For more than a century and a quarter the officers and men of the Coast Guard have been influenced by the traditions, and have been guided by the customs, practices, and methods of administration, of the United States Navy. The law provides that the Coast Guard “shall constitute a part of the military forces of the United States and shall operate under the Treasury Department in time of peace and operate as a part of the Navy, subject to the orders of the Secretary of the Navy, in time of war or when the President shall so direct.” In every war in which this country has been engaged, the officers and men of the Coast Guard have fought against the common enemy alongside their brothers of the regular Navy. The Coast Guard stands ready to pass into the naval service whenever the national exigencies require. Having fought as a part of the Navy in all our wars, and taking an especial pride in being fully prepared to perform creditable service in the Navy whenever called upon, the officers and men of the Coast Guard are inspired not only by the high traditions and fine history of their own service, but also by the splendid traditions, history, and indoctrination of the United States Navy. They have thus two rich heritages to be proud of and two standards of the same lofty character to live up to.
The above statements justify the conclusion, I think, that no officer of the Navy, whose profession requires him to be cognizant of all matters connected with the national defense afloat, can afford to be uninformed regarding the Coast Guard. The Commandant and all other personnel to the Coast Guard are most grateful of the United States Naval Institute for devoting such a large part of this issue of the Proceedings to articles descriptive of various phases of the diversified work of the Coast Guard. The Naval Institute is performing a splendid work that has the well-merited admiration of Coast Guard personnel. The issues of the Proceedings are most helpful and stimulating to its many readers in the Coast Guard. It is earnestly hoped that all officers and men of the Coast Guard who may see these lines will do all in their power to increase the representation from the Coast Guard on the Institute’s list of membership.
The Coast Guard occupies a unique position in our scheme of government, and no other nation maintains an organization at all like it. Known originally as the Revenue Marine and later as the Revenue Cutter Service, it was created by an act of the First Congress, approved by President Washington on August 4, 1790, and placed under the Treasury Department. It may be remarked, in passing, that the Navy Department did not exist at that time. The act of March 2, 1799, provided that the cutters “shall, whenever the President of the United States shall so direct, cooperate with the Navy of the United States.” The early history of the service is replete with interesting instances of naval activities by the cutters. The years 1798 and 1799, in which the young republic was involved in certain difficulties with France, witnessed very important naval operations by vessels of the service, which cruised against French privateers in the Caribbean Sea and among the West Indian islands. The cutter Pickering made two cruises to the West Indies during this period and captured ten prizes, one of which carried three times her own force.
By the act of January 28, 1915, that splendid organization, the Life-Saving Service, was united with the Revenue Cutter Service and the whole was named the United States Coast Guard. The service thus became, in a real sense, the guardian of the coast, through its vessels cruising in coastal waters and its cordon of stations stretching along the beach.
The Coast Guard has a sort of dual personality in the following respect. On the one hand, it is a part of the national defense, it has participated with some distinction in every war in which our nation has engaged, and it must be fully prepared to pass unconditionally into the naval establishment in time of national emergency. On the other hand, it is charged with a large number of peace-time duties, most of which are essentially humanitarian in character. The most important peace-time duty of the Coast Guard is the inspiring work of saving life and property at sea. This is the traditional, outstanding work of the service, to which all else is subordinated. It may be of interest to record that during the five-year
period ending June 30, 1928, the number of lives saved or persons rescued from peril was 15,279, and the instances of lives saved and vessels assisted were 12,370. There is not a day during the entire year in which the Coast Guard, through its instrumentalities, does not perform some manner of assistance to vessels or persons in distress.
Whatever else may be said of the work of the Coast Guard, it certainly develops sailormen and boatmen, words not necessarily synonymous. Officers constantly engaged in rescue and assistance work afloat, in searching for and destroying derelicts, in the work of the International Ice Patrol, in Alaskan cruising, in enforcing our country’s laws at sea, must have, or acquire initiative, good judgment, determination, and hardihood, traits that will always be outstanding characteristics of good leaders of men in peace or in war.
“Semper Paratus” is the historic motto of the Coast Guard. It aims to be always ready for any duty that may be given it to do, no matter what that duty may be. There can be no finer or more inspiring objective than the twofold duty with which the Coast Guard is charged—to defend flag and country at sea in time of war and to serve humanity at sea in time of peace.
It is a source of great pride and gratification to the personnel of the Coast Guard to have the respect and loyal and unfailing support of their brothers in service, the officers and men of the United States Navy.