Articles Index - page 2

Still Sailing the Tall Ships
The Eagle is a three-masted sailing Barque with 21,350 square feet of sail. It is homeported at the CG Academy, New London, Connecticut. It is the only active (operational) commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. maritime services.

Patrolling Guantanamo Bay
U.S. Coast Guardsmen are helping their Defense Department brethren by working to protect the coasts and waterways of an American military outpost in the Caribbean. A team of roughly 50 Coast Guardsmen patrols Guantanamo Bay in TPSBs, transportable port-security boats -- or "fast boats" in Coastie lingo.

Coast Guard Fraternization Policies
United States Coast Guard fraternization policies are contained in chapter 8 of the Coast Guard Personnel Manual, COMDTINST 1000.6A. Coast Guard policy is to sustain a professional work environment which fosters mutual respect among all personnel, and in which decisions affecting personnel, in appearance and actuality, are based on sound leadership principles.

Coast Guard Drug Interdiction for FY 2004
The Coast Guard seized a record 240,518 pounds of cocaine, worth approximately $7.7 billion during fiscal year 2004. The previous annual record of 138,393 pounds was surpassed May 29 (2004) with the seizure of 4,300 pounds of cocaine off a go-fast vessel in the Eastern Pacific.

Coast Guard Cutter Duty
Although fighting the nation's war on drugs by catching smugglers has become one a primary mission of cutters like the Tampa, the ship and its crew also are heavily involved in the war on terror by helping to interdict migrants trying to enter the United States illegally.

Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Training
The Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Training School has one of the highest student attrition rates of any special operations school in the military. Roughly 75 students go through the school each year, and fewer than half make it out.

Coast Guard Search and Rescue
For the Coast Guard to provide search and rescue response around the country around the clock, it has several facilities like the one in Elizabeth City situated throughout the East, West and Gulf coasts, as well as in Alaska. There are also stations in Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico, the Great Lakes and inland U.S. waterways. SAR teams at just this one station average nearly 360 missions each year, and over the years have rescued or assisted more than 10,000 people.

"Coasties" Active Players in War on Terrorism
The U.S. Coast Guard is an active player in the war on terror, both in Southwest Asia and on the home front. The "fifth armed service" is making its largest commitment to port- security operations since World War II. At the same time, the Coast Guard has deployed its largest contingent of Coast Guard members and assets overseas since the Vietnam conflict, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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