The ever changing role of the United States Coast Guard

Status
Not open for further replies.

Olde Delaware

Honos Habet Onus
Deputy Minister
Citizen
Pronouns
He/Him
The ever changing role of the United States Coast Guard
January 1st 2018
By Olde Delaware

If you're the average American, you spend most of your life thinking of the military as the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Four great branches with long and storied histories both good and bad, but when it comes to discussing the Coast Guard many people just aren't sure exactly what they do. Do they save lives? I thought they stopped drug dealers. Are they soldiers or police officers?

In short, the answer is all of the above. But this article aims to show how the Coast Guard got to where it is today, as one of the world's premier coastal defense force. A branch of the service that is relatively overlooked but has tremendous impact on how Americans live their lives every single day and it starts with on a hot August day in 1790.

The Beginning

In the immediate post war era of the American Revolution, the United States Government was strapped for cash and looking for ways to add money to the new nation's coffers. National income was desperately needed, and the government determined that a great deal of this income would come from tariffs on imports. Because of rampant smuggling, the need was immediate for strong enforcement of tariff laws. Nominally, this enforcement would come from a country's Navy who would use smaller boats which could utilize speed over strength to chase down and capture these smugglers.

However, without a Navy which had been disbanded at the end of the War, there was an immediate need for a force who could enforce the new laws. On August 4th, 1790, the United States Congress, urged on by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, created the Revenue-Marine. The Revenue - Marine, the precursor to today's Coast Guard would be made up of an initial force of 10 cutters. Their mission, as outlined by Secretary Hamilton is little changed from the mission of the Coast Guard today:

- Boarding incoming and outgoing vessels and checking their papers (ownership, registration, admeasurement, manifests, etc.);
- Ensuring that all cargoes were properly documented;
- Sealing the cargo holds of incoming vessels;
- Seizing those vessels in violation of the law.

But, because of the lack of a Navy, the Revenue - Marine were also tasked with a number of other duties that were not related to protecting the revenue. These included:

- Enforcing quarantine restrictions established by the federal, state or local governments;
- Charting the local coastline;
- Enforcing the neutrality and embargo acts;
- Carrying official (and unofficial) passengers;
- Carrying supplies to lighthouse stations;
- Other duties as assigned by the collector.

Until the re-establishment of the Navy in 1798, the Revenue-Marine cutters were the federal government's only armed vessels. As such, the cutters and their crews took on a wide variety of duties beyond the enforcement of tariffs, including combating piracy, rescuing mariners in distress, ferrying government officials, and even carrying mail. In 1794, the Revenue-Marine was given the mission of preventing trading in slaves from Africa to the United States. Between 1794 and 1865, the Service captured approximately 500 slave ships. In 1808, the Service was responsible for enforcing President Thomas Jefferson's embargo closing U.S. ports to European trade. The 1822 Timber Act tasked the Revenue Cutter Service with protecting government timber from poachers (this is viewed as the beginning of the Coast Guard's environmental protection mission)

During times of war or crisis, the revenue cutters and their crews were put at the disposal of the Navy. The Revenue-Marine involved in the Quasi-War with France from 1798 to 1799, the War of 1812, and the Mexican–American War. During the American Civil War, the USRCHarriet Lane fired the first naval shots of the war, engaging the steamer Nashville during the siege of Fort Sumter. Upon the order of President Lincoln to the Secretary of the Treasury on 14 June 1863, cutters were assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. A Confederate Revenue Marine was also formed by crewmen who left the Revenue Cutter Service.

United States Lifesaving Service

In 1848, Congress passed what would become known as the Newell Act. Under this act, the United States Congress appropriated $10,000 to establish unmanned life saving stations along the New Jersey coast south of New York Harbor and to provide "surf boat, rockets, carronades and other necessary apparatus for the better preservation of life and property from shipwreck on the coast of New Jersey. These were loosely administered by the Revenue-Marine, but still dependent on volunteers to operate them.

