About Us

Overview of the United States Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is one of the five armed forces of the United States and the only military organization within the Department of Homeland Security. Since 1790 the Coast Guard has safeguarded our Nation's maritime interests and environment around the world. The Coast Guard is an adaptable, responsive military force of maritime professionals whose broad legal authorities, capable assets, geographic diversity and expansive partnerships provide a persistent presence along our rivers, in the ports, littoral regions and on the high seas. Coast Guard presence and impact is local, regional, national and international. These attributes make the Coast Guard a unique instrument of maritime safety, security and environmental stewardship.

Fiscal Year 2011 Performance Highlights

In 2011, over 43,000 active duty members, over 7,800 reservists, over 8,300 civilian employees, and almost 33,000 volunteer Auxiliarists:

• Responded to 20,510 Search and Rescue cases and saved over 3,800 lives.
• Removed over 166,000 pounds of cocaine bound toward the U.S. via the Transit Zone.
• Continued the deployment of six Patrol Boats and 400 personnel to protect Iraqi critical maritime oil infrastructure and train Iraqi naval forces.
• Provided security for over 230 military outload evolutions, which provided supplies to support Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom.
• Conducted nearly 1,700 security boardings on High Interest Vessels bound for the United States.
• Interdicted nearly 2,500 undocumented migrants attempting to illegally enter the United States.
• Conducted over 10,400 annual inspections on U.S. flag vessels inspected and certificated in accordance with 46 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) § 2.01-7.
• Conducted over 9,500 Port State Control safety and environmental exams on foreign vessels entering U.S. ports.
• Conducted over 6,200 Marine Casualty investigations, including over 4,200 marine casualties for vessels and more than 1,200 investigations for pollution from vessels.
• Conducted over 46,000 recreational vessel boardings, issued over 8,000 citations, and visited 1,150 recreational boat manufacturers in conjunction with state efforts to provide education and ensure compliance with federal regulations.
• Conducted over 5,500 fisheries conservation boardings.
• Expended $127 million of the $142 million appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
• Investigated and responded to over 3,000 pollution incidents.
• Verified more than 70,760 Transportation Worker Identification Credentials.
• Screened over 472,000 vessels, including 122,000 commercial vessels and 28.7 million crewmembers and passengers prior to arrival in U.S. ports.

Publications

• 
  Coast Guard Ethos
• 
  Coast Guard Snapshot (updated August 2011)
• 
  Publication 1 - U.S. Coast Guard: America's Maritime Guardian (May 2009)
• 
  USCG Posture Statement with Budget in Brief (February 2012)