Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

October 3

1898  The American barkentine, Wanderinq Jew lost her sails and sprung a leak during the severe hurricane of October 2, approximately 11 miles east by south from the station at Sullivans Island, South Carolina.  On account of distance and frequent heavy rain squalls, she was not sighted by station lookout until 3:30 pm on the following day.  A surfboat was launched and the ship was found abandoned by her crew.

USCGC Valiant (WMEC-621)

2014  CGC Valiant returned to their homeport Friday at Naval Station Mayport, in Jacksonville, Florida.  During the 52-day deployment, Valiant sailed throughout the Windward Passage and the North Caribbean Sea in support of Operation Southeast Watch.  One port call was made at Port-au-Prince, Haiti. While anchored, Valiant crew hosted the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, the Honorable Pamela White; the Deputy Chief of Mission to the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, the Honorable Brian Shukan; the Chief of the Haitian Coast Guard, Commissaire Joseph Jean-Marie Wagnac; and other government representatives.  Valiant also responded to a search and rescue case involving a 55-foot fishing vessel, which was adrift and taking on water in the Old Bahama Channel. Valiant escorted the vessel over 100 nautical miles to Ragged Island, Bahamas where it transferred the vessel to a Royal Bahamian Defense Force patrol vessel.  Valiant repatriated 24 Haitian migrants to Cap Haitien, Haiti, and embarked 11 Cuban migrants that had been rescued by the crew of the cruise ship Carnival Liberty. The cutter also patrolled the Windward Passage to prevent overloaded Haitian migrant vessels from taking to sea.

Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

Revenue Cutter Thomas Jefferson captures three Royal Navy barges and personnel in Hampton Roads. US Coast Guard Collection.

1789  Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton asked collectors of customs to report on expediency of employing boats for the “security of the revenue against contraband.”  Hamilton’s interest in such vessels led to his request to Congress to fund the construction of 10 such revenue “boats” the following year, leading to the creation of what is now the U.S. Coast Guard.

2014  The Coast Guard launched several assets in response to a report of a fire on board a natural gas drill platform in Cook Inlet, Alaska.  The Coast Guard diverted a Coast Guard Hercules HC-130 crew and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to conduct an overflight of the Baker Platform in Cook Inlet, near Nikiski.  The Coast Guard also launched the CGC Mustang and the diverted CGC SPAR to the location.  A five-mile, no-fly safety zone at 5,000 feet and a two-mile safety zone were established around the platform.  All four people aboard the platform were safety evacuated.

Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

These are the remnants of Transcontinental Air Mail Route Beacon 37A, which was located atop a bluff in St. George, Utah, U.S.A. With concrete arrows indicating the direction to the next beacon, a rotating light tower, and a shed that usually held a generator and fuel tanks, these beacons were once situated every 10 miles on air routes across the United States beginning around 1923.

1926  An airways division, headed by a chief engineer, was set up as a part of the Lighthouse Service, its work covering the examination of airways and emergency landing fields and the erection and maintenance of aids to air navigation.

1943  Coast Guard-manned USS LST-203 was stranded in Southwest Pacific but there were no casualties. While on the beach, a storm caused her to broach. Declared total loss. Struck from the Naval Register, 6 March 1944.

1976  Coast Guard personnel were required to change to the new “Bender Blues” uniforms by this date.

USCGC Storis (WMEC-38)

1991  CGC Storis became the oldest commissioned cutter in the Coast Guard when the CGC Fir was decommissioned.  Storis‘s crew painted her hull number “38” in gold in recognition of her status.

1996  Operation Frontier Shield commenced. It was the largest counter-narcotics operation in Coast Guard history to date.

HH-60J Air Station Astoria

2009  The U.S. Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s HH-60 Conversion Project held a ribbon cutting ceremony at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in honor of the Medium Range Recovery Helicopter achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC).

