Fort Gratiot Light / ˈ ɡ r æ ʃ ɪ t / , the first lighthouse in the state of Michigan , was constructed north of Fort Gratiot in 1825 by Lucius Lyon , who later became one of Michigan's first U.S. Senators.
94-580: The Fort Gratiot Light marks the entrance to the St. Clair River from Lake Huron (going south) in the southern portion of Michigan's Thumb . The light is still active and the grounds are an active Coast Guard facility, but it has recently been handed over to the Port Huron Museum . It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Michigan. There is also a public beach and park on the property, known as Lighthouse Beach. It
188-522: A "system of cutters," each ship operated under the direction of the customs officials in the port to which it was assigned. Several names, including "Revenue-Marine," were used as the service gradually becoming more organized. Eventually it was officially organized as the United States Revenue Cutter Service . In addition to its regular law enforcement and customs duties, revenue cutters and their crews were used to support and supplement
282-523: A Coast Guard Reserve Officer. Lawyers, engineers, intelligence officers, military aviators holding commissions in other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces requesting interservice transfers to the Coast Guard, graduates of maritime academies, and certain other individuals may also receive an officer's commission in the Coast Guard through the Direct Commission Officer (DCO) program. Depending on
376-723: 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 25 November 2002, the Homeland Security Act was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush, designating
470-565: A combat environment. The squadron operated divisions in three separate areas during the period of 1965 to 1970. Twenty-six Point-class cutters with their crews and a squadron support staff were assigned to the U.S. Navy with the mission of interdicting the movement of arms and supplies from the South China Sea into South Vietnam by Viet Cong and North Vietnam junk and trawler operators. The squadron also provided 81mm mortar naval gunfire support to nearby friendly units operating along
564-457: A departure from the Navy conventions, all petty officers E-6 and below wear red chevrons and all chief petty officers wear gold. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is a four-year service academy located in New London, Connecticut . Approximately 200 cadets graduate each year, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as an ensign in the Coast Guard. Graduates are obligated to serve
658-533: A fixed white light. The old fourth-order lens was taken to Saginaw and installed in the Saginaw River Lighthouse . The fog signal building was added in 1900, and a Coast Guard facility was constructed on land south of the lighthouse complex in 1932. The two facilities merged in 1939. The lighthouse currently has a DCB-224 aero beacon manufactured by the Carlisle & Finch Company. This lighthouse
752-617: A gold Coast Guard Shield in lieu of a line star or staff corps officer insignia. Highly qualified enlisted personnel in pay grades E-6 through E-9 with a minimum of eight years' experience can compete each year for appointment as warrant officers (WO). Successful candidates are chosen by a board and then commissioned as chief warrant officer two (CWO2) in one of twenty-one specialties. Over time, chief warrant officers may be promoted to chief warrant officer three (CWO3) and chief warrant officer four (CWO4). The ranks of warrant officer (WO1) and chief warrant officer five (CWO5) are not currently used in
846-462: A minimum of five years on active duty. Most graduates are assigned to duty aboard Coast Guard cutters immediately after graduation, either as Deck Watch Officers (DWOs) or as Engineer Officers in Training (EOITs). Smaller numbers are assigned directly to flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida or to shore duty at Coast Guard Sector , District, or Area headquarters units. In addition to
940-647: A separate federal agency, also within the Treasury Department, with fulltime paid crews. In 1915 these two agencies, the Revenue Cutter Service and the Lifesaving Service, were merged to create the modern United States Coast Guard. The Lighthouse Service and the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation were absorbed by the Coast Guard 1939 and 1942 respectively. In 1967, the Coast Guard moved from
1034-619: A service of the Department of the Navy . This arrangement has a broad historical basis, as the Coast 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 within the Navy
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#17328726234541128-496: A staff job, or an operations ashore billet. OCS is the primary channel through which the Coast Guard enlisted grades ascend to the commissioned officer corps. Unlike the other military services, the Coast Guard does not have a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program. However, the Coast Guard does have the Select Reserve Direct Commission, an officer program for prospective candidates interested serving as
