The US Naval Institute has a short post that I think you may find worth your time and perhaps a bit amusing.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog
The US Naval Institute has a short post that I think you may find worth your time and perhaps a bit amusing.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
Thanks for sending along Chuck…well-written and I think he makes some valid points. I would take issue with this: “But the Navy exists to fight wars, and the Coast Guard does not.” As we know, CG was involved in World War II, Vietnam, Gulf War, Middle East engagements, etc. I know the point he’s trying to make, but still…
Actually I don’t have a problem with that. The Coast Guard does not exist to fight wars, but because the Coast Guard has trained personnel and other assets that are useful in wartime, we do fight wars when they come. Because we do, we don’t really need as big a navy as we would need if there were no Coast Guard. It makes sense to invest a bit in the Coast Guard to make sure their assets more useful in wartime.
Happily some of the investments in equipment that makes the Coast Guard useful in wartime also makes it more effective in peacetime. Better sensors, better communications, more speed, more assets.
I just contend that the Coast Guard is generally a better investment than the Navy since investments in the Navy may never be used while investments in the Coast Guard will be used even if we never go to war.