By Brier Gregory
One of five divisions of the United States Armed Forces, the U.S. Coast Guard performs several challenging roles. In addition to serving in a defense capacity, the Coast Guard is also responsible for maritime law enforcement, marine stewardship, and search and rescue efforts, among other things. While the U.S. Coast Guard has gradually evolved to encompass these multiple arenas, the history of our nation’s Coast Guard demonstrates humbler beginnings.
Begun in 1790, the U.S. Revenue Marine Service (otherwise known as the Revenue Cutter Service) is a direct predecessor of the Coast Guard. It was formed with the sole intention of protecting federal revenue from depletion by smugglers and tax evaders. Along the way, it aided shipwrecked vessels and attended to the coastal defense (in fact, the Revenue Cutter Service was our nation’s only line of maritime defense between 1790 and 1798 when there was no existing Navy); nonetheless, the primary goal of the Revenue Cutter Service was, as its name suggests, to protect the raising of federal revenue. It was, appropriately, placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Treasury.
Years later, in 1848, the U.S. Lifesaving Service became a federal agency after its beginnings as a private entity. Its purpose was to come to the aid of shipwrecked or otherwise endangered people off the shores of the United States. Unfortunately, it remained a very poorly funded, loosely organized agency until around 1871 when it was bolstered by the leadership efforts of Sumner Increase Kimball.
In 1915, the Revenue Marine Service and the Lifesaving Service came together to form what is known today as the U.S. Coast Guard. With this merge, the Coast Guard took on the dual task of law enforcement and SAR (search and rescue). Its roles were further expanded to include providing aids to maritime navigation (for instance, the 1939 transfer by F.D. Roosevelt of the fledgling Lighthouse Service to the Coast Guard).
Since the recent creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard falls under that Department’s jurisdiction in times of peace. In time of war, now as always, the Coast Guard may be transferred by Presidential or Congressional directive to the jurisdiction of the Navy. Incidentally, the Coast Guard has participated in every major U.S. conflict since its origin. And, while some would naturally assume that the Coast Guard takes a back-seat to the Navy in terms of military importance, the Coast Guard has performed such integral tasks as landing troops on the shores of Normandy during the World War II D-Day invasion and performing functions off the coast of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
Regardless of the wartime status of our nation, the Coast Guard strives to remain true to its Core Values which are, namely, Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty. Its motto, ‘Semper Paratus’ is Latin for “Always Ready”—an apt description of the courage and dedication of the U.S. Coast Guard.