SS El Faro

2015  El Faro, a 735-foot ro-ro cargo ship, was en-route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jacksonville, Florida with a crew of 33 on board. At approximately 0730, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received an Inmarsat satellite notification stating El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list.  The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained.  Watchstanders at CG 7th District command center in Miami immediately launched an HC-130 out of Air Station Clearwater to search for El Faro while two Hurricane Hunter aircrews attempted to locate and establish communications with the merchant vessel on October 2.   Ultimately, Coast Guard assets used in the search included aviation assets from Air Stations Clearwater and Elizabeth City, CGC Northland, Resolute, and Charles Sexton, along with Navy and Air Force assets and three commercial tugboats.  The search was called off on October 7 after search crews located a deceased person in a survival suit in the water and a heavily damaged lifeboat with markings consistent with those on board El Faro. Additional items located by search crews included a partially submerged life raft, a survival suit, life jackets, life rings, cargo containers, Styrofoam, packaged food, and an oil sheen.

Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso.

Twin Lights of the Navesink

1899  First Navy wireless message was sent via the Lighthouse Service Station at Highlands of Navesink, New Jersey.

1943  CGC E.M. Wilcox foundered off Nags Head, North Carolina. One crewman was lost.

1949  The rank of commodore, established in 1943 as a wartime measure, was terminated by the President under the provisions of an Act of Congress approved July 24, 1941.

Former USCGC Taney now a Museum Ship in Baltimore

1977 CGC Taney departed Ocean Station (OWS) Hotel on September 30, 1977 when the station was closed and replaced by a buoy.  This was the final ocean station patrolled by a Coast Guard cutter.  OWS Hotel, located 200 miles east of the Maryland/Virginia coast was first established in 1970 as part of a supplemental weather warning program for the tracking and improved forecasting of East Coast storms and hurricanes.  OWS Hotel was manned by the Coast Guard from August 1^st through April 15^th each year.  The termination of OWS Hotel marked the end of the Coast Guard’s participation in the manned ocean station program which began on February 10, 1940 when CGCs Bibb and Duane occupied stations Number 1 and 2 in the North Atlantic and continued through the end of the U.S. participation in the North Atlantic Ocean Station Program of the World Meteorological Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization in 1974.

Marcus Island

1994  The crew of Coast Guard LORAN Station Marcus Island decommissioned their station and turned it over to the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency.  This was the last station in the Northwest Pacific LORAN chain to be decommissioned and turned over to the Japanese under a 1992 agreement between the two countries.

1997  Omega Navigation Station Hawaii ceased operation, coinciding with the end of worldwide Omega transmissions.

Coast Guardsmen from Port Security Unit 307 conduct seaward security for Department of Defense assets and personnel at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, April 25, 2022. During the nine-month deployment, unit operations focused on maritime defense, providing more than 30,000 hours of around-the-clock waterside and shore side anti-terrorism and force protection. U.S. Coast Guard by photo by Lt. Cmdr. Glenn Sanchez.

2015  Coast Guard Port Security Unit 308, based in Kiln, Mississippi, returned home from a nine-month deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism.  During the deployment, PSU 308 members maintained a continuous maritime anti-terrorism/force protection presence in the Naval Defensive Sea Area of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, directly supporting the commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay Naval reservation and adjoining waters.  PSU 308 was commissioned September 16, 1998.  It has been mobilized five times to this point since its inception, twice to Kuwait in 2003 and 2010, once to Bahrain in 2002, and once previously to Guantanamo in 2007.  It was compromised of 142 selected reservists and six active duty personnel.  PSU 308 was an expeditionary warfare unit specializing in maritime anti-terrorism/force protection and port security in support of military or humanitarian operations worldwide.  PSU 308 maintained garrison facilities as a tenant command of Coast Guard Pacific Area Command in Kiln.

Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

1898  The American steamer, Toledo with the barge Shawnee in tow, became water-logged 25 miles southwest of the station at Ship Canal, Michigan.  Her crew boarded Shawnee and sailed to the canal. There they engaged the steamer D. F. Rose to tow Toledo in and the surfmen assisted to lay her on the beach near the piers.  The keeper then telephoned for a tug and lighter, and upon their arrival all hands set to work until 11 p.m. saving about 1,000 feet of lumber. At this hour the wind came out west and the work had to be abandoned. Toledo broke up and became a total wreck on the 30th.

