View allAll Photos Tagged Smallest
At my daughter-in-law's home, I am almost guaranteed photo ops. And having my five-year-old granddaughter line them up for me made it perfect. I loved it when she carefully explained to her papa that she was doing them from smallest to biggest.
ODC: small, smaller, smallest
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The Philippine tarsier, (Tarsius syrichta) is very peculiar small animal. In fact it is one of the smallest known primates, no larger than a adult men's hand. Mostly active at night, it lives on a diet of insects. Folk traditions sometimes has it that tarsiers eat charcoal, but actually they retrieve the insects from (sometimes burned) wood. It can be found in the islands of Samar, Leyte, Bohol, and Mindanao in the Philippines.
The Philippine tarsier is a tiny animal, measuring about 85 to 160 millimetres (3.35 to 6.30 in) in height makes this one of the smallest primates. The small size makes it difficult to spot. The mass for males is between 80 and 160 grams, usually lighter for females. The average adult is about the size of a human fist and will fit very comfortably in the human hand. Like all tarsiers, the Philippine tarsier's eyes are fixed in its skull; they cannot turn in their sockets. Instead, a special adaptation in the neck allows its round head to be rotated 180 degrees. The large membranous ears are mobile, appearing to be almost constantly moving, allowing the tarsier to hear any movement. It has uniquely large eyes, the largest eyes on any mammal in proportion to its body size. These huge eyes provide this nocturnal animal with excellent night vision.
"The world's smallest monkey" is an often heard slogan. However, it is not a monkey. In truth, its classification is somewhat problematic. Some scientists consider tarsiers to be a taxonomic suborder among the primates. While, because they are closely related to lemurs, lorises and bushbabies, others classify them with the prosimians to which these animals belong. Monkeys and apes belong to the suborder of anthropoids.
One way or the other, it is incredibly cute little animal and for me it will always be animal incaration of Jedi Yoda from the Star Wars.
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM; Focal length: 200.00 mm; Aperture: 4.0; Exposure time: 1/60 s; ISO: 2000
All rights reserved - Copyright © Lucie Debelkova www.luciedebelkova.com
All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer.
There's a very fine line on top between her beak and head that appears to be a spider web, they use them to build their nests.
This is the smallest of the Double D Ranch cabins. The ranch was established in 1931 and ran until 1945. Some restoration work was done to preserve some of the buildings by HistoriCorps volunteers in 2011.
Collection:
Images from the History of Medicine (IHM)
Publication:
[194-?]
Language(s):
English
Format:
Still image
Subject(s):
Library Materials,
National Library of Medicine, (U.S.)
Genre(s):
Pictorial Works
Abstract:
Johann Heinrich Meibom's "De flagrorum usu in re veneria..." is the smallest book (17 cm. in a case) in the rare book collection at that time of this photograph.
Extent:
1 photographic print : 26 x 21 cm.
Technique:
black and white
NLM Unique ID:
101445661
NLM Image ID:
A017073
Permanent Link:
The smallest plot in Eksjö, only 25 sqm, but a cobbler with nine children once lived in the house. The house may date from the 1700s. It is a listed historic building (Swedish: byggnadsminne), protected by law.
The smallest of the Airbus A320 family, the beautifully small and pug-sized A318 has never been the biggest seller but the majority of those that have been delivered are still pretty much in service; however, the number that has been withdrawn, the large portion has since been scrapped due to poor resale value and being much better worth in spare parts. Even so, the Airbus A318 family has found a niche operating long-haul flights or even as a VIP business jet.
Only 3 airlines in the world operate an all-Airbus A320 family fleet: Air France, Avianca and British Airways; of those airlines, Air France operates the biggest fleet with 18 in service... Although, if you do combine Avianca and Avianca Brazil, the fleet number would be 25, but the 2 companies operate separately from one another.
Air France is a major user of the Airbus A320 family, the company operating 18 Airbus A318's, 38 Airbus A319's, 45 Airbus A320's and 21 Airbus A321's. Given how much of a presence Air France has at Amsterdam, it really is surprising to see their Airbus A318's appear here, although in context, routes that were once A318 operated have since transferred to Air France's subisidiary, Hop!
Golf Uniform Golf Foxtrot is currently one of 18 Airbus A318's in service with Air France, delivered new in April 2004 and she is powered by 2 CFM International CFM56-5B8/P engines.
Airbus A318-111 F-GUGF taxis to its gate at Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) after working AF1740 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG).
This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs: objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. They found three brown dwarfs that are less than eight times the mass of Jupiter, which are circled in the main image and shown in the detailed pullouts at right. The smallest weighs just three to four times as much as Jupiter, challenging theories for star formation.
The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars – what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. The bright star closest to the centre of the frame is actually a pair of type B stars in a binary system, the most massive stars in the cluster. Winds from these stars may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.
[Image description: Image of a star cluster and nebula, with three image details pulled out in square boxes stacked vertically along the right. Main image is showing wispy pink-purple filaments and a scattering of stars. Each of the three boxes along the right corresponds to a small detail, numbered and circled, in the main image. Box 1 (top): A detail from the lower left of the main image shows a pair of small circular pinkish-white spots on a yellowish-brown background. Box 2 (middle): A detail from the middle of the lower part of the main image shows a single small circular pinkish spot on a yellowish-brown background. Box 3: A detail from the lower right edge of the main image shows a small circular pinkish spot on a dark brown background.]
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and K. Luhman and C. Alves de Oliveira (Penn State University)
I decided to take a photo of all my smallest dolls today because a couple of them are going to leave the doll family. I was surprised that I have so many tiny dolls. Fairyland is the winner at the moment but that will change at the end of this year. I am waiting for 4 Lati Whites.
From left to right:
Top row:
pink Honey Bear (Sseiren), Pukipuki Pongpong (Fairyland), tan Mini Pot Lati White Belle (Latidoll), Dark Crunchy Lati White Haru (Latidoll), iMda Timp Yuja (Soom), brown Honey Bear (Sseiren).
Bottom row all Fairyland dolls:
Realpuki Tyni, chocopuki Lily, chocopuki Sugar, tan realpuki Soso.
The smallest house in Great Britain, on the harbourside at the lovely seaside town of Conwy, North Wales. Conway is also noted for its magnificent castle.
It's different for everyone. Chapter 13: The bottle never broke her heart. It was funny how someone so close to her could be so far away. The faintest touch, the smallest gesture would have saved the pain in her soul. The bad thing about being alone, is that you are a.....lone. One. No one there to see you, feel you, know you even exist. She would have rather had the inanimate bottle by her side. At least it was there for her.