1222-411: A summary table of the authorities of the Coast Guard's 192 special agents and 3,780 maritime law enforcement boarding officers. Coast Guardsmen have the legal authority to carry their service-issued firearms on and off base. This is rarely done in practice, however; at many Coast Guard stations, commanders prefer to have all service-issued weapons in armories when not in use. Still, one court has held in
1316-437: A total workforce of 87,569. The formal name for a uniformed member of the Coast Guard is "coast guardsman", irrespective of gender. "Coastie" is an informal term commonly used to refer to current or former Coast Guard personnel. In 2008, the term "guardian" was introduced as an alternative but was later dropped. Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr. stated that it was his belief that no Commandant had the authority to change what members of
1410-492: Is a significant component in the Great Lakes Waterway , whose shipping channels permit cargo vessels to travel between the upper and lower Great Lakes . The river, which some consider a strait , flows in a southerly direction, connecting the southern end of Lake Huron to the northern end of Lake St. Clair . It branches into several channels near its mouth at Lake St. Clair, creating a broad delta region known as
1504-597: Is across the river from Point Edward Front Range Light . With the completion of the Erie Canal , traffic in the Great Lakes increased dramatically. Coal was being brought from Michigan, stone (and more timber) was being brought from Wisconsin and the entrance to the St. Clair River became a bottleneck. In 1823, Congress appropriated $ 3,500 to construct a light in "Michigan Territory" near Fort Gratiot. The contract for construction of
1598-412: Is leveraged as a force of both diplomatic soft power and humanitarian and security assistance over the more overtly confrontational nature of "gray hulled" warships. As a humanitarian service, it saves tens of thousands of lives a year at sea and in U.S. waters, and provides emergency response and disaster management for a wide range of human-made and natural catastrophic incidents in the U.S. and throughout
1692-520: Is managed and used by the Coast Guard for tracking pollution and safety incidents in the nation's ports. The National Maritime Center (NMC) is the merchant mariner credentialing authority for the USCG under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security . To ensure a safe, secure, and environmentally sound marine transportation system, the mission of the NMC is to issue credentials to fully qualified mariners in
1786-689: Is not included. Through the Great Lakes Agreement, a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) was created to initiate cleanup measures. Its background report noted the adverse effects of pollution in the river and lakes: According to the Stage 1 Remedial Action Plan (RAP), the reasons for the Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat beneficial use impairment (BUI) in the St. Clair River were general loss of the aquatic plant community due to industrial, agricultural, recreational, and urban developments. A large blob of perchloroethylene
1880-591: Is on the grounds of the former St. Elizabeths Hospital in the Anacostia section of Southeast Washington, across the Anacostia River from former Coast Guard headquarters. The fiscal year 2016 budget request for the U.S. Coast Guard was $ 9.96 billion. The Coast Guard's current district organization is divided into 9 districts. Their designations, district office and area of responsibility are as follows: Shore establishment commands exist to support and facilitate
1974-491: Is the oldest continuously operating naval service of the United States. As secretary of the treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue-Marine, whose original purpose was collecting customs duties at U.S. seaports. By the 1860s, the service was known as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue-Marine gradually fell into disuse. The modern U.S. Coast Guard was formed by a merger of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and
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#17328726234542068-754: Is the oldest lighthouse in Michigan still in active service. The light is listed on the National Historic Register , Reference #76001975. In 1971, the Michigan Historical Commission named Fort Gratiot Light a historic site In 2004, the Port Huron U.S. Coast Guard station moved into a new headquarters adjacent to the light. The Coast Guard closed the lighthouse to visitors in August 2008 due to deteriorating brickwork and falling debris. A structural assessment and repairs will take place before
2162-661: The Black , Pine , and Belle rivers drain 780,600 acres (315,900 ha) in Lapeer , Macomb , Sanilac , and St. Clair counties; the watersheds around Bunce Creek and Marine City are relatively small. Most of the watershed away from the river in Ontario and Michigan is used for agriculture . There were numerous sugar beet farms in the flatlands, and an annual beet market was held in Marine City, Michigan , for years at harvest time. Many of
