As we observe National EMS Week from May 17–23, 2026, the Coast Guard is taking a moment to honor and thank the dedicated Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and Medical Officers who serve on the forefront of our Service’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
Every day, Coast Guard EMTs provide critical, lifesaving contributions in unpredictable and high-stress environments. Operating as the crucial first link in the chain of survival, our EMS practitioners continuously preserve the lives of their shipmates and the public, often doing so in austere and isolated maritime settings where higher-level care is hours or even days away.
The operational readiness and lifesaving work of our EMTs are directly enabled by our Medical Officers. Serving as Local Emergency Medical Advisors (LEMAs), these officers provide the essential medical oversight, protocol standardization, skills verification, and quality assurance required to ensure that care delivered in the field meets the highest standards of safety and efficacy. Together, these dedicated professionals have demonstrated exceptional adaptability, especially in embracing recent comprehensive policy modernizations designed to standardize and elevate pre-hospital care across the Coast Guard.
A Year in Review:
The impact of the Coast Guard EMS program over the past year has been profound. Here is a look at some of the incredible milestones and statistics our EMTs and LEMAs have achieved:
- A Growing Force: We currently have 978 Credentialed CG-EMTs working under 82 LEMAs at over 160 units. This footprint includes 49 Cutters, all Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF) units, and even the White House!
- Expanding the Ranks: Over the past year, 169 members have joined our EMS ranks by successfully passing the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) certification test.
- Saving Lives: Coast Guard EMS personnel have treated 484 patients since May 2025.
- Busiest Responders:
- Busiest Unit: Coast Guard Fire Department (CGFD) Cape May leads the Service with 285 patients treated by EMS.
- Busiest Air Stations: It is a two-way tie between AIRSTA Cape Cod and AIRSTA Sitka, with each unit treating 35 patients.
- Clinical Innovation at AIRSTA San Francisco: The unit established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with local hospitals, allowing unit EMTs to gain more hands-on patient care experience, significantly improving their clinical skills and confidence.
- Streamlining Training at TRACEN Petaluma: The EMT School proposed a new recertification skills sheet that reduces redundant tasks. This innovative update was officially adopted by the EMS Governance and Advisory Council for the 2027 recertification cycle.
- Heroism at Sea on CGC Bertholf: EMTs aboard the Cutter Bertholf provided critical, life-saving care to a severely injured mariner during a prolonged transit, proving instrumental in stabilizing the patient prior to their transfer to higher-level care.
- Force Multiplication at CG Forces - Rio Grande: The unit credentialed new CG EMTs by leveraging the civilian skills of deployed reservists. This initiative improved field care for the austere environment of border security operations and successfully augmented U.S. Border Patrol capabilities in the region.
To all our EMTs and Medical Officers: Thank you for everything you do and for your unwavering commitment to providing excellent field and pre-hospital care. We look forward to building this vital program and reaching new heights in the year to come.
Happy National EMS Week!
-USCG-