"Algoma University, commonly shortened to Algoma U or Algoma, is an undergraduate-only public university with its main campus in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1965, Algoma is the smallest undergraduate-only university in Ontario. With a particular focus on the needs of Northern Ontario, Algoma U is a teaching-focused and student-centred post-secondary institution, specializing in liberal arts, sciences, and professional degree programs. Located on the former site of the Shingwauk Indian Residential School, Algoma U has a special mission to provide and cultivate cross-cultural learning between Aboriginal populations and other communities.[citation needed] Algoma U also offers satellite programming in Brampton and Timmins, Ontario.
From its founding in 1965 until June 18, 2008, Algoma U was an affiliated college of Laurentian University in Sudbury and was officially known as Algoma University College. The enabling legislation is the Algoma University Act, 2008.
The original vision for Shingwauk Hall in the early 19th century came from Chief Shingwauk, the chief of the Garden River Ojibway people, as he felt "that the future Ojibway needed to learn the white man's academic method of education in order to survive in what was becoming a 'predominately non-native world with non-native values'". While Chief Shingwauk's vision of a teaching wigwam for his people would not come to fruition in his lifetime, a residential school would eventually receive funding in 1872 from the combined efforts of Chiefs Augustin Shingwauk and Buhkwujjenene Shingwauk (Chief Shingwauk's sons) and the Anglican Missionary, Rev. Edward Francis Wilson. The initial building was constructed in Garden River First Nation in 1873 and housed 16 students. It tragically burnt down 6 days later. A new building was erected in Sault Ste. Marie in 1875. The residential school was designed to provide religious instruction and occupational training for First Nation, Inuit and Métis youth.
Shingwauk Hall would eventually become part of the broader residential school system across Canada designed to assimilate Canada's Indigenous peoples, straying far from Chief Shingwauk's vision for a teaching wigwam. Students in the residential school system endured poor living conditions, physical and emotional abuse and segregation from their own family members.
Shingwauk Hall, presently the main building of Algoma University College, was erected in 1935 after it was deemed the Shingwauk Home original building had deteriorated beyond repair. Shingwauk Hall ceased operation as a residential school in 1970.
Sault Ste. Marie (/ˈsuː seɪnt məˈriː/ SOO-seint-ma-REE) is a city on the St. Marys River in Ontario, Canada, close to the Canada–US border. It is the seat of the Algoma District and the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants of the area, call this area Baawitigong, meaning "place of the rapids." They used this as a regional meeting place during whitefish season in the St. Mary's Rapids. (The anglicized form of this name, Bawating, is used in institutional and geographic names in the area.)
To the south, across the river, is the United States and the Michigan city of the same name. These two communities were one city until a new treaty after the War of 1812 established the border between Canada and the United States in this area at the St. Mary's River. In the 21st century, the two cities are joined by the International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 on the Michigan side, and Huron Street (and former Ontario Secondary Highway 550B) on the Ontario side. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the Saint Mary's Rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world's busiest canal in terms of tonnage that passes through it, while smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal.
French colonists referred to the rapids on the river as Les Saults de Ste. Marie and the village name was derived from that. The rapids and cascades of the St. Mary's River descend more than 6 m (20 ft) from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. Hundreds of years ago, this slowed shipping traffic, requiring an overland portage of boats and cargo from one lake to the other. The entire name translates to "Saint Mary's Rapids" or "Saint Mary's Falls". The word sault is pronounced [so] in French, and /suː/ in the English pronunciation of the city name. Residents of the city are called Saultites.
Sault Ste. Marie is bordered to the east by the Rankin and Garden River First Nation reserves, and to the west by Prince Township. To the north, the city is bordered by an unincorporated portion of Algoma District, which includes the local services boards of Aweres, Batchawana Bay, Goulais and District, Peace Tree and Searchmont. The city's census agglomeration, including the townships of Laird, Prince and Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional and the First Nations reserves of Garden River and Rankin, had a total population of 79,800 in 2011.
Native American settlements, mostly of Ojibwe-speaking peoples, existed here for more than 500 years. In the late 17th century, French Jesuit missionaries established a mission at the First Nations village. This was followed by development of a fur trading post and larger settlement, as traders, trappers and Native Americans were attracted to the community. It was considered one community and part of Canada until after the War of 1812 and settlement of the border between Canada and the US at the Ste. Mary's River. At that time, the US prohibited British traders from any longer operating in its territory, and the areas separated by the river began to develop as two communities, both named Sault Ste. Marie." - info from Wikipedia.
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Shot at close to 1:1, and cropped to about 2/3 of the frame width, it's considerably larger than life on whatever screen you're viewing it.
“A photograph is a universe of dots. The grain, the halide, the little silver things clumped in the emulsion. Once you get inside a dot, you gain access to hidden information, you slide into the smallest event. This is what technology does. It peels back the shadows and redeems the dazed and rumbling past. It makes reality come true.”
― Don DeLillo, Underworld
It is possible to see where a front door was blocked in. The Kroger typeface on this sign has been used since at least the 1940s but this sign is certainly much newer.
This is the smallest Kroger store! This 7,000 square foot store is the most interesting Kroger location I have been to. In all likelihood, this store may be the oldest in the chain as well (not closed or relocated). This building was built in 1942 although I am not 100% sure it opened as a Kroger.
Someone from the town said they thought this was an auto showroom a very long time ago but I didn't notice any telltale signs of an auto showroom, such as bricked in auto bays or a designated office area. They may have been basing that off of the exterior design of the building. Looking at vintage grocery store pictures, it appears that VERY old (1940s and 1950s) A&P and Kroger stores very closely resembled auto showrooms in design. Besides, wouldn't it have been odd for someone to open an auto showroom in the middle of World War II? That would lead me to believe this store likely operated as a Kroger from day one.
If this did open as a Kroger from day one it would also explain the open ceiling. In the 1940s tin ceilings were installed inside of most Kroger stores since traditional drop ceilings were not around then. In 1942 when the store was built, metal (such as tin) was being used for World War II and would have been in very short supply for ceiling tiles. Had this store originally been an auto showroom and opened in more stable times, Kroger would have almost certainly put in a drop ceiling when they refurbished the building. I could find no trace of a drop ceiling of any kind ever being present in this store; there should at the very least be evidence of some brackets in the rafters where the ceiling used to hang from. I believe the open ceiling is good evidence this store was a Kroger from the beginning.
This store is very small for a Kroger. I don't see the point in having normal sized carts at this store. The aisles are so narrow that only one cart can go down an aisle at a time, the one aisle also has poles right in the middle where carts cannot fit around in either direction.
The one thing that surprised me was how busy this store was. The little parking lot was nearly full and people were also walking in from off the street. It seemed even odder that the store was busy because there is a larger IGA store just a block away. The store looks so empty in these shots because I don't really like taking pictures of people. I was also surprised to see two self-checkout kiosks here; the Wellston store didn't have them if I recall correctly.
