ALWAYS READY

[Music] the United States Coast Guard born in 1790 as the revenue Marine with a fleet of 10 small Cutters this service was created by the first Congress to prevent smuggling and assist in collection of taxes so vital to the young Republic in 1830 the Cutters were ordered to cruise offshore Waters during the winter season to Aid distressed Mariners thus the service assumed its now legendary humanitarian duties the saving of life and property at Sea later the cutter bear and her sister ships carried the flag into the New Frontier called Alaska down through the years they brought law Medical Aid and food to remote native Villages Cutters and their Crews have responded to the call of arms and have served gallantly in defense of their country in every major war today the co guard is a worldwide organization of men ships planes and stations all dedicated to their humanitarian and Military duties truly the service that serves mankind as freighter and tankers fall prey to Mechanical difficulty or the fury of the sea and ill- fated passenger liners are lost to fire the most feared of all shipboard [Music] disasters Coast Guard search and rescue forces stand constant vigil to answer their calls for help computer lights flash as electronic brains provide positions of other ships in the area [Music] rescue planes take to the air and fly hundreds of miles to Sea to drop Emergency Equipment and provide Communications Cutters at Sea turn from their routine Patrol duties and speed to the rescue these offshore rescue forces save millions of dollars worth of property and even more important several hundred lives each year while offshore rescues are perhaps the most dramatic Coastal or inshore cases are far more [Music] frequent rescue boats operating from stations and bases answer over 50,000 calls each year pulling unconscious boatmen from sinking pleasurecraft fighting fires and towing thousands of others to safety helicopters the flying lifeboats pluck injured boatmen from danger drop emergency pumps or [Music] fuel and stand by until rescue boats arrive as they answer almost 12,000 calls for [Music] help Coast Guardsman also carry out a continuous program to promote Marine safety to prevent Marine disasters before they happen inspectors watch closely as merchant vessel Crews demonstrate their ability and Readiness of Emergency Equipment during drills other inspectors check plans and the workmanship and materials that go into new ships as safety is designed and built into American Merchant ships still others inspect barges that carry highly flammable toxic or corrosive liquids or drop in by helicopter to inspect life-saving equipment on offshore oil rigs Coast Guard aids to navigation systems do their part for maritime safety with over 43 3,000 aids to Mark channels of safe passage new modern offshore structures with multi-million candle power lights and remotely controlled 50 ton super sea boys replace legendary light ships along our coasts Channel buoys show their lights and sound their bells to guide traffic through Harbors lakes and rivers lighthouses some over a century old guide passing ship safely through sh Waters along the coasts of the Mainland Alaska and Hawaii by contrast Space Age lauran stations with Skyhigh Towers radiate their electronic signals to guide ships and planes across thousands of miles of trackless oceans on International Ice Patrol Coast Guard Cutters and planes locate and bomb huge icebergs with colored dyes not since 1914 when the patrol was started has a ship been lost to the beautiful but deadly Bergs in North Atlantic shipping lanes closer to home the Coast Guard battles ice in harbors and bays at Winter's end they break a track for the long ships of the Great Lakes and in the rivers they break Winter's icy grip to keep waterborne Commerce moving Marine law enforcement duties take other coast Guardsmen into frigid Waters as they enforce International conservation treaties and protect territorial Waters against ever increasing foreign fishing fleet operations under their watchful eyes the once nearly depleted fur bearing seal herds have prospered and become larger than ever closer to home Coast Guard Port safety Crews enforce regulations for safe stowage and handling of Military and Commercial explosives at isolated loading areas they inspect Waterfront facilities for firefighting and safety equipment and board and inspect American and foreign tank vessels loading or unloading dangerous cargos Coast Guard boating safety teams inspect pleasurecraft for required safety equipment in an effort to reduce accidents that take the pleasure out of boating for thousands of boatmen each year members of the Coast Guard auxiliary make a valuable contribution to boating safety through their courtesy examination program public education courses and search and rescue and Riata patrols just as they have done since 1869 today's Coast Guardsmen continue to probe the undersea areas of the world as efforts are accelerated to learn more about the Inner Space others launch balloons into upper airspaces and make surface observations to Aid the US weather bureau in making its forecasts at the top and bottom of the world Coast Guard icebreakers Ram their way across Frozen polar oceans to establish and maintain scientific and defense [Music] outposts as man finds it necessary to go deeper and stay longer in the ice areas to seek new resources and learn more of about his total environment just as Coast Guardsmen have battled the elements down through the years they have also fought our enemies in every war since 1790 for in time of war or when so ordered by the president the Coast Guard becomes part of the Navy so as they carry out their humanitarian duties they must also maintain a high state of military Readiness the same equipment and skills that locate plot and guide the ships on rescue missions must always be ready to locate and track an [Music] enemy the same guns that fire for night illumination during search and rescue must also be ready to down a hostile plane or sink an enemy ship when the call to Vietnam came their 82t Cutters were changed from gleaming white to combat gray and were sent from Boston and Norfolk and Long Beach to antoy and Danang and fuak almost overnight the men of Coast Guard Squadron 1 were ready prowling Coastal Waters off South Vietnam at the rate of over a million miles a year to help stop the flow of men and equipment to the enemy or to pour mortar and machine gun fire into their strongholds ashore in support of friendly forces these men like the 150,000 Coast Guard reservists men and women that served during World War II were ready when the call came the men of today's Coast Guard carry on in this same tradition but with Space Age equipment and training officers to be learn about nuclear energy ocean sciences and data processing enlisted men study Electronics Communications and jet engines so now as never before in over 180 years of humanitarian and military service with new equipment new technology and Concepts and operating as part of the new Department Department of Transportation the United States Coast Guard stands always ready to meet the challenge of man time and the [Music] elements