USCGC Flagstaff (WPBH 1) Undergoing Coast Guard evaluations. U.S. Coast Guard photo

1976  The Coast Guard accepted the hydrofoil USS Flagstaff from the U.S. Navy on this date in 1976 for operational testing.  The hydrofoil was based out of Station Woods Hole during the testing.  It was capable of speeds in excess of 45-knots and carried a crew of 13.

HH-60J Air Station Astoria

1986  Coast Guard officials signed the contract papers to acquire the Sikorsky H-60 series helicopter to replace the venerable HH-3F Pelicans.

LORAN STATION IWO JIMA

1994  The crew of Coast Guard LORAN Station Iwo Jima decommissioned their station and turned it over to a crew from the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency.  The turnover of all of the Northwest Pacific LORAN chain stations was arranged under a 1992 agreement between the U.S. and Japan.

2014  CGC Rush returned to its homeport of Honolulu, Hawaii, following a successful 72-day deployment in the Central and Western Pacific.  Rush departed in July 2014 and spent two months conducting operations in the Central and Western Pacific.  During the deployment, Rush’s crew coordinated with multiple countries and partner agencies to conduct fisheries boardings in support of the Coast Guard’s living marine resources mission.  Rush also participated in international engagement activities in American Samoa, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia.  To enhance detection of fishing vessels, Rush embarked a helicopter and aviation detachment from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point.  Rush’s crew participated in several community outreach and volunteer events during their patrol that included delivering hygiene and first aid supplies, in support of the U.S. Navy’s Project Handclasp, to several Pacific Island Nations.  Rush’s crew also built a garden to support an abused children’s shelter in Samoa and played sports and games with disabled children in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

160730-N-KM939-031 PACIFIC OCEAN (July 30, 2016) – Coast Guardsmen, assigned to U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton (WMSL 752), make their way to the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) for a rescue and assistance exercise during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Twenty-six nations, 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 30 to Aug. 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2016 is the 25th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class David A. Cox)

2016  CGC Stratton returned to its homeport of Alameda after a 114-day deployment spanning the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to the Arctic.  “Our crew logged more than 19,500 miles during this deployment,” said U.S. Coast Guard Captain Nate Moore, the Commanding Officer of Stratton.  “Their participation in a major international military exercise, support of the Coast Guard’s expanding role in the Arctic domain, and commitment to pursue excellence in mission execution has made this an extremely successful deployment.”  The crew of Stratton participated in two high profile exercises during this deployment: the Rim of the Pacific 2016 (RIMPAC) military exercises and Operation Arctic Shield 2016. Stratton was the third consecutive National Security Cutter to serve as commander of the Combined Task Force 175, a multinational task force comprised of nine ships and 13 aircraft from the United States, China, France, and Indonesia.  Participation in RIMPAC 2016 highlighted the Coast Guard’s unique capabilities and partnerships with Department of Defense entities and international partners along the Pacific Rim.  Stratton participated in training evolutions that included complex ship formations, joint flight operations with the U.S. Navy MH-60S Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC-21), an aviation detachment from San Diego; live fire exercises; personnel and logistics transfers, and maritime interdiction operations.  Successfully completing this integrated training with HSC-21 and deploying together for RIMPAC 2016 represent the first extended Navy aviation deployment aboard a Coast Guard cutter.  As part of Arctic Shield 2016, the Coast Guard deployed cutters, aircraft, and personnel to northern Alaska to engage in operations encompassing a variety of Coast Guard missions across the North Slope.

A response boat crew member steers toward the Coast Guard Cutter Reliance during a 52-day patrol in the Atlantic Ocean, Jan. 13, 2021. During the patrol, the crew traveled over approximately 8,631 miles, assisted in the transference of more than 12,564 lbs. of narcotics with an estimated combined street value of $250 million, intercepted 157 undocumented migrants and transferred eight suspected narcotics smugglers from other U.S. Coast Guard cutters operating in the region. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)