This is listed as Kroger store #251. The Wellston store (I posted pictures of before) is store #258. I wonder why the numbers are so close together. Maybe Wellston had an older store downtown that moved in 1967 to the current location but kept the old number?
World's Smallest (and oldest?) Kroger store - West Main Street - McConnelsville, Ohio
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View of Melnik - the smallest city in Bulgaria situated on the foothills of the Pirin mountain range
Smallest version of Phantom I maneged to build that had some resemblance to the real model and was more or less in the same scale as the Ghost itself.
David has entered Apartment Therapy's "Smallest Coolest Apartments" contest and would appreciate your vote.
Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts.
This is the secret of success.
Swami Sivananda
Pon tu corazón, mente y alma incluso en tus actos más pequeños.
Este es el secreto del éxito.
Swami Sivananda
Lyukkamera, Pinhole Camera, Appareil à sténopé , Cámara escura, Camera obscura, Estenopeica, Foro stenopeico, Hålkamera, Kамера опскура, Lochkamera, Otworek, Pinhole fotoğraf makinesi, Stenopeica, φωτογραφία, Пинхол Фотография
Author : © IMRE BECSI
© All rights reserved
Location of shoot :
Szentendre,
Hungary,
Central-Europe
Time of shoot :
15.09.13.
Info of Shooting :
Film : Fuji FP-100C Color Instant
Format: 3.25 x 4.25 in. (8.5 x 10.8 cm) "Regular Size" pack film
Image Area: 2.88 x 3.75 in. (7.3 x 9.5 cm)
Filter : Wratten 85b
Metered expo.: 11 Ev (tree)
(Metered with Minolta Spotmeter)
Calculated expo.: 11 Ev
Shooting : 150 second (III.zone)
(I use my reciprocity compensation value chart to Fuji Color Instant film)
Dev.: 120 sec. (20° C)
The camera :
Body is a Film Back Adapter Plate from a Polaroid 203 camera
- focus : 33 mm
- pinhole : 0,25 mm (Lenox Laser)
- diaphragm : 132
Film back from my Polaroid 600se camera.
Shutter and Pinhole holder is a "pu(s)h" from Dr. Kai Fuhrmann with filter thread (homemade).
Picture from the camera :
www.flickr.com/photos/jonespointfilm/2837193476/in/set-72...
The parameters of camera :
(when I use 95x73 mm format instant film)
- Angle of view : 120°
- Light falloff at the corners [f/stops] : 1,8
- Resolution [lines/diagonal] : 959
Post work : (19.10.2013)
Scanner : Epson Perfection 3200 Photo (50x40 cm/480 dpi)
File Size : 257259 KB (TIF)
Pixel : 10509 X 8355
Scanner software : SilverFast SE
Final work : PS
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Very interesting journey behing the falls (Horseshoe Falls) through tunnels dug in the rock.
Tourists taking some photos behind the Horseshoe Falls.
Visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls
Info from Wikipedia:
Niagara Falls (/naɪˈæɡrə/, Cayuga: Gahnawehtaˀ or Tgahnawęhtaˀ is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States; more specifically, between the province of Ontario and the state of New York. They form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge.
From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls lie mostly on the Canadian side and the American Falls entirely on the American side, separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island. The international boundary line was originally drawn through Horseshoe Falls in 1819, but the boundary has long been in dispute due to natural erosion and construction.
Located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet (50 m). Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by vertical height and also by flow rate. The falls are located 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.
Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m3) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow, and almost four million cubic feet (110,000 m3) on average.
The Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 19th century. (Wikipedia)
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Smallest member of the White Bus fleet is Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 516CDI / Ferqui Soroco C16F 15 LN15RYD, new to Buzzlines of Hythe in 2015. It is one of a pair of Sprinters allocated to the associated Fernhill Travel of Bracknell fleet. Sister LN15RYG is in Fernhill livery.
detail of the pollen on her head and beak
To view my set documenting this Hummingbird family (including my notes) click here.
This was quite a tricky shot to take because the room [ the toilet ] was so small. This was just something I had never really noticed before.The colours seemed really calming. The lighting is from a strobe which I fired twice above the window.
For our Joy and the Glory of Jesus, through whom all things were made (1 Thessalonians 5:16 & John 1:3)
SBB's 940 045 has collected just a single wagon to take over the scenic mountain route of the Gotthard Pass.
Since my previous visit in 2016 virtually all trains now run through the 57km long Gotthard Base Tunnel- however due to a derailment causing considerable damage to the tunnel infrastructure in 2023 the mountain route is currently seeing much more use.
Most passenger, and a handful of freight trains are currently being routed 'over the top' via the old route, meaning visits to famous locations such as here at the Wattinger curve are worth considering again.
My trip report from Switzerland in may 2024 is now available now online here.
~*Photography Originally Taken By: www.CrossTrips.Com Under God*~
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States armed forces and one of seven uniformed services. In addition to being a military branch at all times, it is unique among the armed forces in that it is also a maritime law enforcement agency (with jurisdiction both domestically and in international waters) and a federal regulatory agency. It is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
As one of the five armed forces and the smallest armed service of the United States, its stated mission is to protect the public, the environment, and the United States economic and security interests in any maritime region in which those interests may be at risk, including international waters and America's coasts, ports, and inland waterways.
The Coast Guard has many statutory missions, which are listed below in this article.
Overview
Description
The Coast Guard, in its literature, describes itself as "a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America." It differs from the other armed services of the US in that the other four armed services are components of the Department of Defense.
In addition, the Coast Guard has separate legal authority than the other four armed services. The Coast Guard operates under Title 10 of the United States Code and its other organic authorities, e.g., Titles 6, 14, 19, 33, 46, etc., simultaneously. Because of its legal authority, the Coast Guard can conduct military operations under the Department of Defense or directly for the President in accordance with 14 USC 1-3, and Title 10.
Role
The United States Coast Guard has a broad and important role in homeland security, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine environmental pollution response, and the maintenance of river, intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation (ATON). Founded by Alexander Hamilton as the Revenue Cutter Service on August 4, 1790, it lays claim to being the United States' oldest continuous seagoing service. As of October 2006, the Coast Guard has approximately 46,000 men and women on active duty, 8,100 reservists, 7,000 full time civilian employees and 30,000 active auxiliarists.[1]
While most military services are either at war or training for war, the Coast Guard is deployed every day. When not in war, the Coast Guard has duties that include maritime law enforcement, maintaining aids to navigation, marine safety, and both military and civilian search and rescue—all in addition to its typical homeland security and military duties, such as port security.
