Protected by the Us Coast Guard Protected by the Us Coast Guard Clip Art
By Sandi Gohn
Don't let their snappy navy blue Coast Baby-sit uniforms fool you - serving in the nation's longest seafaring service is non for the faint of heart.
Petty Officeholder 3rd Class Daise Tamarcus and Petty Officeholder 3rd Class William Easterwood learn well-nigh marine-band radio installation in Jan 17, 2020. | Photo credit DVIDS/Coast Guard Piffling Officer 1st Course Ayla Hudson
Whether they're protecting our nation's ports, conducting search and rescue missions or stopping illegal drug smugglers in their tracks, members of the U.Southward. Coast Guard (sometimes called "Coasties") do a surprising number of tasks that are crucial to keeping U.Due south. waterways safe. In fact, the consummate list of jaw-dropping Coast Guard facts required to answer the unproblematic question - what does the Coast Baby-sit practise? - is as long and complex as the war machine branch's history itself.
Here are a few Coast Guard facts and answers to common questions about the second-smallest branch of the armed forces (backside the newly minted U.S. Space Forcefulness) to showcase the amazing work Coasties practise every day.
1. What does the Coast Guard practise?
Broadly speaking, the Coast Guard'south job is to protect U.S. waterways, ports and shorelines by enforcing U.Due south. laws and serving as a starting time responder on the water. According to the Coast Guard, the organization's overarching mission is organized into six smaller areas of operational focus:
Coast Guard Cutter Munro crew members transfer bales of cocaine on June half dozen, 2019. The cocaine was seized past Munro's coiffure following an interdiction of a suspected drug smuggling boat in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Sea. | Photo credit DVIDS/Coast Guard photo
-
Police enforcement
-
First response
-
Safety and marine environmental protection
-
Transportation system management
-
Security operations
-
Defense operations
If that sounds like a lot of responsibility – that's because it is!
2. Is the Declension Guard Part of the Military?
Yes! Even though the Coast Guard is not a function of the U.Due south. Department of Defense (DoD), the Coast Guard is part of the United States Armed services (likewise known every bit the military machine). Technically, the Coast Baby-sit is both a federal law enforcement agency and military branch inside the Section of Homeland Security.
Throughout its long history, the Coast Guard has also been a part of the Section of the Treasury and the Department of Transportation.
Photo credit DVIDS/Declension Guard/Petty Officeholder third Class Alex Gray
Coast Guardsmen get together before preparing bails of cocaine to be offloaded from the Coast Baby-sit Cutter Munro in San Diego on Feb. 10, 2020.
three. What is the Divergence of the Declension Guard vs Navy?
Because the Coast Baby-sit's maritime mission and its role equally role of the military, it might seem hard at first to see the difference betwixt the Coast Guard and the Navy. Withal, the two organizations couldn't be more than unlike.
The chief departure of the Coast Guard vs the Navy lies in their contrasting geographic scopes, distinct core operations and vastly different sizes.
The Coast Guard mainly operates inside the U.S. and its waterways, whereas the Navy's missions crave its personnel, vessels and aircraft to travel all around the earth. Furthermore, well-nigh of the Coast Guard's operations are aimed at maritime law enforcement and protecting U.S. waterways and shorelines, whereas the Navy is focused on maintaining a war-set up armada and ensuring the freedom of the global seas. Additionally, the Navy is much larger than the Coast Guard, with well-nigh twelve times more active-duty personnel.
iv. Speaking of, How Many People Are in the Coast Guard?
Currently, afterwards the Space Force, the Coast Guard is the smallest armed forces branch. twoscore,992 total-fourth dimension active-duty service members are currently working in the Coast Guard, forth with 7,000 part-time reservists, viii,577 civilians and 31,000 auxiliary Declension Guard volunteers.
Photograph credit DVIDS/Coast Guard Piffling Officer 1st Class Rob Simpson
Lilliputian Officer 2nd Class Kris Grimm is hoisted into an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter off the coast of San Diego.
5. Is it Hard to Get into the Coast Guard?
Getting into the Coast Baby-sit is a simple enough process – but that doesn't mean it is like shooting fish in a barrel. Just similar joining whatsoever other co-operative of the military, anyone wanting to get into the Coast Baby-sit must first talk to a recruiter to brainstorm the process and answer any questions. Then, upon completing a pre-screening, new applicants volition be sent to the closest Military Entrance Processing Centre (MEPS) location for further evaluation.
For the Declension Guard, this pace includes several long days of testing, medical screenings and taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test. Potential enlisted recruits must earn a minimum ASVAB score of 40 – the highest-required score of all the war machine branches, along with the Air Force. Depending on their location, recruits and their accompanying family members might exist able to relax between testing sessions at a USO lounge at their MEPS site. There are currently several USO MEPS locations beyond the U.S.
Once Declension Baby-sit hopefuls have passed all their preliminary testing at MEPS, the next step is to wing to Philadelphia. Upon landing at the Philadelphia International Airport, all recruits head to the airport'southward USO lounge for one final taste of noncombatant life before boarding the motorcoach to attend the 53-day Coast Baby-sit Recruit Preparation in Cape May, New Bailiwick of jersey.
6. What Celebrities or Other Famous People Served in the Coast Baby-sit?
Golfer Arnold Palmer, author Alexander "Alex" Haley, actor Jeff Bridges, National Football League (NFL) histrion Emlen Tunnel, histrion Cesar Romero, National Hockey League (NHL) player Art Coulter and boxer Jack Dempsey are among a slew of other stars who served in the U.S. Declension Guard.
7. What is Some Other Interesting Declension Baby-sit Trivia?
Did yous know that Walt Disney created a special logo for the Coast Guard's Corsair Fleet during World War II, or that the oldest-serving Coastguardsman was 105 years onetime? Check out this list of Coast Guard trivia facts to dive even deeper into the military branch.
-This article was originally published in 2020. It has been updated for 2021.
Source: https://www.uso.org/stories/2799-what-does-the-coast-guard-do-and-7-coast-guard-facts-to-know