United States Coast Guard

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"USCG" redirects here. For coast guards in general, see Coast Guard.

United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard portal
Active	4 August 1790 - Present
Country	United States of America
Type	coast guard
Size	42,000 active duty personnel ~252 cutters, ~1600 boats ~194 aircraft [1]
Part of	Department of Homeland Security
Motto	Semper Paratus
Colors	White, Orange, & Blue
March	Semper Paratus
Engagements	American Civil War World War II Korean War Vietnam War Gulf War Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Sea Dragon III War on Terror
Decorations	Presidential Unit Citation
Commanders
Secretary of Homeland Security	Janet Napolitano
Commandant	Admiral Thad Allen
Master Chief Petty Officer	MCPOCG Charles W. Bowen
Insignia
Racing Stripe
Ensign
Standard
Aircraft flown
Helicopter	HH-60 Jayhawk, HH-65 Dolphin,
Patrol	HC-130, HU-25A Guardian, HC-144A Ocean Sentry

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of seven uniformed services. It is unique among the military branches in that it has a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction both domestically and in international waters) and a federalregulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under theDepartment of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the President or Congress during a time of war.

The overall mission of the Coast Guard is to protect the public, the environment, and the United States economic and security interests in anymaritime region in which those interests may be at risk, including international waters and United States coasts, ports, and inland waterways.

The Coast Guard motto is "Semper Paratus", Latin for "Always Ready" or "Always Prepared".

Contents  [hide] 1 Overview 1.1 Description 1.2 Role 1.2.1 Search and Rescue 1.2.2 National Response Center 1.3 Authority as an armed service 1.4 Authority as a law enforcement agency 2 History 3 Organization 4 Personnel 4.1 Commissioned Officer Corps 4.1.1 United States Coast Guard Academy 4.1.2 Officer Candidate School 4.1.3 Direct Commission Officer Program 4.1.4 College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI) 4.1.5 ROTC 4.2 Chief Warrant Officers 4.3 Enlisted 4.3.1 Coast Guard Boot Camp 4.3.2 Service Schools 4.3.3 The Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Academy 4.4 Petty Officers 4.5 Chief Petty Officers 5 Ranks 6 Equipment 7 Symbols 7.1 Core values 7.2 The Guardian Ethos 7.3 Coast Guard Ensign 7.4 Coast Guard Standard 7.5 Racing Stripe 7.6 Semper Paratus 8 Missions 9 Uniforms 10 Issues 11 Deployable Operations Group (DOG) 12 Coast Guard Reserve 13 Coast Guard Auxiliary 14 Coast Guard Civilians 15 Medals and honors 16 Organizations 16.1 Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl 16.2 USCGA Alumni Association 16.3 Coast Guard CW Operators Association 16.4 USCG Chief Petty Officers Association 17 Publications 18 Notable Coast Guardsmen and others associated with the USCG 19 Popular culture 20 See also 20.1 Coast Guard 20.2 Related agencies 21 References 22 External links