2256-550: The Blue Water Bridge , this light can be seen on the righthand side of one's motor vehicle. St. Clair River The St. Clair River is a 40.5-mile-long (65.2 km) river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair , forming part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States and between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan . The river
2350-644: The Department of the Treasury from its inception until 1967. A congressional authority transfer to the Navy has only happened once: in 1917, during World War I . By the time the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, the U.S. Coast Guard had already been transferred to the Navy by President Franklin Roosevelt . Created by Congress as the Revenue-Marine on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton , it
2444-423: The St. Clair Flats . Like a strait, the river serves as a narrow strip of water which connects two larger bodies of water. The river is 40.5 miles (65.2 km) long and drops 5 feet (2 m) in elevation from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. The flow rate averages around 182,000 cubic feet per second (5,200 m /s), and the drainage area is 223,600 square miles (579,000 km ). This takes into account
2538-415: The U.S. Department of the Treasury to the newly formed U.S. Department of Transportation , an arrangement that lasted until it was placed under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2003 as part of legislation designed to more efficiently protect American interests following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 . In times of war, the Coast Guard or individual components of it can operate as
2632-504: The U.S. Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915, under the Department of the Treasury. In 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was also merged into the U.S. Coast Guard. As one of the country's six armed services, the U.S. Coast Guard and its predecessor have participated in every major U.S. war since 1790, from the Quasi-War with France to the Global War on Terrorism . As of December 2021,
2726-474: The United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services . The service is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the United States military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its duties. It is the largest coast guard in
2820-695: The beneficial use impairments (BUI) were impaired, which would lead to a $ 21 million investment from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative . After several habitat projects, only two impairments exists: the Restrictions on Fish and Wildlife Consumption and the Restrictions on Drinking Water Consumption or Taste and Odor Problems. A beneficial use impairment is a change within the physical, biological, and chemical consistency that causes significant environmental degradation . The St. Clair River has undergone several projects and clean up to remove
2914-410: The 19th-century English immigrants to this area came from Lincolnshire , England, where sugar beets were a major commodity crop in the 19th and 20th centuries. A few forest and wetland areas have survived. Their area has declined significantly since European-American settlement, clearing, and development of cultivated fields for various agricultural crops. Much of the shoreline on both sides of
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3008-575: The 20th century, traveled throughout the Great Lakes, transporting commodities such as iron ore from the Mesabi Range , copper , and grain , all products of settlers' labor. Iron was taken to Ashtabula, Ohio and other industrial cities for processing and steel manufacture, and grain was often shipped through to major eastern markets such as Cleveland and New York City . From the late 19th century, lake steamers carried passengers and traveled among
3102-552: The Academy, prospective officers, who already hold a college degree, may enter the Coast Guard through Officer Candidate School (OCS), also located at the Coast Guard Academy. OCS is a 17-week course of instruction that prepares candidates to serve effectively as officers in the Coast Guard. In addition to indoctrinating students into a military lifestyle, OCS provides a wide range of highly technical information necessary to perform
3196-528: The BUIs that affected the area. There are currently only 2 BUIs left on the St. Clair River, and once those 2 are removed, the river might go through the delisting process. The St. Clair River AOC includes the entire river, from the Blue Water Bridge at the north end, to the southern tip of Seaway Island, west to St. Johns Marsh and east to include the north shore of Mitchells Bay on Lake St. Clair. Anchor Bay
3290-519: 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 . As members of the military, coast guardsmen on active and reserve service are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and receive
