posted by Caleb on Aug 20
Archive for the ‘Coast Guard’ Category
posted by Caleb on Aug 4
Happy Birthday, USCG. Founded on August 4th, 1790, you’re 218 years young today - and are still the nation’s oldest continuously sea-going service.
The Coast Guard was originally founded as The Revenue Cutter Service by Alexander Hamilton as part of the Department of the Treasury. From 1790 to 1798, they were the only naval force in the United States, as the US Navy would not be reformed until 1798 having been disbanded after the Revolution.
In 1915, the RCS was merged with the US Life-Saving Service, and the name was changed to the US Coast Guard. In 1967, the Coast Guard was moved to the Department of Transportation, and then in 2003 they were moved to Department of Homeland Security to serve as the “flagship” organization in the new department.
For 218 years, millions of lives saved, service in every war that our nation has been involved in, the Coast Guard has maintained their motto of Semper Paratus, “Always Ready”.
posted by Caleb on Jul 2
A reader emailed me a pretty cool article in his local paper about a change of command on USCGC Reliance.
Balding [the departing CO], who was recently promoted to captain, received the Coast Guard’s Meritorious Service medal yesterday.
Balding choked up as he publicly thanked his family for letting him go off to sea 185 days a year. “Thank you for letting me be a sailor, catch a few pirates, save a few lives,” Balding said.
The Reliance is part of the aging-yet-still-seaworthy 210-foot line of cutters, one of which was my first underway deployment. They’re old, yes, but those cutters are tough as hell and will sail in some pretty heavy seas. It won’t be a fun ride, but a 210 will get you there.
Fair winds and following seas to CAPT Balding, and best of luck to RELIANCE’s new skipper, Commander Gregory A. Burg.
posted by Caleb on May 22
That last post reminded me of the movie The Guardian, or Top Gun for the Coast Guard. Not great, but not terrible. There is one line in the movie that cracks me up, because it reminds me so much of something that would been said at the Academy. When addressing a new class of potential ASTs (rescue swimmers), the commanding officer says the following:
When storms shut down the entire force, we go out. When hurricanes ground the United States Navy, we go out. And when the Holy Lord himself reaches down from heaven and destroys His good work with winds that rip houses off the ground, we go out.
It’s meant to be over the top and cheesy, and it succeeds marvelously at that aim. On the flip side, it’s also completely true. To this day, I get pissed off at people who complain that the federal government “didn’t react quick enough” after Hurrican Katrina, because as I point out - the Coast Guard never stopped flying. Once, when I pointed that out to a stupid person, their response was “well the Coast Guard isn’t really the government” at which juncture I just had to walk away.
posted by Caleb on May 22
I did a double take when I saw this headline:
The Academy had their graduation ceremony on Wednesday, and Vice President Cheney was the speaker - I should have assumed that would be a lock to draw out the filthy rich kid hippies over at Conn College to piss and moan about the war. I do find it mildly amusing that these very same protesters will be the first people to call the Coast Guard when their daddy’s yacht starts taking on water because they decided they were good enough seamen to take it out during a storm.
My favorite pictures are the people holding signs that say “War is Death”, which really demonstrates a keen grasp of the international and social consequences of going to war. No, really it does. I’m stunned by their insight.
Now, I get that these retards were at my beloved CGA to protest VP Cheney, and that they weren’t protesting the Coast Guard per se. But I find the “War is Death” theme to be ironic, due to the fact that unlike the other four branches of the military, the Coast Guard is known primarily as a live-saving agency, and not a life-taking one. Having been there, I don’t want other Coasties to think I’m detracting from our military and law enforcement role, because I’m not - I understand the importance and value of those missions; where we operate as a military force to bring violence and harm to the enemy. But when most people think “Coast Guard”, they think of 47 foot motor-life boats going out into 8 foot seas to rescue hapless boaters, or they think of nigh-insane helicopter pilots and rescue swimmers daring conditions that scare even the saltiest of Navy men.
Ultimately, that’s why I found the anti-war protesters so amusing - yes, the men and women of the Coast Guard are warriors. The difference is that often our enemy aren’t insurgent fighters, but rather the forces of nature. So standing outside our Academy with “war is death” signs, when the young men and women inside those walls will risk their lives to save you seems, well…retarded.
I guess I shouldn’t expect protesters to be logical though.
posted by Caleb on Mar 21
This is one of those things where part of me wants to applaud their ingenuity, and the part of me is kind of pissed off that it’s come to this.
Apparently, cartels are actually building semi-submarines, which operate much like a sub running on the surface - low radar profile, submerged engine, hard to see, etc.
When I was a Coastie, I had heard about these things, but back then they were so rare that they were sort of a “Coast Guard Urban Legend”, in that some people had heard of them, but no one had ever actually seen one. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that for the last six years, there were 23 total reported cases involving the semi-subs. This year, CGIS says there will probably be in the 80’s or so with even more to come next year.
As I said, I do have to admire the ingenuity of the guys building these. At a million a pop they’re not cheap, and yet if they get caught the crew will often bail out of the boat and scuttle it to keep the CG from impounding their vessel and narcotics. Actually, if I had a cool million to throw around on a boat, I’d build a semi-submarine, but instead of carrying 14 metric tons of cargo, mine would have a luxury suite down below. I’d just have to make sure it was correctly registered, because the Coast Guard is working to get a law passed that would make operating an unflagged semi-sub a felony in itself.
Of course, semi-subs haven’t displaced the primary narcotics trafficking methods, surface vessels and aircraft, but their marked increase is a direct result of the success Coast Guard and LE officials have had in picking off traffickers.
posted by Caleb on Feb 28
Coast Guard Fifth District helicopter rescue video, two guys stranded on a 140 foot high tower. That is not an easy rescue by any standards, and their ability to pull those guys out is a testament to the skill of the pilot, the cable operator, and the AST on the end of the cable.
Bravo Zulu, guys.
posted by Caleb on Feb 26
“…but you don’t have to come back” is often considered the unofficial motto of my former branch of service.
In this case however, I can understand why a rescue swimmer would be hesitant to enter the water.
Basically, some guy did an open water dive with sharks in waters that had been chummed, and shock of all shocks, was bitten by a shark. The crew of the dive boat calls the Coast Guard with a medical emergency/mayday, and based off their location (50 miles off the coast) they were probably air evac’d out of there.
I’m sorry that the guy died, but honestly, you go open water diving with hungry sharks in bloody waters - don’t be surprised if you get bitten.
Although this does stand in support of the theory that without stupid people, Coasties would be out of job.
posted by Caleb on Sep 19
Off the Carolina coast. Pretty much par for the course, but there’s one part of the article that I wanted to point out in particular.
After a four hour transit, in 10 to 12-foot seas and 30 knot winds, aboard their 47-foot motor life boat, Station Wrightsville Beach’s rescue crew arrived on scene at 12:00 a.m., and took the sailboat in tow.
Emphasis is mine. Now, if you’ve never been on a 47-footer, it is not a big boat. To say that it is a “tight fit” is putting it nicely. Four hours in that boat on smooth as glass sea would be a long time, to say nothing of 10 foot seas and 30 knot winds.
The 47 is a great rescue implement - in fact it’s one of the toughest little boats ever made. Four hours on that boat in that kind of weather takes a special kind of person - a person called a Coastie.
BM1 Schwalm and his crew get a hearty Bravo Zulu for their successful rescue.
posted by Caleb on Aug 24
So true, so true.
