U.S. Coast Guard

Eugene J. O'Donnell

The modern-day U.S. Coast Guard, created by an act of Congress in 1915, represents the combination of the Revenue Marine Service (later the Rescue Cutter Service), the Lifesaving Service, and the Lighthouse Service, which was added in 1939. The coast guard, which until 2003 was within the Department of Transportation, is both a law enforcement agency and one of the nation's five military services. In 2003, the coast guard was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security. In time of war, the coast guard reports to the Department of the Navy. Its members have served in every war since ratification of the Constitution. The mission of the coast guard was altered dramatically by the events of September 11, 2001. In the immediate wake of the attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., the service, which traditionally expended about 1% of its budget on port security, increased that expenditure 50-fold. ...

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