U.S. Coast Guard News
The Origins of the Search and Rescue Helicopter
[By Beth L. Crumley, U.S. Coast Guard Assistant Historian] Just over 75 years ago, Lt. Cmdr. Frank A. Erickson flew the first helicopter rescue mission in history, ushering in a new era in search and rescue techniques. Born in Portland, Oregon, Erickson served in the Navy before enlisting in the U.S. Coast Guard. He received an appointment to the Coast Guard Academy and was commissioned in 1931. While at the Academy, Erickson developed a passionate interest in the techniques of search...
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Eyes in the Sky: Hunting Smugglers in All Weather
It was completely dark in the middle of the Caribbean Sea on the evening of October 3, 2018. Dense bands of cloud shrouded the moon, obscuring all light. Storms intermittently rumbled, dampening the darkness with sheets of rain. Five thousand feet above the sea, a large white airplane sliced through the gloom, its telltale orange stripe and Coast Guard shield obscured by the shadows. Pilots and crew members inside the HC-130 Hercules airplane did not mind the obscurity; in fact,...
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Cleaning Up After Hurricane Michael
[By PO2 Paul Klug] The Florida Panhandle experienced pure devastation from Hurricane Michael, Oct. 10, 2018. It ripped through coastal towns and made its way inland, driving people from their homes and leaving thousands without power and fresh water. Relief efforts from federal and state agencies, as well as local and out-of-state volunteers, responded to help displaced survivors. After the hurricane, the spotlight shifted away from Northwestern Florida. Those not affected went on with their lives, news outlets found...
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USCG: 700 False EPIRB Alerts in 2018
After responding to over 700 false alerts in 2018, the Coast Guard is urging anyone with an emergency position indicating radio beacon to properly register their device. An EPIRB is a device that transmits a distress signal to a satellite system called Cospas-Sarsat. The satellites relay the signal to a network of ground units and ultimately to the Coast Guard and other emergency responders. Owners of commercial fishing vessels, uninspected passenger vessels that carry six or more people, and uninspected...
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U.S. Provides Maritime Security for Papua New Guinea Summit
U.S. Coast Guard servicemembers recently completed loading six small boats and accompanying equipment onboard the USS Green Bay (LPD-20) in Townsville, Australia for transport back to the United States. The loadout follows the Coast Guard’s recent deployment to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) where 94 Coast Guard personnel logged more than 2,000-underway hours providing round-the-clock maritime security during the 2018 Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Week, Nov. 12-18. The high-profile summit was attended by leaders and senior...
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Coastguardsmen Volunteer for Hurricane Relief Duty
[By Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Dragin] In the early morning hours after Hurricane Michael made landfall, Master Chief Petty Officer Mark Kannan began the arduous journey back to Coast Guard Station Panama City, where he serves as the officer in charge. As he drove back to the station, the magnitude of the devastation forced him to consider the logistics of his mission: getting the station’s search and rescue services back up and running again. “I barely recognized the area,”...
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Remembering a Veterans Day Rescue
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy inscribes the names of its greatest heroes on a "Wall of Gallantry," which commemorates graduates who have demonstrated courage in the face of danger. Every year, for Veterans Day, inductees, their families and their friends return to the Academy for an induction ceremony. At this year's event, the academy inducted a servicemember for a heroic rescue that occurred on another Veterans Day - November 11, 1986. On that Veterans Day, 32 years ago, fall had turned to...
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Building the Tools to Explore Beneath Arctic Ice
[By Senior Chief Petty Officer NyxoLyno Cangemi] Sitting on a stool in tattered painter’s pants, hiking boots and a green t-shirt, Dr. Jason Gobat looks better suited for an afternoon hike than an Arctic expedition. His blue eyes look larger than life as he peers through the magnification goggles in front of him and down through the smoky plume coming from his solder iron. The salt and pepper stubble on his face serves as a reminder of the days he...
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USCG's Icebreakers Support National Security in the Arctic
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy completed their second mission of their Arctic West Summer 2018 deployment last Thursday. Mission 1802 was a scientific mission to study stratified ocean dynamics in the Arctic (SODA) for the Office of Naval Research. The project, led by Dr. Craig Lee of the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington, Seattle, aims to better understand how the Arctic environment affects the different water layers of the Arctic Ocean. Understanding...
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How the Coast Guard Supports Maritime Commerce
[By Lt. Amanda Faulkner and PA1 Seth Johnson] The Coast Guard is known for saving lives at sea, but did you know the service plays a huge role in the economy, too? As a regulatory entity, the Coast Guard conducts marine inspections on vessels entering United States ports to make sure the vessels do not pose a safety, security, or environmental threat to the country. With 90% of U.S. imports and exports entering or exiting the country by ship,...
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