My Coast Guard News

Color photograph of the author, then Lt. Wayne Wheeler, on the bridge of Ironwood (WLB-297) in its home waters of Alaska. (Courtesy of the author)

Aug. 7, 2023

The Long Blue Line: The Ironwood—wartime ATON in Vietnam

"Back then it was less expensive to repair a ship in Japan than in a U.S. shipyard."

Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Yoder poses with FN Peele while taking a break during law enforcement training at the Portsmouth, Va., shooting range.

Aug. 2, 2023

“An experience you’re not gonna get anywhere else.” — Why Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Yoder serves at sea  

I wanted a little direction and opportunity for adventure, so we drove 4 1/2 hours from Wyoming to the nearest recruiter — and here I am.

Aug. 1, 2023

Changing the way we do business

Unmanned aircraft systems offer increased capabilities and reduced risks to crews.

This desegregation article series is dedicated to the all-African American crews of the Coast Guard’s Pea Island Lifeboat Station located in North Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard)

July 26, 2023

The Long Blue Line: Part III “When I say Americans, I mean all Americans!” — Segregation’s take-down by President Harry Truman

Denial of employment and promotion, and separate dining and restroom facilities often characterized the experience and limited upward mobility for African American workers.

Major Charity Adams inspects arrivals to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, comprised of African American women serving during World War II. (National Archives (531249))

July 24, 2023

The Long Blue Line: Part II — “Available and needed workers have been barred from employment” — the segregated military and civil service environments

The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS), predecessor to the United States Coast Guard (USCG), utilized both free and enslaved Black people, and restricted their roles to cooks, stewards and seamen.

The mixed-race crew of African American enlisted men, with white officers and NCOs, on board cutter Yocona in 1919, at the time of the U.S. government’s segregation policy. (U.S. Coast Guard)

July 20, 2023

The Long Blue Line: “There Shall be Equal Opportunity for All” — Why President Truman’s desegregation orders were necessary

On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed a pair of executive orders, the combination of which banned racial segregation in the armed forces and federal civil service.

Mr. Rasicot is a 1984 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. He holds a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Maryland.

July 10, 2023

Message from Secretary Mayorkas on CWMD Transitions

Ms. Mary Ellen Callahan will be appointed as the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office