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Unites States Coast Guard

Semper Paratus (Latin for "Always prepared") is the official slogan of the United States Coast Guard. A march by that name is also the official march of the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard EmblemThe 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.

Coast Guard Recruiting

Coast Guard Home Banner

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 became part of the 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 at Fort Sumter. The last time the Coast Guard operated as a whole under the Navy was in World War II.


Dear Paul & Sue: Did you know the following.... The United States lost more men percapita during any and all beach head landings than all other services in the History of the United States. I served in the Coast Guard for 6 years 7 months before being discharged with a disability from a brain hemorrhage while serving in New York on Governors Island. So Yes I didn't die, but I served during the Viet Nam War when I was just a baby. 1969-73 & 1976-78. So If you could honor all us fighting Coasties with a song, THANKS! Sincerely James Humberg (Storekeeper Third Class) Honorably Discharged U.S.C.G.. .

The Missions

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) carries out five basic missions: * maritime safety * maritime mobility * maritime security * national defense * protection of natural resources.

Cast Guard EnsignThe 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.