The official blog of the U.S. Coast Guard
Those familiar with Coast Guard history know that the service’s development has been shaped in response to natural and man-made disasters. Nowhere is that clearer than the Coast Guard’s search and rescue mission. This month 180 years ago, Congress presented the service an early Christmas gift of legislation authorizing the service to perform search and rescue.
Those familiar with Coast Guard history know that the service’s development has been shaped in response to the nation’s natural and man-made disasters. Nowhere is that clearer than the Coast Guard’s search and rescue mission. Major response efforts and evolving technology continue to influence the U.S. Coast Guard’s development as the world’s premier search and rescue organization.
Today begins our Week in the Life 2017 series. This series will provide you with an insider’s view of what a typical week looks like for Coast Guard members. We will take you from coast to coast, showing you the different aspects of life in the Coast Guard. From standing watch or training on the water to supporting our frontline operations, we will highlight the day-to-day lives of Coast Guard men and women throughout the country and overseas. Let’s start the journey!
Though their voices are always heard over the radio and they save countless lives, Coast Guard operations specialists are rarely seen by the maritime community they serve. Behind the scenes these Coast Guard men and women obtain vital information to rescue mariners and careful plan and coordinate search and rescue missions.
On October 10, 1966, the Coast Guard and U.S. Air Force joined forces to open the National Search and Rescue School in Yorktown, Virginia, to provide training in oceanic, coastal and inland search planning procedures. The school, which has delivered training to 30,000 people, including more than 2,400 international students from 150 nations, recently celebrated 50 years of Service to Nation.
Those familiar with Coast Guard history know that the Service’s development has been shaped in part by the nation’s response to natural and man-made disasters. Nowhere is that lesson clearer than the history of the Service’s search and rescue, or SAR, mission.
The OAR-11 officer specialty code, or OSC, is available to those officers who demonstrate satisfactory performance and proficiency in aeronautical and maritime SAR planning and response coordination. This competency is fundamental to junior officers aspiring to a Response-Ashore career.
In 2014, 205 people in the U.S. were saved because of EPIRBs. Eighty-three of them were rescued at sea in 28 separate incidents. Twenty-one of them were aboard Betty C.
The SS Marine Electric sunk amidst a strong storm off the coast of Virginia on Feb. 12, 1983. Of the crew of 34, only three survived. In response to the sinking, the Coast Guard convened a marine board to investigate the causes surrounding the disaster. The resulting report was released 30 years ago this summer and would significantly alter the safety culture throughout the maritime community.
Last week the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a restitution payment of nearly $500,000 as part of the sentence handed down in United States of America v. Danik Shiv Kumar for making a false distress call that caused a massive search on Lake Erie in March 2012.