The service's decentralized organization and readiness for missions that can occur at any time on any day, is often lauded for making it highly effective, extremely agile and very adaptable in a broad range of emergencies. In a 2005 article in TIME Magazine following Hurricane Katrina, the author wrote, "the Coast Guard's most valuable contribution to [a military effort when catastrophe hits] may be as a model of flexibility, and most of all, spirit." Wil Milam, a rescue swimmer from Alaska told the magazine, "In the Navy, it was all about the mission. Practicing for war, training for war. In the Coast Guard, it was, take care of our people and the mission will take care of itself."[2]
The Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus, meaning "Always Ready". The service has participated in every U.S. conflict from 1790 through to today, including landing US troops on D-Day and on the Pacific Islands in World War II, in extensive patrols and shore bombardment during the Vietnam War, and multiple roles in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Maritime interception operations, coastal security, transportation security, and law enforcement detachments are its major roles in Iraq.
The formal name for a member of the Coast Guard is "Coast Guardsman", irrespective of gender. An informal name is "Coastie." "Team Coast Guard" refers to the three branches of the Coast Guard as a whole: the regulars, the Coast Guard Reserve, and the civilian volunteers of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Search and Rescue
See National Search and Rescue Committee
Search and Rescue (SAR) is one of the Coast Guard's oldest missions. The National Search and Rescue Plan[3] designates the United States Coast Guard as the federal agency responsible for maritime SAR operations, and the United States Air Force as the federal agency responsible for inland SAR. Both agencies maintain Rescue Coordination Centers to coordinate this effort, and have responsibility for both military and civilian search and rescue.
* USCG Rescue Coordination Centers
National Response Center
Operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Response Center (NRC) is the sole U.S. Government point of contact for reporting environmental spills, contamination, and pollution
The primary function of the National Response Center (NRC) is to serve as the sole national point of contact for reporting all oil, chemical, radiological, biological, and etiological discharges into the environment anywhere in the United States and its territories. In addition to gathering and distributing spill data for Federal On-Scene Coordinators and serving as the communications and operations center for the National Response Team, the NRC maintains agreements with a variety of federal entities to make additional notifications regarding incidents meeting established trigger criteria. The NRC also takes Terrorist/Suspicious Activity Reports and Maritime Security Breach Reports. Details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.[4]
* U.S. National Response Team
Authority as an armed service
The five uniformed services that make up the Armed Forces are defined in 10 U.S.C. § 101(a)(4):
“ The term “armed forces” means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. ”
The Coast Guard is further defined by 14 U.S.C. § 1:
“ The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times. The Coast Guard shall be a service in the Department of Homeland Security, except when operating as a service in the Navy. ”
Coast Guard organization and operation is as set forth in Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
On February 25, 2003, the Coast Guard was placed under the Department of Homeland Security. The Coast Guard reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security. However, under 14 U.S.C. § 3 as amended by section 211 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, upon the declaration of war and when Congress so directs in the declaration, or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the Department of Defense as a service in the Department of the Navy. 14 U.S.C. § 2 authorizes the Coast Guard to enforce federal law. Further, the Coast Guard is exempt from and not subject to the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act which restrict the law enforcement activities of the other four military services within United States territory.
On October 17, 2007, the Coast Guard joined with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps to adopt a new maritime strategy called A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower that raised the notion of prevention of war to the same philosophical level as the conduct of war.[5] This new strategy charted a course for the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps to work collectively with each other and international partners to prevent regional crises, manmade or natural, from occurring or reacting quickly should one occur to avoid negative impacts to the United States. During the launch of the new U.S. maritime strategy at the International Seapower Symposium at the U.S. Naval War College, 2007, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen said the new maritime strategy reinforced the time-honored missions the service carried out in this U.S. since 1790. "It reinforces the Coast Guard maritime strategy of safety, security and stewardship, and it reflects not only the global reach of our maritime services but the need to integrate and synchronize and act with our coalition and international partners to not only win wars ... but to prevent wars," Allen said.
Authority as a law enforcement agency
14 U.S.C. § 89 is the principal source of Coast Guard enforcement authority.
14 U.S.C. § 143 and 19 U.S.C. § 1401 empower US Coast Guard Active and Reserves members as customs officers. This places them under 19 U.S.C. § 1589a, which grants customs officers general law enforcement authority, including the authority to:
(1) carry a firearm;
(2) execute and serve any order, warrant, subpoena, summons, or other process issued under the authority of the United States;
(3) make an arrest without a warrant for any offense against the United States committed in the officer's presence or for a felony, cognizable under the laws of the United States committed outside the officer's presence if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a felony; and
(4) perform any other law enforcement duty that the Secretary of the Treasury may designate.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to the House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary on its 2006 Survey of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Functions and Authorities identified the U.S. Coast Guard as one of 104 federal components employed which employed law enforcement officers.[7] The Report also included a summary table of the authorities of the U.S. Coast Guard's 192 special agents and 3,780 maritime law enforcement boarding officers.[8]
Coast Guardsmen have the legal authority to carry their service-issued firearms on and off base, thus giving them greater flexibility when being called to service. This is not always done, however, in practice; at many Coast Guard stations, commanders prefer to have all service-issued weapons in armories. Still, one court has held that Coast Guard boarding officers are qualified law enforcement officers authorized to carry personal firearms off-duty for self-defense.[9]
As members of a military service, Coast Guardsmen on active and reserve service are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and receive the same pay and allowances as members of the same pay grades in the other uniformed services.
History
Main article: History of the United States Coast Guard
Marines holding a sign thanking the US Coast Guard after the battle of Guam.
Marines holding a sign thanking the US Coast Guard after the battle of Guam.
The roots of the Coast Guard lie in the United States Revenue Cutter Service established by Alexander Hamilton under the Department of the Treasury on August 4, 1790. Until the re-establishment of the United States Navy in 1798, the Revenue Cutter Service was the only naval force of the early U.S. It was established to collect taxes from a brand new nation of patriot smugglers. When the officers were out at sea, they were told to crack down on piracy; while they were at it, they might as well rescue anyone in distress.[10]
"First Fleet" is a term occasionally used as an informal reference to the US Coast Guard, although as far as one can detect the United States has never in fact officially used this designation with reference either to the Coast Guard or any element of the US Navy. The informal appellation honors the fact that between 1790 and 1798, there was no United States Navy and the cutters which were the predecessor of the US Coast Guard were the only warships protecting the coast, trade, and maritime interests of the new republic.[11]
The modern Coast Guard can be said to date to 1915, when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the United States Life-Saving Service and Congress formalized the existence of the new organization. In 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was brought under its purview. In 1942, the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation was transferred to the Coast Guard. In 1967, the Coast Guard moved from the Department of the Treasury to the newly formed Department of Transportation, an arrangement that lasted until it was placed under the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 as part of legislation designed to more efficiently protect American interests following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
In times of war, the Coast Guard or individual components of it can operate as a service of the Department of the Navy. This arrangement has a broad historical basis, as the Guard has been involved in wars as diverse as the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War, in which the cutter Harriet Lane fired the first naval shots attempting to relieve besieged Fort Sumter. The last time the Coast Guard operated as a whole under the Navy was in World War II. More often, military and combat units within the Coast Guard will operate under Navy operational control while other Coast Guard units will remain under the Department of Homeland Security.
