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The United States Coast Guard ('''USCG''') is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and is involved in Maritime Law Enforcement , mariner assistance, search and rescue, and national defense. As one of the seven Uniformed Services Of The United States , and the smallest Armed Service Of The United States , its stated mission is to protect the public, the environment, and the United States economic and security interests in any maritime region in which those interests may be at risk, including international waters and America's coasts, ports, and inland waterways. OVERVIEW The Coast Guard, in its literature, describes itself as "a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the Department Of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America." The other branches of the military are components of the Department Of Defense . The United States Coast Guard has a broad and important role in Homeland Security , Law Enforcement , Search And Rescue , marine environmental pollution response, and the maintenance of River , Intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation (ATON). It also lays claim to being the United States' oldest continuous seagoing service. As of January 2005, The United States Coast Guard has about 39,000 men and women on active duty, 8,100 reservists, 7,000 full time civilian employees and 35,000 auxiliarists. The Coast Guard's motto is '' Semper Paratus '', meaning "Always Ready". USCG has participated in every U.S. conflict from landing troops on D-Day and on the Pacific Islands in World War II , extensive patrols and shore bombardment during the Vietnam War , to Operation Iraqi Freedom . Maritime interception operations, coastal security patrols, and law enforcement detachments are the major roles in Iraq . The legal basis for the Coast Guard is 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." On February 25 2003 , the Coast Guard was placed under the Department Of Homeland Security . The Coast Guard reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security. However, under 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 . authorizes the Coast Guard to enforce federal law. Further, the Coast Guard is not subject to the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act which restrict the law enforcement activities of the other four military services. As members of a military service, 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 four armed services. HISTORY See Also: History of the United States Coast Guard .]] The roots of the Coast Guard lie in the United States Revenue Cutter Service established under the Department Of The Treasury in 1790. Until the establishment of the United States Navy a decade later, the Cutter Service was the only naval force of the early U.S. "First Fleet" is a term occasionally used as an informal reference to the US Coast Guard, although as far as one can detect the United States has never in fact officially used this designation with reference either to the Coast Guard or any element of the US Navy. The informal appellation honors the fact that between 1790 and 1798, there was no United States Navy and the cutters which were the predecessor of the US Coast Guard were the only warships protecting the coast, trade, and maritime interests of the new republic. http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/unit/fleet_n.htm The modern Coast Guard can be said to date to 1915, when the Cutter Service merged with the United States Life-Saving Service and Congress formalized the existence of the new organization. In 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was brought under its purview. In 1942, the Bureau Of Marine Inspection And Navigation was transferred to the Coast Guard. In 1967, the Coast Guard moved from the Department Of The Treasury to the newly formed Department Of Transportation , an arrangement that lasted until it was placed under the Department Of Homeland Security in 2003. In times of war, the Coast Guard may operate as a service in the Department of the Navy. This arrangement has a broad historical basis, as the Guard has been involved in wars as diverse as the War Of 1812 , the Mexican-American War , and the American Civil War , in which the cutter ''Harriet Lane'' fired the first naval shots attempting to relieve besieged Fort Sumter . The last time the Coast Guard operated as a whole under the Navy was in World War II . ORGANIZATION See Also: Organization of the United States Coast Guard The headquarters of the Coast Guard is on 2100 Second Street, SW, in Washington, D.C. In 2005, the Coast Guard announced tentative plans to relocate to the grounds of the former St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington. That project is currently on hold because of environmental, historical, and congressional concerns. As of July 2006, there are several possible locations being considered, including the current headquarters location. PERSONNEL Commissioned Officer Corps There are many routes by which individuals can become commissioned officers in the US Coast Guard. The most common are: United States Coast Guard Academy See Also: United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy is located on the Thames River in New London, Connecticut . It is the only military academy, apart from the specialized Uniformed Services University Of The Health Sciences , to which no Congressional or presidential appointments are made. All Cadet s enter by open competition utilizing SAT scores, high school grades, extra-curricular activities, and other criteria. About 225 cadets are commissioned Ensigns each year. Graduates of the Academy are obligated to serve five years on active duty. Most graduates (about 70%) are assigned to duty aboard a Coast Guard cutter after graduation, either as Deck Watch Officers (DWO) or as Engineer Officers in Training (EOIT). Smaller numbers are assigned to flight training (about 10% of the class) or to shore duty at Coast Guard Sectors , Districts, or Area headquarters unit. College Student Pre-Comissioning Initiative (CSPI) The College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI) is a scholarship program for college sophomores. This program provides students with valuable leadership, management, law enforcement, navigation and marine science skills and training. It also provides full payment of school tuition, fees, textbooks, a salary, medical insurance and other benefits during a student's junior and senior year of college. The CSPI program guarantees training at Officer Candidate School (OCS) upon successful completion of all program requirements. Each student is expected to complete his/her degree and all Coast Guard training requirements. Following the completion of OCS and commission as a Coast Guard officer, each student will be required to serve on active duty (full time) as an officer for 3 years. Benefits: Full tuition, books and fees paid for two years, monthly salary of approximately $2,000, medical and life insurance, 30 days paid vacation per year, leadership training. Officer Candidate School In addition to the Academy, prospective officers may enter the Coast Guard through the Officer Candidate School (OCS) at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut . OCS is a rigorous 17-week course of instruction which prepares candidates to serve effectively as officers in the United States Coast Guard. In addition to indoctrinating students into a military life-style, OCS also provides a wide range of highly technical information necessary for performing the duties of a Coast Guard officer. Graduates of the program receive a commission in the Coast Guard at the rank of Ensign and are required to serve a minimum of three years of active duty. Graduates may be assigned to a ship, flight training, to a staff job, or to an operations ashore billet. However, first assignments are based on the needs of the Coast Guard. Personal desires and performance at OCS are considered. All graduates must be available for world wide assignment. In addition to United States citizens, foreign cadets and candidates also attend Coast Guard officer training. Direct Commission Officer Program The Coast Guard's Direct Commission Officer course is administered by the Officer Candidate School staff. Depending on the specific program and 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. ROTC Unlike the other armed services, the Coast Guard does ''not'' sponsor a ROTC program. It does, however, sponsor one Junior ROTC (" JROTC ") program at the MAST Academy . Commissioned Warrant Officers Highly qualified enlisted personnel from E-6 through E-9 compete every year for appointment as a Chief Warrant Officer (or CWO). Successful candidates are chosen by a board and then commissioned as Chief Warrant Officers (CWO-2) in one of sixteen specialties. Over time Chief Warrant Officers may be promoted to CWO-3 and CWO-4. The ranks of Warrant Officer (WO-1) and CWO-5 do not exist in the Coast Guard. Chief Warrant Officers may also compete for the Chief Warrant Officer to Lieutenant program. If selected, the officer will be promoted to Lieutenant (O-3). Enlisted Corps Newly enlisted personnel are sent to eight weeks of Basic Training at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey . The training schedule includes:
Following graduation, most members are sent to their first unit while they await orders to attend advanced training, in Class "A" Schools , in their chosen Rating , the naval term for Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Some members go directly to "A" School upon graduation from Basic training. Petty Officer s follow career development paths similar to those of Navy petty officers. Enlisted Coast Guard members who have reached the pay grade of E-7, or Chief Petty Officer, must attend the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy at Petaluma, California , or an equivalent Department Of Defense school, to be advanced to Pay Grade E-8. United States Air Force master sergeants, as well as international students representing their respective maritime services, are also eligible to attend the Academy. The basic themes of this school are:
RANKS : : EQUIPMENT The equipment of the USCG consists of thousands of vehicles (boats, ships, helicopters, fixed-winged aircraft, automobiles), communication systems (radio equipment, radio networks, radar, data networks), weapons, infrastructure such as United States Coast Guard Air Stations and local Small Boat Stations, each in a large variety. See Also: Equipment of the United States Coast Guard SYMBOLS Core values The Coast Guard, like the other armed services of the United States, has a set of Core Values which serve as basic ethical guidelines to Coast Guard members. As listed in the recruit pamphlet, ''The Helmsman'',United States Coast Guard. The Helmsman they are:
Coast Guard Ensign The Coast Guard Ensign (flag) was first flown by the Revenue Cutter Service in 1799 to distinguish revenue cutters from merchant ships. The order stated the Ensign would be "16 perpendicular stripes, 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." (There were 16 states in the United States at the time). The purpose of the flag is to allow ship captains to easily recognize those vessels having legal authority to stop and board them. This flag is flown only as a symbol of law enforcement authority and is never carried as a parade standard. See {Link without Title} Coast Guard Standard The Coast Guard Standard is used in parades and carries the battle honors of the U.S. Coast Guard. It was derived from the Jack of the Coast Guard ensign which used to fly from the stern of 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." Racing Stripe |
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