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.”)