Organization
Main article: Organization of the United States Coast Guard
The headquarters of the Coast Guard is at 2100 Second Street, SW, in Washington, D.C. In 2005, the Coast Guard announced tentative plans to relocate to the grounds of the former St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington. That project is currently on hold because of environmental, historical, and congressional concerns. As of July 2006, there are several possible locations being considered, including the current headquarters location.
Personnel
Commissioned Officer Corps
There are many routes by which individuals can become commissioned officers in the US Coast Guard. The most common are:
United States Coast Guard Academy
Main article: United States Coast Guard Academy
The United States Coast Guard Academy is located on the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. It is the only military academy to which no Congressional or presidential appointments are made. All cadets enter by open competition utilizing SAT scores, high school grades, extracurricular activities, and other criteria. About 225 cadets are commissioned ensigns each year. Graduates of the Academy are obligated to serve five years on active duty. Most graduates (about 70%) are assigned to duty aboard a Coast Guard cutter after graduation, either as Deck Watch Officers (DWO) or as Student Engineers. Smaller numbers are assigned to flight training (about 10% of the class) or to shore duty at Coast Guard Sectors, Districts, or Area headquarters unit.
Officer Candidate School
In addition to the Academy, prospective officers may enter the Coast Guard through the Officer Candidate School (OCS) at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. OCS is a rigorous 17-week course of instruction which prepares candidates to serve effectively as officers in the United States Coast Guard. In addition to indoctrinating students into a military life-style, OCS also provides a wide range of highly technical information necessary for performing the duties of a Coast Guard officer.
Graduates of the program typically receive a commission in the Coast Guard at the rank of Ensign, but some with advanced graduate degrees can enter as Lieutenant (junior grade) or Lieutenant. Graduating OCS officers entering Active Duty are required to serve a minimum of three years, while graduating Reserve officers are required to serve four years. Graduates may be assigned to a ship, flight training, to a staff job, or to an operations ashore billet. However, first assignments are based on the needs of the Coast Guard. Personal desires and performance at OCS are considered. All graduates must be available for worldwide assignment.
In addition to United States citizens, foreign cadets and candidates also attend Coast Guard officer training. OCS represents the source of the majority of commissions in the Coast Guard, and is the primary channel through which enlisted ranks can ascend to the officer corps.
Direct Commission Officer Program
The Coast Guard's Direct Commission Officer course is administered by Officer Candidate School. Depending on the specific program and background of the individual, the course is three, four or five weeks long. The first week of the five-week course is an indoctrination week. The DCO program is designed to commission officers with highly specialized professional training or certain kinds of previous military experience. For example, lawyers entering as JAGs, doctors, intelligence officers, and others can earn commissions through the DCO program. (Chaplains are provided to the Coast Guard by the US Navy.)
College Student Pre-Comissioning Initiative (CSPI)
The College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI) is a scholarship program for college sophomores. This program provides students with valuable leadership, management, law enforcement, navigation and marine science skills and training. It also provides full payment of school tuition, fees, textbooks, a salary, medical insurance and other benefits during a student's junior and senior year of college. The CSPI program guarantees training at Officer Candidate School (OCS) upon successful completion of all program requirements. Each student is expected to complete his/her degree and all Coast Guard training requirements. Following the completion of OCS and commission as a Coast Guard officer, each student will be required to serve on active duty (full time) as an officer for 3 years.
Benefits: Full tuition, books and fees paid for two years, monthly salary of approximately $2,000, medical and life insurance, 30 days paid vacation per year, leadership training.
ROTC
Unlike the other armed services, the Coast Guard does not sponsor an ROTC program. It does, however, sponsor one Junior ROTC ("JROTC") program at the MAST Academy.
Chief Warrant Officers
Highly qualified enlisted personnel from E-6 through E-9, and with a minimum of eight years of experience, can compete each year for appointment as a Chief Warrant Officer (or CWO). Successful candidates are chosen by a board and then commissioned as Chief Warrant Officers (CWO-2) in one of sixteen specialties. Over time Chief Warrant Officers may be promoted to CWO-3 and CWO-4. The ranks of Warrant Officer (WO-1) and CWO-5 are not currently used in the Coast Guard. Chief Warrant Officers may also compete for the Chief Warrant Officer to Lieutenant program. If selected, the officer will be promoted to Lieutenant (O-3E). The "E" designates over four years active duty service as a Warrant Officer or Enlisted member and entitles the member to a higher rate of pay than other lieutenants.
Enlisted
Newly enlisted personnel are sent to 8 weeks of Basic Training at the Coast Guard Training Center Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey.
The current nine Recruit Training Objectives are:
* Self-discipline
* Military skills
* Marksmanship
* Vocational skills and academics
* Military bearing
* Physical fitness and wellness
* Water survival and swim qualifications
* Esprit de corps
* Core values (Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty)
Service Schools
Following graduation, most members are sent to their first unit while they await orders to attend advanced training in Class "A" Schools, in their chosen rating, the naval term for Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Members who earned high ASVAB scores or who were otherwise guaranteed an "A" School of choice while enlisting can go directly to their "A" School upon graduation from Boot Camp.
[edit] The Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Academy
The Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Academy is located at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Charleston, South Carolina, following relocation and merger of the former Law Enforcement School at Yorktown, Virginia, and the former Boarding Team Member School at Petaluma, California.
The Academy presents five courses:
* Boarding officer
* Boarding team member, which is a small part of the boarding officer course
* Radiation detection course, which is a level II operator coruse
* Vessel inspection class for enforcing Captain of the Port orders.
Training ranges from criminal law and the use of force to boarding team member certification to the use of radiation detection equipment. Much of the training is live, using handguns with laser inserts or firing non-lethal rounds.[12]
[edit] Petty Officers
Petty officers follow career development paths very similar to those of US Navy petty officers.
[edit] Chief Petty Officers
Enlisted Coast Guard members who have reached the pay grade of E-7, or Chief Petty Officer, must attend the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy at Training Center Petaluma in Petaluma, California, or an equivalent Department of Defense school, in order to be advanced to pay grade E-8. United States Air Force master sergeants, as well as international students representing their respective maritime services, are also eligible to attend the Academy. The basic themes of this school are:
* Professionalism
* Leadership
* Communications
* Systems thinking and lifelong learning
Equipment
The equipment of the USCG consists of thousands of vehicles (boats, ships, helicopters, fixed-winged aircraft, automobiles), communication systems (radio equipment, radio networks, radar, data networks), weapons, infrastructure such as United States Coast Guard Air Stations and local Small Boat Stations, each in a large variety.