3384-469: The Coast Guard are called as the term coast guardsman is found in Title 14 USC which established the Coast Guard in 1915. "Team Coast Guard" refers to the four components of the Coast Guard as a whole: Regular, Reserve, Auxiliary, and Coast Guard civilian employees. Commissioned officers in the Coast Guard hold pay grades ranging from O-1 to O-10 and have the same rank structure as the Navy. Officers holding
3478-634: The 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. The two services jointly provide instructor staff for the National Search and Rescue School that trains SAR mission planners and coordinators. Previously located on Governors Island, New York,
3572-448: The Coast Guard is frequently lauded for its quick responsiveness and adaptability 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
3666-535: 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. 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, man-made or natural, from occurring, or reacting quickly should one occur to avoid negative impacts to
3760-539: The Coast Guard operate under Department of the Navy operational control while other Coast Guard units remain under the Department of Homeland Security . The Deployable Operations Group (DOG) was a Coast Guard command established in July 2007. The DOG established a single command authority to rapidly provide the Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Department of Justice and other interagency operational commanders adaptive force packages drawn from
3854-423: The Coast Guard to be placed under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security . The transfer of administrative control from the U.S. Department of Transportation to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was completed the following year, on 1 March 2003. The U.S. Coast Guard reports directly to the civilian secretary of homeland security. However, under 14 U.S.C. § 3 as amended by section 211 of
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3948-598: The Coast Guard's deployable specialized force units. The DOG was disestablished on 22 April 2013 and reorganized into Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF) units were placed under the control of the Atlantic and Pacific Area Commanders. The planning for the unit began after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and culminated with its formation on 20 July 2007. Its missions included maritime law enforcement, anti-terrorism , port security , pollution response, and diving operations . There were over 25 specialized units within
4042-500: The Coast Guard. Chief warrant officers may also compete for the Chief Warrant Officer to Lieutenant Program. If selected, the warrant 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 members of the Coast Guard have pay grades from E-1 to E-9 and also follow
4136-782: The Deployable Operations Group including the Maritime Security Response Team , Maritime Safety and Security Teams , Law Enforcement Detachments, Port Security Units , the National Strike Force , and Regional Dive Lockers. The DOG also managed Coast Guard personnel assigned to the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and was involved in the selection of Coast Guard candidates to attend Navy BUD/S and serve with Navy SEAL Teams . The new Department of Homeland Security headquarters complex
4230-483: The Detroit River. European demand for American furs, especially beaver , was high until the 1830s. During the mid-19th century and later, Port Huron and Marine City, Michigan , became major shipbuilding centers, especially the latter. Lumber harvested on The Thumb of Michigan was shipped downriver as log rafts to Detroit for processing and export both domestically and internationally. The wooden ships built along
4324-524: The Mean Long-Term Water Level of 578.8 feet. This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the St. Clair River from Lake St. Clair upstream to Lake Huron . 42°31′59″N 82°40′29″W / 42.53306°N 82.67472°W / 42.53306; -82.67472 United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard ( USCG ) is the maritime security , search and rescue , and law enforcement service branch of
4418-514: The Navy in various armed conflicts including the American Civil War . A separate federal agency, the U.S. Life-Saving Service , developed alongside the Revenue-Marine. Prior to 1848, there were various charitable efforts at creating systems to provide assistance to shipwrecked mariners from shore-based stations, notably by the Massachusetts Humane Society . The federal government began funding lifesaving stations in 1848 but funding
4512-901: The South Vietnamese coastline and assisted the U.S. Navy during Operation Sealords . Coast Guard Squadron Three , was a combat unit formed by the United States Coast Guard in 1967 for service during the Vietnam War . Placed under the operational control of the United States Navy and based in Pearl Harbor . It consisted of five USCG High Endurance Cutters operating on revolving six-month deployments. A total of 35 High Endurance Cutters took part in operations from May 1967 to December 1971, most notably using their 5-inch guns to provide naval gunfire support missions. Often units within