2021  The crew of CGC Reliance (WMEC 615) returned to homeport in Pensacola 29 September, after a 63-day Caribbean Sea patrol. Reliance crew supported the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District throughout their patrol, aiding in missions to interdict and disrupt the flow of illegal drugs and migrant trafficking while supporting national security and strengthening relationships with regional partners throughout the Caribbean.  “I am extremely proud of our crew for their adaptability and professionalism throughout the patrol. Regardless of the mission set, whether that was responding immediately to the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti by conducting critical port assessments or stopping the flow of illegal narcotics, Reliance was always ready to respond to the needs of our Service and our Nation,” said CDR Robert Hill, commanding officer. Significantly, the crew supported the relief efforts in response to the earthquake in Haiti in August, conducting two separate port assessments on Haitian ports to ensure the harbors were safe for vessels to deliver vital aid and assistance to the region following the disaster. During the patrol, Reliance’s crew intercepted one vessel attempting to smuggle approximately 1,132 lbs. of cocaine and detained a total of four suspected smugglers. Additionally, Reliance received more than 4,291 lbs. of cocaine, ten suspected smugglers, and 96 migrants from other U.S. Coast Guard cutters operating in the region. The crew also rescued 50 Dominican nationals from an unseaworthy vessel off the coast of Puerto Rico and repatriated 158 migrants to the Dominican Republic’s navy. The 63-day patrol was critical in allowing the cutter crew to work on shipboard training, qualifications, and proficiency to maintain operational readiness. This training enabled Reliance’s team to complete a five-day major shipboard training exercise in Mayport, which tested their readiness in all aspects of damage control, seamanship, and navigational procedure.

Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

Coast Guard Cutter Aspen crew reestablishes a buoy while conducting Aid to Navigation operations off the coast of Humboldt Bay. The crew of the Aspen traveled to Humboldt Bay to recover displaced aids to navigation and attempted to restore missing navigational aids to assist mariners in transiting the Humboldt Bay entrance in Samoa, California. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Ryan Estrada /Released)

1850  An Act of Congress (9 Stat. L., 500, 504) provided for a systematic coloring and numbering of all buoys for, prior to this time, they had been painted red, white, or black, without any special system.  The act “prescribed that buoys should be colored and numbered so that in entering from seaward red buoys with even numbers should be on the starboard or right hand; black buoys with odd numbers on the port or left hand; buoy with red and black horizontal stripes should indicate shoals with channel on either side; and buoys in channel ways should be colored with black and white perpendicular stripes.”

1850  An Act of Congress (9 Stat. L., 500, 504) gave legal authority for the first time for the assigning of collectors of customs to lighthouse duty. Section 9 of this act authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to assign to any of the collectors of customs, the superintendence of such lighthouses, beacons, lightships, and buoys as he might deem best. The act also stipulated that no collector of customs whose annual salary exceeded $3,000 a year should receive any compensation as disbursing officer in the Lighthouse Establishment and, in no case, was the compensation of the collectors of customs for disbursements in the Lighthouse Service to exceed $400.00 in any fiscal year.

The Coast Guard cutter Boutwell,’ foreground, is seen escorting the Liberian-flagged vessel ‘Command’ Tuesday, Oct. 6, 1998, in international waters. AP Photo by US Coast Guard

1998  An oil spill along the coast of California off San Francisco was traced to the 717-foot Liberian-flagged tanker Command.  A Coast Guard boarding team took samples of her cargo and matched it to that found along the coast.  A Coast Guard spokesman noted: “This is the first time the Coast Guard has pursued an oil spill investigation into the international arena to the extent of stopping and boarding a vessel on the high seas, with permission of the vessel’s flag state.” (“Coast Guard investigators tracked the 717-foot ship and boarded it off the coast of Central America. They allegedly matched the chemical fingerprinting to oil collected from the first fuel leak with the slick that reached the San Mateo coast.”)

Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

Douglas Munro. “The Marines were being driven back to the beach and many did not have radios to request assistance. A single “HELP” spelled out in T-shirts on the ridge near the beach sent a loud and clear signal to those looking on.”

