United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the coast guard of the United States. One of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and the smallest armed service of the United States, it has a broad and important role in homeland security, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine environmental pollution response and the maintenance of intercoastal and offshore aids to navigation (ATON). It also lays claim of being the United States' oldest continuous seagoing service.

Issues Facing the Coast Guard

The Coast Guard faces several issues in the near future.

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Lack of coverage affects many areas with high maritime traffic. For example, local officials in Scituate, Massachusetts, have complained that there is no permanent Coast Guard station, and the presence of the Coast Guard in winter is vital. Some of the reason for this lack of coverage is the relatively high cost of building storm-proof buildings on coastal property; the Cape Hatteras station was abandoned in 2005 after winter storms wiped out the 12-foot sand dune serving as its protection from the ocean.

Related Topics:
Scituate, Massachusetts - Cape Hatteras

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Lack of strength to meet its assigned missions is being met by a legislated increase in authorized strength from 39,000 to 45,000. In addition, the volunteer Auxiliary is being called to take up more non-combatant missions. However, volunteer coverage does have limits.

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Aging vessels are another problem. In 2005, the Coast Guard terminated contracts to upgrade the 110-foot Island Class cutters to 123-foot cutters due to warping and distortion of the hulls.

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