coast Guard Ethos[72]

The "Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman" was written by Vice Admiral Harry G. Hamlet, who served as Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1932 to 1936.[73]

I am proud to be a United States Coast Guardsman.
I revere that long line of expert seamen who by their devotion to duty and sacrifice of self have made it possible for me to be a member of a service honored and respected, in peace and in war, throughout the world.
I never, by word or deed, will bring reproach upon the fair name of my service, nor permit others to do so unchallenged.
I will cheerfully and willingly obey all lawful orders.
I will always be on time to relieve, and shall endeavor to do more, rather than less, than my share.
I will always be at my station, alert and attending to my duties.
I shall, so far as I am able, bring to my seniors solutions, not problems.
I shall live joyously, but always with due regard for the rights and privileges of others.
I shall endeavor to be a model citizen in the community in which I live.
I shall sell life dearly to an enemy of my country, but give it freely to rescue those in peril.
With God's help, I shall endeavor to be one of His noblest Works...
A UNITED STATES COAST GUARDSMAN.

— Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman[74]

This unofficial motto of the Coast Guard dates to an 1899 United States Lifesaving Service regulation, which states in part: "In attempting a rescue, ... he will not desist from his efforts until by actual trial, the impossibility of effecting a rescue is demonstrated. The statement of the keeper that he did not try to use the boat because the sea or surf was too heavy will not be accepted, unless attempts to launch it were actually made and failed."[75]

Ensign of the United States Coast Guard

Former Coast Guard ensign, used from 1915 to 1953

The Coast Guard Ensign (flag) was first flown by the Revenue Cutter Service in 1799 to distinguish revenue cutters from merchant ships. A 1 August 1799 order issued by Secretary of the Treasury, Oliver Wolcott, Jr. specified that the Ensign would be "sixteen perpendicular stripes (for the number of states in the United States at the time), alternate red and white, the union of the ensign to be the arms of the United States in a dark blue on a white field."[76]

This ensign became familiar in American waters and served as the sign of authority for the Revenue Cutter Service until the early 20th century. The ensign was originally intended to be flown only on revenue cutters and boats connected with the Customs Service but over the years it was found flying atop custom houses as well, and the practice became a requirement in 1874. On 7 June 1910, President William Howard Taft issued an Executive Order adding an emblem to (or "defacing") the ensign flown by the Revenue cutters to distinguish it from what is now called the Customs Ensign flown from the custom houses. The emblem was changed to the official seal of the Coast Guard in 1927.[77][78]

The purpose of the ensign is to allow ship captains to easily recognize those vessels having legal authority to stop and board them. It is flown only as a symbol of law enforcement authority and is never carried as a parade standard.[79]

Parade Standard of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard Standard is used in parades and carries the battle honors of the Coast Guard. It was derived from the jack of the Coast Guard ensign which was flown by revenue cutters. The emblem is a blue eagle from the coat of arms of the United States on a white field. Above the eagle are the words "UNITED STATES COAST GUARD" below the eagle is the motto, "SEMPER PARATUS" and the inscription "1790."

Service mark (also known as the Racing Stripe)

The racing stripe is borne by Coast Guard cutters, aircraft, and many boats. First used and placed into official usage as of April 6, 1967, it consists of a narrow blue stripe, a narrow white stripe between, and a broad CG red bar with the Coast Guard shield centered.[4][80] Red-hulled icebreaker cutters and most HH-65/MH-65 helicopters (i.e., those with a red fuselage) bear a narrow blue stripe, a narrow empty stripe the color of the fuselage (an implied red stripe), and broad white bar, with the Coast Guard shield centered. Conversely, black-hulled cutters (such as buoy tenders and inland construction tenders) use the standard racing stripe. Auxiliary vessels maintained by the Coast Guard also carry the Racing Stripe, but in inverted colors (i.e., broad blue stripe with narrow white and CG red stripes) and the Auxiliary shield.

The Racing Stripe, officially known as the Service Mark, was designed in 1964 by the industrial design office of Raymond Loewy Associates to give the Coast Guard a distinctive, modern image. Loewy had designed the colors for the Air Force One fleet for Jackie Kennedy. President Kennedy was so impressed with his work, he suggested that the entire Federal Government needed his make-over and suggested that he start with the Coast Guard.[81][82] The stripes are canted at a 64 degree angle, coincidentally the year the Racing Stripe was designed.[83]

Similar Racing Stripe designs have been adopted for the use of other coast guards and maritime authorities and many other law enforcement and rescue agencies.

