The U.S. Coast Guard was officially started in 1915, although it had existed before in two parts. One of those parts was the United States Revenue Cutter Service, which has been around since 1790. The other part was the United States Life-Saving Service. In 1915, Congress realized that the entire thing would be much more efficient if they were to combine their resources, and work together for the safety of the U.S. coasts.
Since then, the Coast Guard has accumulated multiple other organizations and bureaus, and been transferred through the government several times. Now it is officially a part of the Department of Homeland Security, which was made official in 2003. Prior to that, it was part of the Department of Transportation. During times of war, the Coast Guard’s resources and manpower can be transferred to the Navy.
The Coast Guard has played a large role in defending the United States during wars. During the Civil War, a Coast Guard ship fired the first shots at Fort Sumter. In the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American war, the Coast Guard was heavily involved in combat and defense. In World War II, the entire Coast Guard was put to work under the command of the navy. They even landed troops in various regions of the world, and participated in the infamous D-Day.
Nowadays, the Coast Guard has roughly 40,000 men and women working. There are 8,000 on reserve who are ready to be called in at any time, and quite a few civilian employees as well who handle the paperwork of the Coast Guard. Most of the time they focus on stopping sea-going problems, including smuggling and ships in distress. It is a great organization that does a lot to keep our nation safe, and hopefully you are now better informed about it.