Main article: Equipment of the United States Coast Guard
Symbols
Core values
The Coast Guard, like the other armed services of the United States, has a set of core values which serve as basic ethical guidelines to Coast Guard members. As listed in the recruit pamphlet, The Helmsman,[13] they are:
* Honor: Absolute integrity is our standard. A Coast Guardsman demonstrates honor in all things: never lying, cheating, or stealing. We do the right thing because it is the right thing to do—all the time.
* Respect: We value the dignity and worth of people: whether a stranded boater, an immigrant, or a fellow Coast Guard member; we honor, protect, and assist.
* Devotion to Duty: A Coast Guard member is dedicated to five maritime security roles: Maritime Safety, Maritime Law Enforcement, Marine Environmental Protection, Maritime Mobility and National Defense. We are loyal and accountable to the public trust. We welcome responsibility.
Coast Guard Ensign
The Coast Guard Ensign (flag) was first flown by the Revenue Cutter Service in 1799 to distinguish revenue cutters from merchant ships. The order stated the Ensign would be "16 perpendicular stripes, alternate red and white, the union of the ensign to be the arms of the United States in a dark blue on a white field." (There were 16 states in the United States at the time).
The purpose of the flag is to allow ship captains to easily recognize those vessels having legal authority to stop and board them. This flag is flown only as a symbol of law enforcement authority and is never carried as a parade standard.
Coast Guard Standard
The Coast Guard Standard is used in parades and carries the battle honors of the U.S. Coast Guard. It was derived from the jack of the Coast Guard ensign which used to fly from the stern of revenue cutters. The emblem is a blue eagle from the coat of arms of the United States on a white field. Above the eagle are the words "UNITED STATES COAST GUARD;" below the eagle is the motto, "SEMPER PARATUS" and the inscription "1790."
Racing Stripe
The Racing Stripe was designed in 1964 by the industrial design office of Raymond Loewy Associates to give the Coast Guard a distinctive, modern image and was first used in 1967. The symbol is a narrow blue bar, a narrow white stripe between, and a broad red[15] bar with the Coast Guard shield centered. The stripes are canted at a 64 degree angle, coincidentally the year the Racing Stripe was designed. The Stripe has been adopted for the use of other coast guards, such as the Canadian Coast Guard, the Italian Guardia Costiera, the Indian Coast Guard, and the Australian Customs Service. Auxiliary vessels maintained by the Coast Guard also carry the Stripe in inverted colors.
[edit] Semper Paratus
The official march of the Coast Guard is "Semper Paratus" (Latin for "Always Ready"). An audio clip can be found at [3].
Missions
The Coast Guard carries out five basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The five roles are:
* Maritime safety (including search and rescue)
* Maritime mobility
* maritime security
* National defense
* Protection of natural resources
The eleven statutory missions, found in section 888 of the Homeland Security Act are:
* Ports, Waterways and Coastal Security (PWCS)
* Counter Drug Law Enforcement
* Migrant Interdiction
* Other Law Enforcement (foreign fisheries)
* Living Marine Resources (domestic fisheries)
* Marine (maritime) Safety
* Marine (maritime) Environmental Protection
* Ice Operations
* Aids to Navigation (ATON)
* Defense Readiness
* Marine (maritime) Environmental Response
The OMEGA navigation system and the LORAN-C transmitters outside the USA were also run by the United States Coast Guard. The U.S. Coast Guard Omega Stations at Lamoure, North Dakota and Kāne'ohe, Hawai'i (Oahu) were both formally decommissioned and shut down on September 30, 1997.
[edit] Uniforms
In 1972, the current Coast Guard dress blue uniform was introduced for wear by both officers and enlisted personnel; the transition was completed during 1974. (Previously, a U.S. Navy-style uniform with Coast Guard insignia was worn.) Relatively similar in appearance to the old-style U.S. Air Force uniforms, the uniform consists of a blue four-pocket single breasted jacket and trousers in a slightly darker shade. A light-blue button-up shirt with a pointed collar, two front button-flap pockets, "enhanced" shoulder boards for officers, and pin-on collar insignia for Chief Petty Officers and enlisted personnel is worn when in shirt-sleeve order (known as "Tropical Blue Long"). It is similar to the World War II-era uniforms worn by Coast Guard Surfmen. Officer rank insignia parallels that of the U.S. Navy but with the gold Navy "line" star being replaced with the gold Coast Guard Shield and with the Navy blue background color replaced by Coast Guard blue. Enlisted rank insignia is also similar to the Navy with the Coast Guard shield replacing the eagle on collar and cap devices. Group Rate marks (stripes) for junior enlisted members (E-3 and below) also follow U. S. Navy convention with white for seaman, red for fireman, and green for airman. In a departure from the U. S. Navy conventions, all petty Officers E-6 and below wear red chevrons and all Chief Petty Officers wear gold. Unlike the US Navy, officers and CPO's do not wear khaki; all personnel wear the same color uniform. See USCG Uniform Regulations [4] for current regulations.
Coast Guard officers also have a white dress uniform, typically used for formal parade and change-of-command ceremonies. Chief Petty Officers, Petty Officers, and enlisted rates wear the standard Service Dress Blue uniform for all such ceremonies, except with a white shirt (replacing the standard light-blue). A white belt may be worn for honor guards. A mess dress uniform is worn by members for formal (black tie) evening ceremonies.
The current working uniform of a majority of Coast Guard members is the Operational Dress Uniform (ODU). The ODU is similar to the Battle Dress Uniform of other armed services, both in function and style. However, the ODU is in a solid dark blue with no camouflage patterns and does not have lower pockets on the blouse. The ODU is worn with steel-toed boots in most circumstances, but low-cut black or brown boat shoes may be prescribed for certain situations. The former dark blue working uniform has been withdrawn from use by the Coast Guard but may be worn by Auxiliarists until no longer serviceable. There is a second phase of Operational Dress Uniforms currently in the trial phases. This prototype resembles the current Battle Dress blouse, which is worn on the outside, rather than tucked in.
Coast Guard members serving in expeditionary combat units such as Port Security Units, Law Enforcement Detachments, and others, wear working operational uniforms that resemble Battle Dress uniforms, complete with "woodland" or "desert" camouflage colors. These units typically serve under, or with, the other armed services in combat theaters, necessitating similar uniforms.
Enlisted Coast Guardsmen wear the combination covers for full dress, a garrison cover for Class "B," wear, and a baseball-style cover either embroidered with "U.S. Coast Guard" in gold block lettering or the name of their ship, unit or station in gold, for the ODU uniform. Male and female company commanders (the Coast Guard equivalent of Marine Corps drill instructors) at Training Center Cape May wear the traditional "Smokey the Bear" campaign hat.