4606-493: The St. Clair River shoreline and flats consist of two biological zones: upland and transitional, both of which are normally above the water table , but which may be flooded periodically. The upland forests consist of deciduous species, many of which are near their northern climatic limit. Most pre-European settlement trees have been cleared for agriculture, industry, or urbanization. Remaining forest stands, such as oak savannas as well as lakeplain prairies, are found along
4700-436: The St. Clair River is urbanized and extensively industrialized . Intensive development has occurred in and near the adjacent cities of Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia , Ontario , at the northern end of the river. The most dense concentration of industry, including a large petrochemical complex, lies along the Ontario shore south of Sarnia . Historically Sarnia was founded as a fur trading post. Several communities along
4794-705: The St. Clair River ranges from deep and fast near the Blue Water Bridge to shallow and slow in the lower river near its discharge point into Lake St. Clair. Each area provides a unique habitat for aquatic life: The St. Clair River is a binational Area of Concern (AOC) that borders both the United States and Canada. An AOC is an area within the Great Lakes, that has suffered from environmental destruction. The St. Clair River has been considered an AOC because conventional pollutants such as bacteria , heavy metals , toxic organics , contaminated sediment , fish consumption advisories, impacted animal and plant life, and beach closings. The United States found that 10 out of 14 of
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#17328726234544888-401: The St. Clair dropped the long-term average of Great Lakes Huron and Michigan by about 16 inches. A bi-national Great Lakes water-level study concluded in 2013 that unexpected erosion since the last major St. Clair dredging project in the early 1960s has dropped the lakes' long-term average by an additional 3 to 5 inches. Today, these lakes are nearly 2 feet lower than before human modifications to
4982-672: The St. Clair rely on the river as their primary source of drinking water . About one-third to one-half of the residents of Michigan receive their water from the St. Clair/Detroit River waterway. Industries including petroleum refineries , chemical manufacturers, paper mills , salt producers, and electric power plants also need high-quality water for their operations. Since the late 20th century and passage of environmental laws to protect air and water quality, there have been occasional incidents when some of these industries have illegally contaminated river waters after discharging pollutants . Major clean-up activities were required. Land areas of
5076-624: The Treasury Alexander Hamilton lobbied Congress to fund the construction of ten cutters , which it did on 4 August 1790 (now celebrated as the Coast Guard's official birthday). Until the re-establishment of the Navy in 1798, these "revenue cutters" were the only naval force of the early United States. As such, the cutters and their crews frequently took on additional duties, including combating piracy, rescuing mariners in distress, ferrying government officials, and even carrying mail. Initially not an organized federal agency at all, merely
5170-405: The U.S. Coast Guard is the second smallest of the U.S. military service branches in terms of membership, the service by itself is the world's 12th largest naval force. The Coast Guard carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are: With a decentralized organization and much responsibility placed on even the most junior personnel,
5264-572: The U.S. Coast Guard's authorized force strength is 44,500 active duty personnel and 7,000 reservists. The service's force strength also includes 8,577 full-time civilian federal employees and 31,000 uniformed volunteers of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary . The service maintains an extensive fleet of roughly 250 coastal and ocean-going cutters , patrol ships, buoy tenders, tugs, and icebreakers; as well as nearly 2,000 small boats and specialized craft. It also maintains an aviation division consisting of more than 200 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. While
5358-421: The U.S. Navy , as well as officers from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are assigned to the Coast Guard to perform chaplain-related functions and medical-related functions, respectively. These officers wear Coast Guard uniforms but replace the Coast Guard insignia with that of their own service. The Navy and Coast Guard share identical officer rank insignia except that Coast Guard officers wear
5452-522: The United States maritime jurisdiction. The six uniformed services that make up the U.S. Armed Forces are defined in Title 10 of the U.S. Code : "The term "armed forces" means the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard." The Coast Guard is further defined by Title 14 of the United States Code : "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and
