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United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the US military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters) and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the President at any time, or by Congress during time of war.
Founded by Alexander Hamilton as the Revenue Cutter Service on 4 August 1790, it is the United States' oldest continuous seagoing service. As of August 2009^[update] the Coast Guard had approximately 42,000 men and women on active duty, 7,500 reservists, 30,000 auxiliarists, and 7,700 full-time civilian employees.^[4]
The Coast Guard's legal authority differs from the other four armed services: it operates simultaneously under Title 10 of the United States Code and its other organic authorities, e.g., Titles 6, 14, 19, 33, 46, etc. Because of its legal authority, the Coast Guard can conduct military operations under the Department of Defense or directly for the President in accordance with Title 14 USC 1–3.
The Coast Guard's enduring roles are maritime safety, security, and stewardship. To carry out those roles the Coast Guard has eleven statutory missions as defined in 6 U.S.C. § 468, which include enforcing US law in the world's largest exclusive economic zone of 3.4 million square miles.^[5]
The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus (Latin for "Always Ready" or "Always Prepared").

Contents 1 Mission 1.1 Role 1.2 Missions 1.2.1 Non-homeland security missions 1.2.2 Homeland security missions 1.3 Search and Rescue 1.4 National Response Center 1.5 Authority as an armed service 1.6 Authority as a law enforcement agency 2 History 3 Organization 3.1 Shore establishments 4 Personnel 4.1 Commissioned Officers 4.2 Warrant Officers 4.3 Enlisted Personnel 4.4 Women in the Coast Guard 4.5 Training 4.5.1 Officer training 4.5.2 Recruit training 4.5.3 Service schools 4.6 Civilian personnel 5 Equipment 5.1 Cutters 5.2 Aircraft 5.3 Boats 5.4 Weapons 6 Symbols 6.1 Core values 6.2 The Guardian Ethos 6.3 The Coast Guard Ethos 6.4 Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman 6.5 Coast Guard Ensign 6.6 Coast Guard Standard 6.7 Racing Stripe 6.8 Semper Paratus 6.9 Colors 7 Uniforms 8 Issues 9 Deployable Operations Group 10 Coast Guard Reserve 11 Coast Guard Auxiliary 12 Medals and honors 13 Organizations 13.1 Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl 13.2 Coast Guard CW Operators Association 13.3 USCG Chief Petty Officers Association 14 Notable Coast Guardsmen 15 Popular culture 15.1 In gaming 15.2 In literature 15.3 Onscreen, in film 15.4 Onscreen, in television 16 See also 16.1 Coast Guard 16.2 Related agencies 17 References 18 Further reading 19 External links

 Mission

Main article: Missions of the United States Coast Guard

Role

A boatswain’s mate watches from the side port door as Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf’s Over-The-Horizon small boat departs to receive personnel from Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur.

The Coast Guard has roles in maritime homeland security, maritime law enforcement (MLE), search and rescue (SAR), marine environmental protection (MEP), and the maintenance of river, intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation (ATON).
While most military services are either at war or training for war, the Coast Guard is deployed every day. 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."^[6]

 Missions

A Coast Guard rescue swimmer assisting with the rescue of a pregnant woman during Hurricane Katrina

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

The eleven statutory missions as defined by law are divided into homeland security missions and non-homeland security missions:^[7]

 Non-homeland security missions

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

 Homeland security missions

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

 Search and Rescue

Search and Rescue Program Logo of the United States Coast Guard.

See National Search and Rescue Committee

See Joint Rescue Coordination Centers

While not the oldest, search and rescue (SAR) is one of the Coast Guard's best known missions. The National Search and Rescue Plan^[8] 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. Both agencies maintain rescue coordination centers to coordinate this effort, and have responsibility for both military and civilian search and rescue.

National Response Center

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 discharges into the environment anywhere in the United States and its territories. In addition to gathering and distributing spill data 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 Terrorist/Suspicious Activity Reports and Maritime Security Breach Reports. Details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.^[9] The Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) database system is managed and used by the United States Coast Guard (USCG)for tracking pollution and safety incidents in the nation's ports.