A recent issue of the Reservist magazine was devoted to a detailed and easy to understand graphical description of all the authorized uniforms.
[edit] Issues
The Coast Guard faces several issues in the near future.
Lack of coverage affects many areas with high maritime traffic. For example, local officials in Scituate, Massachusetts, have complained that there is no permanent Coast Guard station, and the presence of the Coast Guard in winter is vital. One reason for this lack of coverage is the relatively high cost of building storm-proof buildings on coastal property; the Cape Hatteras station was abandoned in 2005 after winter storms wiped out the 12-foot (3.7 m) sand dune serving as its protection from the ocean. Faced with these issues the Coast Guard has contracted with General Dynamics C4 System to provide a complete replacment of their 1970's era radio equipment. Rescue 21 is the United States Coast Guard’s advanced command, control and communications system. Created to improve the ability to assist mariners in distress and save lives and property at sea, the system is currently being installed in stages across the United States. The nation's existing maritime search and rescue (SAR) communications system has been in operation since the early 1970s. Difficult to maintain, increasingly unreliable and prone to coverage gaps, this antiquated system no longer meets the safety needs of America's growing marine traffic. In addition, it is incapable of supporting the Coast Guard's new mission requirements for homeland security, which require close cooperation with Department of Defense agencies as well as federal, state and local law enforcement authorities. Modernizing this system enhances the safety and protection of America's waterways.
Lack of strength to meet its assigned missions is being met by a legislated increase in authorized strength from 39,000 to 45,000. In addition, the volunteer Auxiliary is being called to take up more non-combatant missions. However, volunteer coverage does have limits.
Aging vessels are another problem, with the Coast Guard still operating some of the oldest naval vessels in the world. In 2005, the Coast Guard terminated contracts to upgrade the 110-foot (33.5 m) Island Class Cutters to 123-foot (37.5 m) cutters because of warping and distortion of the hulls. In late 2006, Admiral Thad Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, decommissioned all eight 123-foot (37 m) cutters due to dangerous conditions created by the lengthening of the hull- to include compromised watertight integrity. The Coast Guard has, as a result of the failed 110 ft (34 m) conversion, revised production schedules for the Fast Response Cutter (FRC). Of the navies and coast guards of the world's 40 largest navies, the U.S. Coast Guard's is the 38th oldest.[16]
Live fire exercises by Coast Guard boat and cutter crews in the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes attracted attention in the U.S. and Canada. The Coast Guard had proposed the establishment of 34 locations around the Great Lakes where live fire training using vessel-mounted machine guns were to be conducted periodically throughout the year. The Coast Guard said that these exercises are a critical part of proper crew training in support of the service's multiple missions on the Great Lakes, including law enforcement and anti-terrorism. Those that raised concerns about the firing exercises commented about safety concerns and that the impact on commercial shipping, tourism, recreational boating and the environment may be greater than what the Coast Guard had stated. The Coast Guard took public comment and conducted a series of nine public meetings on this issue. After receiving more than 1,000 comments, mostly opposing the Coast Guard's plan, the Coast Guard announced that they were withdrawing their proposal for target practice on the Great Lakes, although a revised proposal may be made in the future.[17][18][19][20][21]
[edit] Deployable Operations Group (DOG)
The Deployable Operations Group is a recently formed Coast Guard command. The DOG brings numerous existing deployable law enforcement, tactical and response units under a single command headed by a rear admiral. The planning for such a unit began after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and culminated with its formation on July 20th, 2007. The unit will contain several hundred highly trained Coast Guardsmen. Its missions will include maritime law enforcement, anti-terrorism, port security, and pollution response. Full operational capability is planned by summer 2008.[22]
[edit] Coast Guard Auxiliary
Main article: United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard, established on June 23, 1939. It works within the Coast Guard in carrying out its noncombatant and non-law enforcement missions. As of November 18, 2007 there were 30,074 active Auxiliarists. The Coast Guard has assigned primary responsibility for most recreational boating safety tasks to the Auxiliary, including public boating safety education and voluntary vessel safety checks. In recent history prior to 1997, Auxiliarists were limited to those tasks and on-water patrols supporting recreational boating safety.
In 1997, however, new legislation authorized the Auxiliary to participate in any and all Coast Guard missions except military combat and law enforcement. 33 CFR 5.31 states that: Members of the Auxiliary, when assigned to specific duties shall, unless otherwise limited by the Commandant, be vested with the same power and authority, in execution of such duties, as members of the regular Coast Guard assigned to similar duties.
Auxiliarists may support the law enforcement mission of the Coast Guard but do not directly participate in it. Auxiliarists and their vessels are not allowed to carry any weapons while serving in any Auxiliary capacity; however, they may serve as scouts, alerting regular Coast Guard units. Auxiliarists use their own vessels (i.e. boats) and aircraft, in carrying out Coast Guard missions, or apply specialized skills such as Web page design or radio watchstanding to assist the Coast Guard. When appropriately trained and qualified, they may serve upon Coast Guard vessels.
Auxiliarists undergo one of several levels of background check. For most duties, including those related to recreational boating safety, a simple identity check is sufficient. For some duties in which an Auxiliarist provides direct augmentation of Coast Guard forces, such as tasks related to port security, a more in-depth background check is required. Occasionally an Auxiliarist will need to obtain a security clearance through the Coast Guard in order to have access to classified information in the course of assigned tasking.
The basic unit of the Auxiliary is the Flotilla, which has at least 10 members and may have as many as 100. Five Flotillas in a geographical area form a Division. There are several divisions in each Coast Guard District. The Auxiliary has a leadership and management structure of elected officers, including Flotilla Commanders, Division Captains, and District Commodores, Atlantic and Pacific Area Commodores, and a national Commodore. However, legally, each Auxiliarist has the same 'rank', Auxiliarist.
In 2005, the Coast Guard transitioned to a geographical Sector organization. Correspondingly, a position of 'Sector Auxiliary Coordinator' was established. The Sector Auxiliary Coordinator is responsible for service by Auxiliarists directly to a Sector, including augmentation of Coast Guard Active Duty and Reserve forces when requested. Such augmentation is also referred to as force multiplication.
Auxiliarists wear the similar uniforms as Coast Guard officers with modified officers' insignia based on their office: the stripes on uniforms are silver, and metal insignia bear a red or blue "A" in the center. Unlike their counterparts in the Civil Air Patrol, Auxiliarists come under direct orders of the Coast Guard.