1942  Douglas A. Munro, Signalman 1/c, USCG, gave his life evacuating Marines of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, at Matanikau Point, Guadalcanal.  President Roosevelt posthumously awarded Munro the Medal of Honor, the only Coast Guardsmen to be awarded this decoration.  The medal was given to Douglas Munro’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Munro of South Cle Elum, Washington, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, May 27, 1943.  The citation read: “Awarded posthumously to DOUGLAS ALBERT MUNRO, SIGNALMAN FIRST CLASS, U.S. COAST GUARD ‘For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as Office-in-Charge of a group of Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a Battalion of Marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on September 27, 1942.  After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered Marines, Munro, under constant risk of his life, daringly led five of his small craft toward the shore.   As he closed the beach, he [signaled]the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy’s fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its two small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese.   When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was killed by enemy fire, but his crew, two of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach.  By his outstanding leadership, expert planning, and dauntless devotion to duty, he and his courageous comrades undoubtedly saved the lives of many who otherwise would have perished.  He gallantly gave up his life in defense of his country.'”

1950  For the purpose of alleviating attrition during the Korean War, Executive Order 10164 authorized the Coast Guard, in cases where enlisted personnel did not immediately reenlist in the Coast Guard, to extend enlistments for one year, if the date of expiration of enlistment occurred prior to July 9, 1951.  The Coast Guard, however, adopted a policy of permitting the discharge of men upon expiration of enlistment, provided they immediately enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserve.

47-Foot Motor Life Boat (MLB) 47231 from Station Morrow Bay, 4 Dec 2007. Photo by Mike Baird

2013  Coast Guard Station Quillayute River, Washington, crews rescued three fishermen from their sinking vessel two miles west of James Island.  The three fishermen were safely transported to Station Quillayute River by one of two 47-foot MLBs that responded to the sinking 50-foot fishing vessel; the second vessel remained on scene until the fishing vessel sank at 11:23 a.m. in 103 feet of water.  The Coast Guard received a call for help from the crew of the fishing vessel Fjord Mist at 08:33 a.m., stating that the vessel was taking on water and sinking.  The two boat crews from Station Quillayute River and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles were directed to respond to the sinking vessel.  A dewatering pump was provided to the fishing vessel crew; however, the pump was unable to keep up with the flooding and for the crew’s safety they were removed from the sinking vessel.  The fishermen suffered no reported injuries.

USCGC Dependable (WMEC-626)

2016  CGC Dependable returned to its homeport following a successful 53-day patrol, which focused on training, counter-drug, and migrant missions.  The cutter patrolled from the Florida Straits and throughout the Caribbean Sea performing homeland security missions, which included stopping the flow of illegal migrants and illicit drugs into the United States.  During the patrol, Dependable worked closely with the Royal Bahamian Defense Force, the Navy of the Dominican Republic, and Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard air and surface assets to counter illegal drug smuggling and human smuggling.  On September 22, 2016, Dependable assisted the Royal Bahamian Defense Force in the rescue of nine survivors from a sailing vessel in distress.  Over the course of six hours, Dependable and the Royal Bahamian Defense Force searched for and located the sailing vessel Change of Life aground on a reef south of Great Inagua, Bahamas.  Less than 24 hours later, Dependable, along with Her Majesty’s Bahamian Ship Leon Livingston Smith rescued 10 Cuban migrants who had been stranded for 10 days on Anguilla Cay near Caysal Bank in the Florida Straits.

Miami-class cutter USCGC Tampa photographed in harbour, prior to the First World War. Completed in 1912 as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Miami, this ship was renamed Tampa in February 1916. On 26 September 1918, while operating in the English Channel, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German Submarine UB-91. All 131 persons on board Tampa were lost with her, the largest loss of life on any U.S. combat vessel during the First World War. Official U.S. Navy photo NH 1226 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command

1918 The Imperial German Navy submarine UB-91 torpedoed and sank CGC Tampa with a loss of all hands. Tampa was steaming alone to Milford Haven, Wales, after being detached from ocean escort duty when attacked.  On board were 111 Coast Guardsmen, four U.S. Navy personnel, and 15 British passengers, bringing the total of men lost that night to 130.  One body was recovered and buried at sea while the bodies of two of the Coast Guard crew washed ashore in Wales and were buried in a small church yard in Lamphey, Pembrokeshire, Wales.  One body was returned to the family in the U.S. after the war while one, who was never identified, is still interred in Lamphey to this day.  Local residents care for the grave.

