August 4 – Coast Guard Day
This day celebrates the founding of the United States Coast Guard. Originally called the “Revenue Marine”, the organization was created officially on August 4, 1790 by Alexander Hamilton, who was serving as Secretary of the Treasury. The name we know today, U.S. Coast Guard, was given officially in 1915 through an act of Congress signed into law by Woodrow Wilson. Today, the U.S Coast Guard is within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. There are more than  56,000 members of the Coast Guard who operate 243 Cutters, 201 fixed and rotary wing aircraft and more than 1,600 boats. According to gocoastguard.com, on an average day, the U.S. Coast Guard:

• conducts 45 search and rescue cases;
• saves 10 lives;
• saves over $1.2M in property;
• seizes 874 pounds of cocaine and 214 pounds of marijuana;
• conducts 57 waterborne patrols of critical maritime infrastructure;
• interdicts 17 illegal migrants;
• escorts 5 high-capacity passenger vessels;
• conducts 24 security boardings in and around U.S. ports;
• screens 360 merchant vessels for potential security threats prior to arrival in U.S. ports;
• conducts 14 fisheries conservation boardings;
• services 82 buoys and fixed aids to navigation;
• investigates 35 pollution incidents;
• completes 26 safety examinations on foreign vessels;
• conducts 105 marine inspections;
• investigates 14 marine casualties involving commercial vessels;
• facilitates movement of $8.7B worth of goods and commodities through the Nation’s Maritime Transportation System.

PHOTO Courtesy of DVIDS:
Petty Officer 3rd Class Steve Scheren, a rescue swimmer from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., is hoisted into an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter during hoist training in the Pasquotank River near Elizabeth City, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. Aviation personnel must complete hoist training evolutions on a regular basis to maintain their qualifications. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Brandyn Hill), 5/29/2013, U.S. Coast Guard District 5.