US+Coast+Guard

​ __History__
 * The Coast Guard was established in 1790 and has served under the Department off Treasury during peacetime and under the Department of the Navy since then.
 * In 1967, the Coast Guard became a part of the Department of Transportation, and in 2003 it moved to the Department of Homeland Security.
 * The move to the Department of Homeland Security was used to heighten domestic security after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

__Responsibilities/Organization__
 * Operates ships (called cutters), small boats, aircraft, and lifesaving stations [[image:http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/bridgeportbkwtr.JPG width="209" height="192" align="right" caption="Coast Guard Lighthouse"]]
 * Enforce laws in regards to two categories: Those with respect to navigation and shipping, and those with respect to revenue, customs, immigration and other things. The Coast Guard is directly responsible for the first category, and only partially responsible for the other as it falls under the jurisdiction of other organizations.
 * Enforcement of the Motorboat Act and Federal boating Act fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.
 * The Coast Guard also offers educational courses in boating safety.
 * Merchant marine safety responsibilities include inspection of vessels and equipment, regulation of marine personnel, enginerring and technical supervision over safety standards, and investigation of marine casualties.
 * The Coast Guard also provides navigational aid in the form of lightships, offshore light structures, lighthouses, buoys, and electronic aids such as radio beacons.
 * The ranks in the Coast Guard are very similar to that of the Navy, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard is appointed by the president.
 * The Coast Guard also provides search and rescue missions where they use braodcasts from ships of all nationalities to identify any vessel that is capable of helping a vessel in distress. [[image:http://columbiadailyphoto.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/coast-guard.jpg width="172" height="128" align="right" caption="Coast Guard Helicopter"]]
 * The Coast Guard is also required to be ready for military duty. Cutters are equipped with armaments and vessels undergo periodic training under Navy supervision.
 * The Coast Guard also enforces anti-smuggling laws such as Prohibition in the past and presently illegal drugs and illegal immigrants.

__Personnel/Career Oppurtunites__
 * The military structure of the Coast Guard is similar to that of the other military branches.
 * Comissioned officers are primarily graduates of its professional academy. Others come from the Coast Guard Officer School at Yorktown, VA which is attended by select enlistees and reservists from civilian life.
 * Women were allowed to enter the Coast Guard in 1973. Prior to that time, they served as lighthouse keepers and as active reservists in administrative posts. Some women were granted commissions during WWII, and in 1978 all restrictions on women entering the Coast Guard were lifted.