My Coast Guard News

Shown is part of a panoramic photograph of Nome, with the small white Nome Boat Station located in the center. Note the proximity of the boathouse to the open beach and the degree of exposure to high seas. (Library of Congress)

Dec. 17, 2025

Station Nome—saving lives near the Arctic Circle!

Of all the lifesaving stations in Coast Guard history, by far the most remote station was located at Nome, Alaska.

Cutter Bear finding a lead through the ice off the coast of Alaska. (Photo courtesy of NOAA)

Dec. 12, 2025

Overland Expedition—Arctic’s greatest rescue of all time!

Considered the greatest rescue mission in Arctic history, the Overland Relief Expedition cemented Captain David Jarvis's legacy as one of the service's most celebrated officers.

Left, LCDR Smith posing with noted Arctic explorer Lincoln Ellsworth in front of the Graf Zeppelin. (U.S. Coast Guard photo) Right, Official service photograph of LCDR Edward “Iceberg” Smith taken before the historic 1931 Graf Zeppelin Arctic expedition. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Dec. 10, 2025

The Long Blue Line: Iceberg Smith and the 1931 Graf Zeppelin Arctic Expedition

LCDR Edward “Iceberg” Smith's work during the 1931 Graf Zeppelin Arctic Expedition was a key influence in the modernization of iceberg surveillance.

Explore stories on Puget Sound’s lifeline to Alaska, the Marine Exchange of Alaska, and more in the latest edition of Proceedings.

Dec. 8, 2025

Proceedings: Beyond the horizon

The Fall 2025 issue of Proceeding is here!

Wind-Class icebreaker Northwind breaking ice in the Antarctic in 1947 during Operation High Jump. This mission marked the first of many Coast Guard icebreaker assignments to Antarctica. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Aug. 8, 2025

Polar icebreaking—The short history of a BIG mission

Since the late 1800s, the U.S. Coast Guard has been essential to U.S. polar operations.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) approaches the pier during its return to home port in Seattle on Dec. 15, 2023, following a multi-month deployment to the Arctic and circumnavigating North America. The Healy is the largest and most technologically advanced polar icebreaker in the Coast Guard's fleet and provides more than 4,200 square feet of scientific laboratory space, numerous electronic sensor systems, oceanographic winches, and accommodations for up to 50 scientists. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Josh Andresky)

Dec. 20, 2023

Cutter Healy returns home after circumnavigating the globe

“The Healy continued demonstrating the nation’s commitment to the global science community as it seeks to improve understanding of the changing Arctic, particularly in ice-covered waters difficult to reach by most research vessels.” - Capt. Michele Schallip, commanding officer of Healy.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy crew members and science team enjoy ice liberty at the North Pole, Oct. 2, 2022. U.S. Coast Guard video photo by Chief Petty Officer Roy Mesen Scott.

Dec. 22, 2022

Dear Santa: The North Pole is really cool

Join the Coast Guard Cutter Healy's crew on their journey north of 90 degrees.

Coast Guard servicemember smiling next to scientific instruments on board Cutter Healy

Dec. 8, 2021

Coast Guard research aimed at improving performance at high latitudes

Working to improve connectivity for cutters underway in the arctic region

The last known photograph of the Bear taken from a Coast Guard aircraft before it sank in March 1963. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Nov. 2, 2021

Captain Healy’s Cutter Bear—once lost, now found!

As with so many forgotten Coast Guard stories of heroism, bravery, and courage, the story of Michael Augustine Healy and his trusty cutter Bear is unknown to most Americans. Healy was born in 1839 on a plantation in Georgia to a plantation owner and a slave. His father sent Healy north with his siblings so they would escape enslavement in the South

Narcotics, interdicted by the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Legare, lie next to the ship at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Florida, Oct. 15, 2021. The vessel's crew conducted an eight-week counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South and the Coast Guard 11th District. (U.S Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Charly Tautfest)

Oct. 28, 2021

Frontline Focus: The first Coast Guard Reserve Aviators have ‘landed’ at Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile and more.

Frontline Focus: The first Coast Guard reserve aviators have ‘landed’ at Coast Guard Aviation Training Center, Mobile; Coast Guard Cutter Legare returns home from 61-day counter-narcotic deployment; Coast Guard medevacs man from fishing vessel, 200 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor, Alaska; and Coast Guard holds Arctic discussions in Boston aboard Coast Guard Cutter Healy.

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