An Average Day For The U.S. Coast Guard

Save 15 lives
Assist 117 people in distress
Conduct 90 search and rescue cases
Protect $2.8 million in property
Enforce 129 security zones
Interdict and rescue 15 illegal migrants at sea
Board 4 high interest vessels
Board 192 vessels of law enforcement interest
Board 122 large vessels for port safety checks
Seize 71 pounds of marijuana and 662 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $21.1 million
Conduct 317 vessel safety checks and teach 63 boating safety courses
Conduct 19 commercial fishing vessel safety exams
Respond to 11 oil and hazardous chemical spills
Process 280 mariner licenses and documents
Service 140 aids to navigation
Monitor the transit of 2,557 commercial ships through U.S. ports
Investigate 20 vessel casualties involving collisions, allisions, and groundings

From Maine to Washington State, Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard has been protecting America’s coastline for 217 years. The smallest of the armed services, the Coast Guard’s missions include Search and Rescue, Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Marine Environmental Protection, Maritime Safety, and National Defense.

The largest Search and Rescue operation in Coast Guard history occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast in August of 2005, stranding thousands of people on rooftops and in their homes. The Coast Guard was one of the first agencies to respond and, at the height of rescue operations the Coast Guard had at least 62 aircraft, 30 cutters, and 111 small boats operating in support of the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. By the time the rescue operation ended, the Coast Guard had saved over 33,000 lives.