5546-510: 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 in 2007, Coast Guard commandant admiral Thad Allen said the new maritime strategy reinforced the time-honored missions the service has carried out in the United States since 1790. "It reinforces the Coast Guard maritime strategy of safety, security and stewardship, and it reflects not only
5640-445: 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
5734-470: The case of People v. Booth that Coast Guard boarding officers are qualified law enforcement officers authorized to carry personal firearms off-duty for self-defense. The Coast Guard traced its roots to the small fleet of vessels maintained by the United States Department of the Treasury beginning in the 1790s to enforce tariffs (an important source of revenue for the new nation). Secretary of
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#17328726234545828-573: The combined drainage areas of Lakes Huron , Michigan , and Superior . Generations of indigenous cultures traveled by canoe on the lakes and rivers in this area, carrying on trade across the region and continent. In the 18th century, French voyageurs and coureurs des bois traveled on the river to trade with the Ojibwa and other regional Native Americans and transport furs in canoes to major posts of French and British traders, including Fort Detroit , built in 1701 downriver from Lake St. Clair on
5922-699: 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 Maritime Suspicious Activity and Security Breach Reports. Details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. The Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) database system
6016-410: The duties of a Coast Guard officer. Graduates of OCS are usually commissioned as ensigns, but some with advanced graduate degrees may enter as lieutenants (junior grade) or lieutenants . 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 cutter, flight training,
6110-453: The frequent low bidder, was being awarded a growing number of contracts to fulfill the nation's need for navigational aids on the East Coast. Lewis sub-contracted the construction of the tower and keeper's dwelling that would become known as the "Fort Gratiot Light" to Daniel Warren of Rochester, New York. Work commenced on the structure, but appears to have been running far beyond the scope of
6204-477: 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. Title 14 USC, section 2 authorizes the Coast Guard to enforce U.S. federal laws. This authority is further defined in 14 U.S.C. § 522 , which gives law enforcement powers to all Coast Guard commissioned officers, warrant officers, and petty officers. Unlike
6298-519: The lighthouse and keeper's dwelling was awarded to Captain Winslow Lewis of Massachusetts. Lewis was the inventor of the patented Lewis lamp , which the Fifth Auditor had universally adopted as the primary source of illumination in the nation's growing inventory of lighthouses. A staunch supporter and ally of the Fifth Auditor, Lewis had branched out into the business of lighthouse construction, and as
6392-425: The lighthouse in summer of 2012. The Park is open daily from 7:00am to 10:00pm. Admission to the park grounds is free. Admission tickets are sold in the gift shop for tours of the station and tower. The park is located at 2800 Omar Street, in Port Huron. When the grounds are closed to the public, there is a city park just north of the light with an excellent view from the beach. Returning from Canada to Port Huron on
6486-476: 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." The eleven statutory missions as defined by law are divided into homeland security missions and non-homeland security missions: The U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue (CG-SAR) is one of the Coast Guard's best-known operations. The National Search and Rescue Plan designates
6580-454: The maritime and cyber domains, the U.S. Coast Guard is at any given time deployed to and operating on all seven continents and in cyberspace to enforce its mission. Like its United States Navy sibling, the U.S. Coast Guard maintains a global presence with permanently-assigned personnel throughout the world and forces routinely deploying to both littoral and blue-water regions. The U.S. Coast Guard's adaptive, multi-mission "white hull" fleet
6674-543: The mission of the sea and air assets and Coastal Defense . U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters is located in Southeast Washington, D.C. Examples of other shore establishment types are Coast Guard Sectors (which may include Coast Guard Bases), Surface Forces Logistics Center (SFLC), Coast Guard Stations , Coast Guard Air Stations , and the United States Coast Guard Yard . Training centers are included in
6768-474: The old Lewis lamps. In 1874, a brick duplex keeper 's house was built. As lake shipping continued to rise dramatically in the early second half of the century, it was determined that the Fort Gratiot Light needed further upgrading. To this end, in 1862 the government increased the height of the tower to 82 feet (25 m), and the fourth-order Fresnel was replaced with a larger third-order lens, showing