In 1918, twin sisters Genevieve and Lucille Baker of the Naval Coastal Defense Reserve became the first uniformed women to serve in the Coast Guard.[90] Later, United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARS) was created on 23 November 1942 with the signing of Public Law 773 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.[91] The name is a contraction of the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus, meaning "Always Ready" in Latin. The name also refers to a spar in nautical usage. Like the other women's reserves such as the Women's Army Corps and the WAVES, it was created to free men from stateside service in order to fight overseas. Its first director was Captain Dorothy C. Stratton who is credited with creating the name for the organization.[92] The cutter USCGC Spar is named for the SPARS.

Those who have piloted or flown in Coast Guard aircraft under official flight orders may join the Coast Guard Aviation Association which was formerly known as the "Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl" ("Flying Since the World was Flat").

The Ancient Albatross Award is presented to the active duty USCG member who qualified as an aviator earlier than any other person who is still serving. Separate enlisted and officer awards are given.[101][102]

The Coast Guard CW Operators Association (CGCWOA) is a membership organization comprising primarily former members of the United States Coast Guard who held the enlisted rating of Radioman (RM) or Telecommunications Specialist (TC), and who employed International Morse Code (CW) in their routine communications duties on Coast Guard cutters and at shore stations.[103]

Members of this organization unite to assist members and dependents in need, assist with Coast Guard recruiting efforts, support the aims and goals of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Academy, keep informed on Coast Guard matters, and assemble for social amenities; and include Chief, Senior Chief, and Master Chief Petty Officers, active, reserve and retired. Membership is also open to all Chief Warrant Officers and Officers who have served as a Chief Petty Officer.[104]

Established in 1929, the Chief Warrant and Warrant Officers Association, United States Coast Guard (CWOA) represents Coast Guard warrant and chief warrant officers (active, reserve and retired) to the Congress, White House and the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, the association communicates with the Coast Guard leadership on matters of concern to Coast Guard chief warrant officers.[105]

• Swamp Fire (1946) features the Coast Guard bar pilots in Louisiana.
• Fighting Coast Guard (1951), depicts Coast Guard trained to help win WWII.[107]
• Onionhead (1958), is a comedy-drama film set aboard the (fictional) Coast Guard buoy tender USCGC Periwinkle at the start of World War II. The film was shot at Warner Bros.' studio in Burbank, California; location shooting for the film took place at the Coast Guard station in Alameda, California, and aboard USCGC Yamacraw (WARC-333), at Coast Guard Base Yerba Buena Island.
• The Boatniks (1970), is a light-hearted depiction of a Coast Guard unit tasked with supervising recreational boaters on the California coast.
• The Island (1980), latter-day Caribbean pirates capture the (fictional) cutter USCGC New Hope. Filming was done on USCGC Dauntless.[107]
• Bad Boys II (2003), depicts counter-drug helicopters from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON).[107]
• The Guardian (2006), depicts the Aviation Survival Technician (AST) program.
• Pain & Gain (2013), starring Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg, depicted the Coast Guard Deployable Operations Group in action.[107]
• The Finest Hours (2016), A film portraying the rescue of the crew of SS Pendleton by coxswain Bernard C. Webber and the three other crewmen of Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat CG 36500.[107]

The Coast Guard has been featured in several television series, including:

• Coast Guard was a syndicated television series that aired for three seasons from 1995 to 1997 in the United States as well as overseas, where it was called Sea Rescue. The series followed Coast Guard personnel as they performed their missions.[108][109][110]
• Coast Guard Alaska: Search and Rescue, a series on The Weather Channel that features a Coast Guard search-and-rescue unit based in Kodiak, Alaska. Several series have spun off the original to focus on units based in Cape Disappointment and Florida.[111][112][113]
• Deadliest Catch, works extensively with Base Kodiak, who cooperates with the film crew to insure safety and has been featured in several rescues.[114][115]
• Doll & Em features an CG ANT team member and the Point Vicente Light as the lighthouse Doll & Em escape to do their writing in the Season 2 opener.[116]
• Hawaii Five-0, features several episodes in which the Five-0 team worked with Station Honolulu[117] and Air Station Barbers Point.[118]
• NCIS, Diane Neal portrays Abigail Borin, CGIS Special Agent in Charge featured in several episodes of both NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans.[119]

• List of United States federal law enforcement agencies
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• U.S. Maritime Service
• U.S. Merchant Marine