Thursday, August 4, 2011

Happy 221 Years for the U.S. Coast Guard

Sonoma County, California


It is my former employers 221st birthday. The following is a short commentary on the service history. The below picture is of USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC 722) in the South China Sea in 2002. I reported aboard Morgenthau in Pattaya Thailand in June 0f 2002. A year later I was Chief of the Boat. A very difficult and mentally taxing tour of duty, but satisfying at the same time. You can read Morgenthau's current blog by clicking here.

Morgenthau South China Sea
Recent Picture of Morgenthau Returning from the Eastern Pacific

Some Service History

Our official history began on 4 August 1790 when the first Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling.  Known variously through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as the Revenue Marine and the Revenue Cutter Service, we expanded in size and responsibilities as the nation grew.  
The service received its present name in 1915 under an act of Congress that merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the Life-Saving Service, thereby providing the nation with a single maritime service dedicated to saving life at sea and enforcing the nation's maritime laws.  The Coast Guard began to maintain the country's aids to maritime navigation, including operating the nation's lighthouses, when President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the transfer of the Lighthouse Service to the Coast Guard in 1939.  In 1946 Congress permanently transferred the Commerce Department's Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation to the Coast Guard, thereby placing merchant marine licensing and merchant vessel safety under our purview.
The Coast Guard is one of the oldest organizations of the federal government and until Congress established the Navy Department in 1798 we served as the nation's only armed force afloat.  We protected the nation throughout our long history and served proudly in every one of the nation's conflicts.  Our national defense responsibilities remain one of our most important functions even today.  In times of peace we operate as part of the Department of Homeland Security, serving as the nation's front-line agency for enforcing the nation's laws at sea, protecting the marine environment and the nation's vast coastline and ports, and saving life.  In times of war, or at the direction of the President, we serve under the Navy Department.
The Coast Guard Historian's Office is charged with collecting, preserving and presenting the history and material culture of the nation's oldest continuous sea service.

Morgenthau Steams West under the Golden Gate
 Happy Birthday Coast Guard! Keep them retirement checks coming!

Capt Chris

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chris,
"The Villages" has a club for Coast
Guard members and on the 6th celebrated the anniversary. Wish you could have been there to swap stories with these old gizzers.
Dad

Anonymous said...

Hi Chris.thnnks toyour dad ihave finaly read your latest blog and realy enjoyed it. I am still around but not to stroung but still hearing froum you. Love Pepe