These systems would come to make a name for themselves but in a bad and tragic way during the Great Carolina Hurricane of 1854. The storm which ravaged the East Coast of the United States and caused 26 fatalities highlighted the under equipped and under trained volunteers which manned the stations and a need for more stations. The following year, Congress appropriated more funding which allowed for a permanent staff of 3 at each and every station. Even still, conditions at many stations continued to languish or be outright ignored. So bad were the conditions at stations that by 1871 when Sumner Increase Kimball was appointed chief of the Treasury Department's Revenue Marine Division. One of his first acts was to send Captain John Faunce of the Revenue Marine Service on an inspection tour of the life saving stations. Captain Faunce's report noted that "apparatus was rusty for want of care and some of it ruined."

Kimball convinced Congress to appropriate $200,000 to operate the stations and to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to employ full-time crews for the stations. Kimball instituted six-man boat crews at all stations, built new stations, and drew up regulations with standards of performance for crew members. By 1874, stations were added along the coast of Maine, Cape Cod, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Port Aransas, Texas. The next year, more stations were added to serve the Great Lakes and the Houses of Refuge in Florida. In 1878, the network of life saving stations were formally organized as a separate agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, called the Live-Saving Service.

Although the Revenue Cutter Service is perhaps more recognized as the predecessor of the Coast Guard, the Lifesaving Service's legacy is apparent in many ways, not the least of which is the prominence of the Coast Guard's search and rescue mission in the eyes of the public. The Coast Guard takes its unofficial search and rescue motto, "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back," In 1915, the Revenue Cutter Service and the Lifesaving Service were merged to form the Coast Guard. The United States Lighthouse Service was absorbed by the Coast Guard in 1939. On 28 February 1942, the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard

Calm before the Storm

Before the American entry into World War II, cutters of the Coast Guard patrolled the North Atlantic. In January 1940 President Roosevelt directed the establishment of the Atlantic Weather Observation Service using Coast Guard cutters and U.S. Weather Bureau observers.

After the invasion of Denmark by Germany in April 1940, President Roosevelt ordered the International Ice Patrol, started after the sinking of the Titanic to continue as a legal pretext to patrol Greenland, whose cryolite mines were vital to refining aluminum and whose geographic location allowed accurate weather forecasts to be made for Europe. The Greenland Patrol was maintained by the Coast Guard for the duration of the war.

The Coast Guard also received some recognition for its role in the sinking of the German Battleship Bismarck. As a member of the Greenland Patrol Force, the USCGC Modoc worked with other ships on the patrol force and International Ice Patrol in everything from keeping convoy routes open, breaking and finding leads in ice for the Greenland convoys, escorting the convoys and rescuing survivors from torpedoed ships, constructing and maintaining aids to navigation, and reporting weather conditions. Ships of the patrol were also expected to discover and destroy enemy weather and radio stations in Greenland, continue hydrographic surveys, maintain communications, deliver supplies, and conduct search and rescue operation.

It was while in Greenland where Modoc and the U.S. Coast Guard became a footnote in what was to be remembered as a fierce and driven hunt for one of Germany's most dangerous assets on the high seas. According to British intelligence chief William Stephenson's biography, A Man Called Intrepid, the Modoc was rescuing survivors from torpedoed convoys in the Bay of Biscay when she came into visual contact with the Bismarck which hitherto had been lost to pursuing British forces. Based upon her position, a U.S. piloted PBY patrol bomber went on to locate the Bismarck in time for Ark Royal to launch the air attacks that ultimately disabled her and enabled the British fleet to catch up and sink her. Modoc ended up in the middle of the battle. Anti-aircraft fire from Bismarck came close to hitting the ship. In addition HMS Norfolk was about to fire on the cutter when HMS Prince of Wales identified her as US Coast Guard.

The cutter was undamaged, although they were near the fighting and at times only six miles from Bismarck. The widespread movements of the combatants, 19 plus destroyers and smaller ships, had distributed danger over a wide area. Aircraft had played a continuous part in coordinating activities, thus adding to the danger of accidents to innocent bystanders, a role the cutters had to play prior to Pearl Harbor. But Modoc survived the engagement and the war returning to the United States in 1947 and its role in the Sinking of the Bismarck went down in Coast Guard lore.

