(1/14) With the changes in the Coast Guard's stated missions to deprioritize search and rescue, it feels timely to provide a brief (or not so brief, this got a little out of hand) history of what the United States Coast Guard is and where it came from. - ThreadSky

altcoast.altgov.info • 25 days ago

(1/14) With the changes in the Coast Guard's stated missions to deprioritize search and rescue, it feels timely to provide a brief (or not so brief, this got a little out of hand) history of what the United States Coast Guard is and where it came from.

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first-loginasme.bsky.social•21 days ago

Thank you for providing this history. Your service is appreciated as well as your effort to give us this context too!

mltwxguy.bsky.social•25 days ago

Deprioritize search and rescue? Jesus fucking Christ.

corydora2.bsky.social•25 days ago

Thank you, Coasties for your protections of coastal waters! Fun fact: even Lake Tahoe has a Coast Guard station at 6,224 feet above sea level 👏🏼🫶🏼.

theoktranskc.bsky.social•25 days ago

Woo, WTAF! That is like the whole motto of the Coast Guard was built on and it is being flushed down the toilet.
Even this bastard child of the Navy knows this. “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back”. Simper Paratus and wish you nothing but smooth and flowing seas.

missminamurray.bsky.social•25 days ago

I grew up sailing and knowing the Coast Guard was there in case of an emergency gave child-me a sense of security out on the water. I’m grateful that we never needed your service. Thank you for being there.

leemstradamus.bsky.social•25 days ago

What in the hell did I just read in the first post? We're semper paratus! If that's our motto what are we ready for? I'm fucking floored!

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

Apparently the administration's top priority is being prepared to stop anyone from entering the country, not stopping those already here from drowning.

leemstradamus.bsky.social•25 days ago

The goal is to make me furious, they are making something else entirely!

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

(2/14) Looking way back to shortly after the Revolutionary War, one of the predecessors to the USCG was initially founded as the Revenue-Marine in 1790. Originally tasked with collecting customs payments at ports in the US, it became known as the US Revenue Cutter Service by the 1860s.

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

(3/14) The other half of what would become the CG was the United States Life-Saving Service. It was founded in 1848 as an agency that formalized what were previously private local efforts to save victims of shipwrecks. These two organizations merged in 1915, under the Treasury, and became the USCG.

larry.earth•25 days ago

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

@altnps.bsky.social crossover episode! This is the Old Harbor Life-Saving Station in Provincetown, very cool history.

https://www.nps.gov/places/old-harbor-life-saving-station.htm

jphoyt.bsky.social•25 days ago

P-Town!

Love that place!

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

(4/14) In 1939, the US Lighthouse Service, which had been created in 1910, was also merged into the CG. This transferred lighthouse keeping responsibilities, as well as the maintenance of other aids to navigation, to the USCG.

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

(5/14) The Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, established in 1884 as the Bureau of Navigation, also contributed to the USCG. In 1942, it was split, with merchant vessel documentation moved to US Customs and marine vessel inspection and merchant mariner licensing transferred to the USCG.

davidmt.bsky.social•24 days ago

Not the point you're making but you should watch this documentary

And reas this book...

https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/woody-cisco-and-me-seamen-three-in-the-merchant-marine-9780252022760

altcoast.altgov.info•24 days ago

People should know about Merchant Mariners! Their history and service isn't as well known as it should be, but we appreciate them greatly.

Here's a YouTube video about Liberty Ships for anyone wanting a basic overview: https://youtu.be/ISNPCTQS7XY?feature=shared

I also recommend the documentary for a deeper dive!

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

(6/14) The CG would also take up marine vessel documentation in 1946. This rounds out the full complement of agencies that became the USCG, and establishes the initial set of missions. Most of these missions have continued till today, and are reflected in the modern structure of the USCG.

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

(7/14) Although the CG no longer collects customs payments, all CG officers are "officers of the customs" and can enforce customs law. The role of the Life-Saving Service has become the Search and Rescue functions that the CG is perhaps best known for.

terig.bsky.social•25 days ago

The bar at the mouth of the Columbia River can be treacherous. The CG must ensure safety year-round for commodities coming into ports down the river.

hallucinati.bsky.social•25 days ago

Do you have more on these changes?

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

Although we are waiting to get something in writing about this, this thread contains a lot of useful information about the current goings on at the USCG: https://bsky.app/profile/oceanbound.bsky.social/post/3lj7dsexyas2k

The USCG has been transparent about their priorities and compliance with EOs: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4035591/coast-guard-announces-immediate-action-in-support-of-presidential-executive-ord/

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

USCG is such a small service, and currently lacking both modern and functional assets and adequate manpower, that there is no feasible way to divert assets to the southern border without a major impact on the other missions of the coast guard. Exactly what that impact looks like remains to be seen.

advocat78.bsky.social•25 days ago

Thank you all you do! My father was in the Coast Guard in WWII, and they were sent to protect Hawaii after Pearl Harbor. Seems like a cushy post now, but it was dangerous then.

oceanbound.bsky.social•25 days ago

This!!! This exactly!

chiefclaudia.bsky.social•25 days ago

holymysteriousdog.bsky.social•25 days ago

History ¡semper paratus! -like reliving basic training 😊 was proud to be part of it -and SAR. Small Can Do organization that always seemed undervalued.

mdscntst.bsky.social•25 days ago

Don't forget oil spill and hazmat response! And Stafford Act response!

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

Absolutely! The CG wears a lot of hats, especially considering how small it is in comparison to the other branches of the military. I would be here all day if I tried to list all the areas of responsibility and kinds of support that the CG provides!

mdscntst.bsky.social•25 days ago

I've worked closely with plenty of folks at the Atlantic Strike Team. Wide array of skills and duties. All essential.

wildanimalfan.bsky.social•25 days ago

De-prioritizing search and rescue is DEVASTATING to so many communities (the broader meaning). This is crushing! 🛟

evelienj.bsky.social•25 days ago

Great thread, thanks for posting!

betsy-cazden.bsky.social•25 days ago

Wait, isn't search-and-rescue most of what you all do? It's certainly what I hear about along the RI-MA coast.

altcoast.altgov.info•25 days ago

I think SAR is what the CG is best known for, but according to the Missions page, it is 4th in amount of operating expenses allocated. Ports/Waterways/Coastal Security, Drug Interdiction, and Aids to Navigation use more of the CG's annual budget than SAR.

https://www.history.uscg.mil/Home/Missions/

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