6862-437: The original bid, since Congress appropriated an additional $ 5,000 for the project's completion on April 2, 1825. This original tower was 32 feet (9.8 m) tall. Even with the major cost overrun, it became quickly apparent that the structure was both poorly designed and constructed. George McDougall, a former Detroit lawyer of some ill repute was selected as the light's first official keeper. McDougall's reports indicated that
6956-850: The other branches of the United States Armed Forces , which are prevented from acting in a law enforcement capacity by 18 U.S.C. § 1385 , the Posse Comitatus Act , and Department of Defense policy, the Coast Guard is exempt from and not subject to the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act. Further law enforcement authority is given by 14 U.S.C. § 703 and 19 U.S.C. § 1401 , which empower U.S. Coast Guard active and reserve commissioned officers, warrant officers, and petty officers as federal customs officers . This places them under 19 U.S.C. § 1589a , which grants customs officers general federal law enforcement authority, including
7050-646: The person to be arrested has committed or is committing a felony; and (4) perform any other law enforcement duty that the Secretary of Homeland Security 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 Coast Guard as one of 104 federal components that employed law enforcement officers . The report also included
7144-620: The prior Pleasonton administration were significantly inferior to the French Fresnel lenses being adopted throughout the rest of the world. After conducting successful trials of the new lenses in a few East Coast lights, the Board decided to upgrade all lenses throughout the system. As a result, the Lewis lamps were removed from Fort Gratiot in 1857, and the tower was refitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which had an intensity at least four times that of
7238-500: The rank of ensign (O-1) through lieutenant commander (O-4) are considered junior officers, commanders (O-5) and captains (O-6) are considered senior officers, and rear admirals (O-7) through admirals (O-10) are considered flag officers. The commandant of the Coast Guard and the vice commandant of the Coast Guard are the only members of the Coast Guard authorized to hold the rank of admiral. The Coast Guard does not have medical officers or chaplains of its own. Instead, chaplains from
7332-518: The river carried migrants and immigrants up the river and west through the upper Great Lakes on their way to new homes in the American West. Their farms later shipped out grain to eastern markets as part of the developing area. Beginning in the late 19th century, iron ore mined in the Mesabi Range, copper and grain were carried east through the lakes by lake freighters , increasingly made of steel in
7426-512: The riverbed of the St. Clair River. This record low has raised concerns about the long-term health of the lakes. Activists urge remediation to slow the flow of waters through the St. Clair River and out of the lake system, to restore former water levels. However, as of October 2020, the Lake Huron water is averaging 581.5 feet above sea level, which is considerably above the Datum of 577.5 feet, and above
7520-794: The same pay and allowances as members of the same pay grades in the other uniformed services. The service has participated in every major U.S. conflict from 1790 through today, including landing 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 have been its major roles in recent conflicts in Iraq . On 17 October 2007,
7614-530: The same rank structure as the Navy. Enlisted members in pay grades of E-4 and higher are considered petty officers and follow career development paths very similar to those of Navy petty officers. Petty officers in pay grade E-7 and higher are chief petty officers and must attend the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy , or an equivalent Department of Defense school, in order to be advanced to pay grade E-8. The basic themes of
7708-440: The school are: Enlisted rank insignia is also nearly identical to Navy enlisted insignia. The Coast Guard shield replacing the petty officer's eagle on collar and cap devices for petty officers or enlisted rating insignia for seamen qualified as a "designated striker" . Group Rate marks (stripes) for junior enlisted members (E-3 and below) also follow Navy convention with white for seaman, red for fireman, and green for airman. In
7802-572: The school is now located at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown at Yorktown, Virginia. Operated by the Coast Guard, the National Response Center (NRC) is the sole U.S. Government point of contact for reporting all oil , chemical , radiological , biological , and etiological spills and discharges into the environment, anywhere in the United States and its territories. In addition to gathering and distributing spill/incident information for Federal On Scene Coordinators and serving as