USCGC Ingham (WPG-35) underway in heavy seas, circa 1941-1944, location unknown.
US Coast Guard photo # 2000225945

1942 CGC Ingham rescued eight survivors from the torpedoed SS Tennessee.

1994 Coast Guard forces departed for Haiti in support of Operation Restore Democracy.

A boat crew from Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg, Florida, conducts training near the station on a new 29-foot response boat-small II Aug. 25, 2014. The Coast Guard placed a delivery order for 20 additional boats Jan. 12, 2018. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Meredith Manning.

2011 The U.S. Coast Guard awarded a delivery order on this date to Metal Shark Aluminum Boats for the production of 38 Response Boats-Small (RB-S). “The RB-S will have an approximate length of 28 feet, be capable of at least 40 knots, a minimum range of 150 nautical miles and accommodate a crew of four.  The RB-S will also have a standardized communications and navigation suite as well as an increased emphasis on ergonomics and crew comfort.  The current RB-S fleet was originally procured in 2002, following the attacks of September 11, 2001.  In addition to bringing a higher level of standardization to the Coast Guard’s small boat fleet, the RB-S has proven to be a tremendous asset in a wide variety of Coast Guard missions, especially ports, waterways and coastal security.”

Coast Guard Academy Cadets climb the rigging of Coast Guard Cutter Eagle (WIX 327) while underway July, 30, 2024. The Eagle serves as a classroom at sea for Academy Cadets and future leaders in the Coast Guard. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matt Thieme)

2014 CGB Eagle began the first phase of a four-year project to extend the cutter’s service life and recapitalize major ship systems at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland.  The scheduled work included lead ballast replacement, berthing area renovations, and inspection and maintenance of the rudder, hull and rigging.  On this same day the Yard also marked the completion of the Mission Effectiveness Project (MEP) to modernize the Coast Guard’s medium endurance cutter fleet.

The Coast Guard Cutter Sapelo transfers 38 Haitian migrants to the Coast Guard Cutter Bear Sept. 9, 2013, north of the Dominican Republic as part of the repatriation process, which included a second transfer of the migrants, who repatriated, to the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant and turned the migrants over to authorities in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, Sept. 12, 2013. The 38 migrants originally belonged to a group of 41 migrants interdicted by the Coast Guard Cutter Sapelo Sept. 7, 2013, near Mona Island, Puerto Rico. Three of the migrants, of Dominican Republic nationality, in the group were taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection authorities in Puerto Rico. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

2014 CGC Bear returned to its homeport in Portsmouth, Virginia following a two-month long patrol in the Western Caribbean Sea. During the patrol, Bear’s crew coordinated with multiple countries in Central and South America, along with partner agencies to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.  The unified effort resulted in the interdiction of multiple suspected drug smugglers and vessels transporting approximately 3,519 kilograms of cocaine.  In addition to its seizures, the crew of Bear saved two Nicaraguan fishermen that were stranded at sea for over two weeks.  Bear’s interdictions were a part of Operation Martillo, which is an international effort to counter illicit trafficking in the Caribbean Sea.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Stratton (WMSL 752) and Kimball (WMSL 756) steam in formation while patrolling the U.S.-Russian Maritime Boundary Line (MBL), in the Bering Sea, Sept. 26, 2022. This marked the first time two national security cutters jointly patrolled the MBL above the Arctic Circle. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo).

2022 CGC Stratton (WMSL 752) and CGC Kimball (WMSL 756) jointly patrolled the US-Russian maritime boundary line in the Arctic Circle. Stratton and Kimball performed a series of tactical maneuvers following standard NATO phraseology. The operation furthered US national security strategy and projected US sovereignty in the Arctic Circle. Following the evolution, Kimball turned south to transit the Bering Strait and Stratton turned north towards the Chukchi Sea to continue on its patrol throughout the Arctic Ocean.

Boston Light, America’s First Aid to Navigation, now over 300 years old.

1916 The beginning of lighthouse work in the United States was commemorated, when a bronze tablet was unveiled at the Boston Light Station on the 200th anniversary of its establishment.

Cutter Yocona towing environmental bouy (EB-16) off of San Diego underway for deployment. May 19,1975.