[edit] Coast Guard Reserve
Main article: United States Coast Guard Reserve
The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the military reserve force of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Reserve was founded on February 19, 1941. Like most military reserve units, Coast Guard reservists normally train on a schedule of one weekend a month and an additional 15 days each summer, although many work other days of the week, and often more frequently than just two days a month. Unlike the other armed services, many Coast Guard reservists possess the same training and qualifications as their active duty counterparts, and as such, can be found augmenting active duty Coast Guard units every day, rather than just serving in a unit made up exclusively of reservists.
During the Vietnam War and shortly thereafter, the Coast Guard considered abandoning the Reserve program, but the force was instead reoriented into force augmentation, where its principal focus was not just reserve operations, but to add to the readiness and mission execution of every day active duty personnel.
Since September 11, 2001, over 8,500 Reservists have been activated and served on tours of active duty. Coast Guard Port Security Units are entirely staffed with Reservists, except for five to seven active duty personnel. Additionally, most of the staffing the Coast Guard provides to Naval Coastal Warfare units are reservists.
The Reserve is managed by the Director of Reserve and Training, RDML Cynthia A. Coogan.
[edit] Medals and honors
See also: Awards and decorations of the United States military
One Coast Guardsman, Douglas Albert Munro, has earned the Medal of Honor, the highest military award of the United States.[23]
Six Coast Guardsmen have earned the Navy Cross and numerous men and women have earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.
The highest peacetime decoration awarded within the Coast Guard is the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal; prior to the transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, the highest peacetime decoration was the Department of Transportation Distinguished Service Medal. The highest unit award available is the Presidential Unit Citation.
In wartime, members of the Coast Guard are eligible to receive the U.S. Navy version of the Medal of Honor. A Coast Guard Medal of Honor is authorized but has not yet been developed or issued.
In May 2006, at the Change of Command ceremony when Admiral Thad Allen took over as Commandant, President George W. Bush awarded the entire Coast Guard, including the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation with hurricane device, for its efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
[edit] Organizations
[edit] Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl
Those who have piloted or flown in U.S. Coast Guard aircraft under official flight orders may join the Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl ("Flying Since the World was Flat").
[edit] USCGA Alumni Association
The United States Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association is devoted to providing service to and promoting fellowship among all U.S. Coast Guard Academy alumni and members of the Association.
Membership Types: Academy graduates and those who have attended the Academy are eligible for Regular membership; all others interested in the Academy and its Corps of Cadets are eligible for Associate membership. (Website)
[edit] Coast Guard CW Operators Association
The Coast Guard CW Operators Association (CGCWOA) is a membership organization comprised primarily of former members of the United States Coast Guard who held the enlisted rating of Radioman (RM) or Telecommunications Specialist (TC), and who employed International Morse Code (CW) in their routine communications duties on Coast Guard cutters and at shore stations. (Website)
[edit] Publications
The Coast Guard maintains a library of publications for public use as well as publications for Coast Guard and Auxiliary use.
Coast Guard, COMDTPUB P5720.2, is the regular publication for Coast Guardsmen.
[edit] Notable Coast Guardsmen and others associated with the USCG
Source: U.S. Coast Guard
* Derroll Adams, folk musician
* Nick Adams, actor
* Beau Bridges, actor
* Lloyd Bridges, actor
* Sid Caesar, comedian
* Lou Carnesecca, basketball coach, St. John's University
* Howard Coble, U.S. Congressman, North Carolina
* Chris Cooper, actor
* Richard Cromwell, actor
* Walter Cronkite, newscaster
* William D. Delahunt, U.S. Congressman, Massachusetts
* Jack Dempsey, professional boxer
* Buddy Ebsen (1908–2003), actor, comedian, dancer
* Blake Edwards, writer, director, producer
* Edwin D. Eshleman (1920-1985), former U.S. Congressman, Pennsylvania
* Arthur Fiedler, conductor
* Arthur A. Fontaine, captain, college sailing national champion, ISCA Hall of Fame
* Charles Gibson, newscaster
* Arthur Godfrey, entertainer
* Otto Graham, professional football player and coach
* Alex Haley, author of Roots and Coast Guard chief journalist
* Weldon Hill, pseudonym of William R. Scott, author of novel Onionhead, based on his World War II Coast Guard service
* William Hopper, actor
* Tab Hunter, actor
* Harvey E. Johnson, Jr., Vice Admiral, Deputy Director FEMA
* Steve Knight, Vocalist for Flipsyde
* Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, athlete, actor
* Jack Kramer, tennis professional
* Jacob Lawrence, artist
* Victor Mature, actor
* Douglas Munro, the only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor
* Frank Murkowski, former governor and former U.S. Senator, Alaska
* Sam Nunn, former U.S. Senator, Georgia
* Arnold Palmer, professional golfer
* Ed Parker, martial artist
* Claiborne Pell, former U.S. Senator, Rhode Island
* Cesar Romero, actor
* Sloan Wilson, writer
* Dorothy C. Stratton first director of the SPARS
* Gene Taylor, U.S. Congressman, Mississippi
* Ted Turner, businessman
* Rudy Vallee, entertainer
* Tom Waits, musician and actor
* Thornton Wilder, writer
* Gig Young, actor
* Popeye, Cartoon character, had tattoos and uniforms signifying he was in the USCG. "Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" shows him under a USCG sign.
[edit] Popular culture
The Coast Guard has been featured in several television series, such as Baywatch, CSI: Miami, and Deadliest Catch; and in film. A comedy, Onionhead, portrayed Andy Griffith as a Coast Guard recruit. The 2000 film The Perfect Storm depicted the rescue operations of the USCGC Tamaroa (WMEC-166) as one of its subplots. Special Counter-Drugs helicopters known as HITRONs are seen in action on Bad Boys II. In the 2005 family comedy Yours, Mine, and Ours, Dennis Quaid plays a fictional U.S. Coast Guard Academy superintendent who marries a character played by Rene Russo and together have 18 children. The 2006 film The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, was based on the training and operation of Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers. Additionally, a Coast Guard cutter and its commander and crew figured prominently in Tom Clancy's book Clear and Present Danger. The 2008 fourth season of the television series Lost erroneously depicted air crash survivors being transported to Hawaii in a Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft, however since the survivors had landed on the Indonesian island of Sumba (In the Indian Ocean thousands of miles from any Coast Guard district), arrangements for their repatriation would have been the business of the US State Department.
Final update on "the smallest bogie". I put 2 1x4 tiles with 2 studs on the bottom, put on a top plate to make the bogie similar in height to a normal LEGO non-powered bogie, and put the whole thing in a test rig.
It did 51.5cm (4 straight tracks) in 6.2 sec with my current gearing setup (about the maximum an M motor can handle), which means a scale speed of 12km/h. Still pretty slow - but at least it works! Track clearance is only 1 plate less than normal.
Ignore the huge 1x8 technic black brick with holes - my supply of bricks is limited :)