7896-781: The shore establishment commands. The military college for the USCG is called the United States Coast Guard Academy which trains both new officers through a four year program and enlisted personnel joining the ranks of officers through a 17 week program called Officer Candidate School (OCS). Abbreviated TRACEN, the other Training Centers include Training Center Cape May for enlisted bootcamp, Training Center Petaluma and Training Center Yorktown for enlisted "A" schools and "C" schools, and Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center and Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile for aviation enlisted "A" school, "C" schools, and pilot officer training. The Coast Guard has
7990-460: The small towns along the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, and around the Great Lakes. At one time 31 lines operated, but with the rise of automobile use in the 20th century, they gradually declined. The St. Clair River and its Lambton County tributaries in Ontario contribute 103,210 acres (41,770 ha) to the watershed . This figure does not include the Sydenham River watershed. In Michigan,
8084-558: The southern reaches of the river, particularly on the islands of the St. Clair River Delta and on the Michigan shore in Algonac State Park . Transitional species are abundant in the low-lying regions, categorized as shrub ecotones , wet meadows , sedge marshes , and island shorelines and beaches . This habitat is home to water and land mammals , including humans, as well as songbirds , waterfowl , insects , pollinators , reptiles , and amphibians . The aquatic habitat of
8178-400: The stairs were so steep that they had to be climbed sideways, and the trapdoor into the lantern room was barely large enough for a man to squeeze through. While McDougall no doubt reported with truth on this situation, he was reputedly a short man with a weight in excess of 300 pounds, and as such hired an assistant to perform all of his tower work. McDougall's concerns were supported when
8272-481: The tower can reopen to the public. Architects reported that almost $ 4 million would be required for a complete restoration. In 2009, these plans were jeopardized, when city council rejected a deed offered by the federal government because it found the financial requirements too burdensome. The St. Clair County Parks and Recreation department took over the lighthouse and grounds in September 2010 and reopened guided tours of
8366-426: The tower was damaged during a storm in the fall of 1828, and later fell down. Congress reacted swiftly and appropriated $ 8,000 for a new tower in 1829. The new tower was 65 feet tall and 25' in diameter and it was outfitted with the Lewis lamp system (powered by whale oil) that was then the standard. Soon after its establishment in 1852, the new US Lighthouse Board determined that the Lewis lamps universally accepted by
8460-490: The world, rivaling the capabilities and size of most navies . The U.S. Coast Guard is a humanitarian and security service. It protects the United States ' borders and economic and security interests abroad; and defends its sovereignty by safeguarding sea lines of communication and commerce across U.S. territorial waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone . Due to ever-expanding risk imposed by transnational threats through
8554-421: The world. The U.S. Coast Guard operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime. During times of war, it can be transferred in whole or in part to the U.S. Department of the Navy under the Department of Defense by order of the U.S. president or by act of Congress . Prior to its transfer to Homeland Security, it operated under the Department of Transportation from 1967 to 2003 and
8648-649: Was found at the bottom of the St Clair River due to runoff from Dow Chemical Corp in 1985. It remains there, slowly mixing with the water. The RAP for the St. Clair River AOC was initiated in 1985. A bi-national group called the RAP Team, which included representatives from federal, state, and provincial governments of both Canada and the United States was established in 1987 to develop the plan and to ensure adequate and appropriate public involvement. Federal officials have long acknowledged that dredging and riverbed mining in
8742-509: Was in World War II , in all some 250,000 served in the Coast Guard during World War II. Coast Guard Squadron One , was a combat unit formed by the United States Coast Guard in 1965 for service during the Vietnam War . Placed under the operational control of the United States Navy, it was assigned duties in Operation Market Time . Its formation marked the first time since World War II that Coast Guard personnel were used extensively in
8836-406: Was inconsistent and the system still relied on all-volunteer crews. In 1871, Sumner Increase Kimball was appointed chief of the Treasury Department's newly created Revenue Marine Division, and began the process of organizing the Revenue-Marine cutters into a centralized agency. Kimball also pushed for more funding lifesaving stations and eventually secured approval to create the Lifesaving Service as
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