Baptism of Fire

Shortly after Germany declared war on the United States, German submarines began Operation Drumbeat ("Paukenschlag"), sinking ships off the American coast. Many Coast Guard cutters were involved in rescue operations following German attacks on American shipping. The USCGC Icarus (WPC-110), a 165-foot (50 m) cutter that previously had been a rumrunner chaser during Prohibition, sank U-352 on 9 May 1942, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, and took 33 prisoners, the first Germans taken in combat by any U.S. force.

The USCGC Thetis (WPC-115) sank U-157 on 10 June 1942. During the war, Coast Guard units sank 12 German and two Japanese submarines and captured two German surface vessels. When the USCGC Campbell (WPG-32) rammed and sank the German U-606, her enlisted mascot Sinbad became a public hero at home and brought attention to the role of the Coast Guard in convoy protection.

Coast Guardsmen also patrolled the shores of the United States during the war. On 13 June 1942 Seaman 2nd Class John Cullen, patrolling the beach in Amagansett, New York, discovered the first landing of German saboteurs in Operation Pastorius. Cullen was the first American who actually came in contact with the enemy on the shores of the United States during the war and his report led to the capture of the German sabotage team. For this, Cullen received the Legion of Merit

In addition to antisubmarine operations the Coast Guard worked closely with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Many of the coxswains of American landing craft, such as the Higgins boat (LCVP), used in amphibious invasions were Coast Guardsmen who had received amphibious training with the cooperation of the U.S. Marine Corps. Coast Guard cutters and ships partially manned by Coast Guardsmen were used in the North African invasion of November 1942 (Operation Torch) and the invasion of Sicily in 1943 (Operation Husky). Coast Guard crews manned 22 tankers, 51 large tugs, 6 marine repair ships, and 209 freight and supply vessels for the United States Army.

During the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944, a 60-cutter flotilla of wooden 83-foot (25 m) Coast Guard cutters, nicknamed the "Matchbox Fleet", cruised off all five landing beaches as combat search-and-rescue boats, saving 400 Allied airmen and sailors. Division O-1, including the Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase (APA-26), landed the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division on Omaha Beach. Off Utah Beach, the Coast Guard manned the command ship USS Bayfield (APA-33). Several Coast Guard-manned landing craft were lost during D-Day to enemy fire and heavy seas. In addition, a cutter was beached during the storms off the Normandy coast which destroyed the U.S.-operated Mulberry harbor.

While the Coast Guard did play a key role in World War II, they were not always on the front lines or otherwise glamorous. While many celebrities such as Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart served in the Army and Air Corps respectively, few served in the Coast Guard as it was not deemed worthy enough or offer glory and heroism like the other branches. Whereas all of the branches at the time saw multiple Medal of Honor recipients for gallantry in combat, the Coast Guard only saw one. Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro (1919–1942), the only Coast Guardsman to receive the Medal of Honor, earned the decoration during World War II as a small boat coxswain during the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. A Navy destroyer escort, USS Douglas A. Munro (DE-422), was named in his honor in 1944. The cutter USCGC Munro (WHEC-724) was commissioned in 1971, and is still on active service.

Post War

The 1960's brought a new parent for the Coast Guard, after almost 200 years of service in the Treasury Department the U.S. Coast Guard was brought under the umbrella of the newly created Department of Transportation in 1967. It was also in 1967 that the Coast Guard adopted the 'racing stripe' or the unique red and blue stripe found on Coast Guard vessels today to offer better visibility from a distance and further distinguish itself from a Navy vessel. "Racing striped" Coast Guard vessels were found in Vietnam as well, performing rescues at sea for downed airmen and while attached to the U.S. Navy, coastal interdiction and naval gunfire support for shore operations in South Vietnam. The Coast Guard developed a "piggyback" weapon that proved highly useful; an M2 Browning machine gun placed over a 81mm mortar.