1959 A U.S. Navy P5M seaplane that had ditched off the Oregon coast was located through radio contact by a Coast Guard UF-1G Albatross aircraft.  After sighting 10 survivors in two rafts 110 miles offshore, the Albatross crew directed CGC  Yacona to the scene, where a successful night rescue was affected.

“Coast Guard Cutter Forward and Coast Guard Cutter Bear, homeported in Portsmouth, Virginia, finish an at-sea transfer while underway on a two-month patrol. Coast Guard Cutter Forward returned to homeport on April 10, 2021.” (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

1980 CGC Bear was launched at Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, Inc., in Tacoma, Washington.  Bear was the first in its class of new 270-foot medium endurance cutters.  It was sponsored by Mrs. John B. Hayes, the wife of the Commandant. All thirteen ships of the class are still in Coast Guard service.

2014 The Commandant, ADM Paul Zukunft, signed the U.S. Coast Guard Western Hemisphere Strategy.  The Strategy emphasized that although the Coast Guard performs “diverse maritime missions over vast geographic areas” the Coast Guard’s primary operating area “will remain in the Western hemisphere.”

2016 The U.S. Coast Guard found an overturned boat following a boating incident on Government Cut that left three deceased, including Miami Marlins’ baseball pitcher José Fernández.  A boat crew from Coast Guard Station Miami was heading out on a law enforcement patrol at approximately 0330 when they passed a jetty along Government Cut and discovered an overturned 33-foot center console boat on the jetty with three deceased aboard.

The ship’s sponsor, “Mrs. Harry J. Trainor, christening LST-167 prior to the ship’s launching, 25 February 1943, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company, Shipbuilding Division, Evansville, IN. Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library.

1943 The Coast Guard-manned USS LST-167 (Commissioned 27 April 1943, LT Edward C. Simons, USCG commanding) and the USS LST-334, with a partial Coast Guard crew, landed troops during the invasion and liberation of Vella Lavella in the central Solomons despite fierce resistance from the Japanese defenders. September 25, Japanese aircraft attacked the invasion fleet, hitting LST-167 with two bombs. The ship was refloated but found uneconomical to repair, struck from the Naval Register, 6 December 1943. Purple Hearts (KIA-8, WIA-2, MIA-5). KIA – ENS. Miller, Robert W.; ENS Wells , Harry F.; F1/c Anderson, Roy; Cox Bubeck, Sheldon T.; WT1/c Hammond, Gerald G.; EM3/c Poi, Giovanni; Y2/c Rieckert, Frederick; S1/c Sexton, Donald A. (1 additional enlisted man was killed in action. 1 enlisted man died of wounds. 5 enlisted men were missing in action.

1947 The Coast Guard announced that it had virtually completed the return of United States buoys, lights, and other aids to navigation to a peacetime basis.

Antenna of USCG Rescue 21 system at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

2002 The Coast Guard announced the award of a $611 million contract for the production, deployment and support of “Rescue 21,” a modernization of the National Distress and Response System.  “Rescue 21” was planned to be the nation’s primary maritime “911” system for coastal waters of the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and navigable rivers and lakes within the United States.

Pseudo-color IRF image of Rita from NASA GOES-12; processing by University of Wisconsin, Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies; used by implicit permission.

2005 Hurricane Rita made landfall just east of Sabine Pass, on the Texas-Louisiana line, as a Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of 120 mph.  Coast Guard units, some still in the area from Hurricane Katrina rescue and relief efforts, responded.  They saved 138 lives and evacuated 53 people.

A crewmember aboard a 26-foot over-the-horizon boat prepares to come alongside Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley (WMEC 30) while underway in the Bering Sea in this 2019 photo. U.S. Coast Guard / Ensign Richard Zogby

2014 CGC Alex Haley returned to Kodiak following a successful 68-day deployment patrolling more than 12,000 miles throughout the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.  Alex Haley, known as the “Bulldog of the Bering,” departed Kodiak in July 2014 and spent two months conducting operations in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands.  During the deployment, Alex Haley’s crew performed more than 40 at sea domestic fisheries enforcement boardings, four search and rescue cases, and one rescue and assistance operation.