In April 1980, the government of Cuba began to allow any person who wanted to leave Cuba to assemble in Mariel Harbor and take their own transport. The U.S. Coast Guard, working out of Seventh District Headquarters in Miami, Florida, rescued boats in difficulty, inspected vessels for adequate safety equipment, and processed refugees. This task was made even more difficult by a hurricane which swamped many vessels in mid-ocean and by the lack of cooperation by Cuban Border Guard officials. By May, 600 reservists had been called up, the U.S. Navy provided assistance between Cuba and Key West, and the Auxiliary was heavily involved. 125,000 refugees were processed between April and May 1980. The incident would later become known as the Mariel Boatlift.

During the 1980s, Coast Guard cutters and aircraft were increasingly deployed to intervene drugs far offshore. While the service has interdicted contraband since its inception, the "Drug War" was the biggest effort since Prohibition. Though the Drug War began before the 1980s and continues to this day, it was during the 1980s that the Coast Guard, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies, used a blend of new and old laws to interdict far from the shores of the United States. Formerly, it was more difficult to prosecute cases involving seizures made beyond 24 nautical miles from shore. President Ronald Reagan's efforts to secure funding for federal agencies and courts to prosecute cases got the Coast Guard's attention. The Coast Guard instituted a "no tolerance" policy toward drugs, began testing its own employees for drug use, and required that all boardings be carried out by trained and armed boarding officers and petty officers. The Caribbean was the focus of efforts in the 1980s, but in recent years the major drug busts at sea have been occurring more in the waters of the Pacific Ocean between California and Peru

The Coast Guard post 9/11

Following the tragic September 11th attacks, the Coast Guard was moved for a third time from the administration of the Department of Transportation to the newly created Department of Homeland Security on March 1st 2003. In September 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rejected the proposal to transfer all military responsibilities of the Coast Guard to the Navy and assigning the Coast Guard purely homeland security responsibilities.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, the Coast Guard had deployed its largest contingent of Coast Guardsmen and assets overseas since the Vietnam War. Coast Guard cutters primarily assisted in force protection and search and seizures of suspected smugglers in Iraqi and international waters, often in close proximity to Iran. Military trainers improved the capabilities of the Iraqi Navy and other government forces in core competencies and maritime law enforcement. The Coast Guard also sent military advisors to Iraq to provide technical assistance to Iraqi officials on the implementation of international port security standards and requirements.

At the height its involvement in both wars, the Coast Guard deployed over 1,200 men and women, including about 500 reservists, 11 ships (two large cutters, a buoy tender, and eight patrol boats), 4 port-security units, law enforcement detachments, and other specialized teams and support staff in order to perform a wide range of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf. These deployments included Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, 24, from the USS Firebolt (PC-10), became the first Coast Guardsman to die in a combat zone since the Vietnam War. He was killed in a suicide boat attack on a Basra oil terminal off the coast of Iraq as the crew of the Firebolt performed their maritime security mission.

Hurricane Katrina

After Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the Coast Guard dispatched a number of helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, small boats, and Auxiliary aircraft as well as 25 cutters to the Gulf Coast, rescuing 2,000 people in two days, and around 33,500 people in all. The crews also assessed storm damage to offshore oil platforms and refineries. More than 2,400 personnel from all districts conducted search, rescue, response, waterway reconstitution and environmental impact assessment operations. In total, the Coast Guard air and boat rescued more than 33,500 people and assisted with the joint-agency evacuation of an additional 9,400 patients and medical personnel from hospitals in the Gulf coast region.

The Coast Guard Today

Today, the U.S. Coast Guard operates some of the most expensive and high tech gear the world has ever seen. It's new Legend Class Cutter, designed for both search and rescue and combat are taking to the high seas in order to meet future threats to the U.S. head on. It came from humble origins, enforcing laws and ensuring the safety of its seafaring citizens and protecting a new nation's coasts and waterways. This first mandate remains ingrained in the Coast Guard even today, despite its role moving further toward a dual combat/reconnaissance role.

While its roles change, sometimes on a day to day basis the ability of the United States Coast Guard to meet the challenges of serving and protecting the people of the United States and all those who travel our oceans and waterways never does.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top