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88-655: The lighthouse was automated in 1962 and the United States Coast Guard still maintains it as an active aid to navigation. It is closed to the public and can only be viewed by boat or airplane . It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The Stannard Rock Reef is located off Keweenaw Peninsula about 24 miles (39 km) south of Manitou Island and 44 miles (71 km) north of Marquette, Michigan . In 1835, Captain Charles C. Stannard of

176-588: A federal regulatory agency mission as part of its duties. It is the largest coast guard in 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

264-522: 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

352-523: 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

440-472: A bow thruster to improve her maneuverability. The crew's living spaces were upgraded and the furnishings were modernized. On 3 June 1980, Woodrush replaced USCGC Clover (WLB-292) in Sitka, Alaska where she home ported for the rest of her U.S. Coast Guard career performing aids to navigation (ATON), icebreaking, and search and rescue (SAR) duties. In 1980, Woodrush helped rescue the passengers and crew from

528-723: 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

616-565: 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

704-457: 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

792-617: 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

880-508: A mile long reef" more than 50 miles northwest of Marquette. A temporary marker was placed at the location in 1866. The opening of the Soo Locks and the rapid increase in commerce between Duluth, Minnesota , and the lower Great Lakes demanded construction of a lighthouse. The lighthouse was named for Captain Stannard. The Stannard Rock Light is 24 miles (39 km) from the nearest land making it

968-462: 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

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1056-647: 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

1144-619: 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

1232-496: 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

1320-411: 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

1408-437: 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

1496-412: 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

1584-520: 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

1672-591: 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

1760-467: Is the maritime security , search and rescue , and law enforcement service branch of 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

1848-491: 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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1936-613: The SS Arthur M. Anderson until daybreak, when debris and oil were finally located. The following summer, Woodrush served as a support vessel for the United States Navy ROV , the CURV , that was used to survey the Fitzgerald wreck. A few years later, Woodrush was called out to help break ice for some freighters near the Soo Locks . Woodrush eventually got trapped in the ice, and

2024-644: 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

2112-415: 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

2200-504: 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,

2288-582: The United States Coast Guard (USCG) from 1944 to 2001 from home ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Sitka, Alaska . She responded from Duluth at full speed through a gale and high seas to the scene of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinking in 1975. In 1980, she took part in a rescue rated in the top 10 USCG rescues when she helped to save the passengers and crew of the cruise ship Prinsendam after it caught fire in position 57°38"N 140° 25"W then while being towed sank off Graham Island , British Columbia. She

2376-428: The "A" and "B" class tenders in the 180 feet (55 m) class, she was constructed of welded steel with a notched forefoot, ice-belt at the waterline, a reinforced bow for icebreaking capabilities. The superstructure was extended to the ship's sides for increased interior volume above the main deck. Her finer lines in the bow and stern and deeper draft were designed to increase seaworthiness. The utilitarian design allowed

2464-552: 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

2552-519: 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

2640-469: 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

2728-634: 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,

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2816-448: 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

2904-535: 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

2992-539: 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

3080-423: 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

3168-598: 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

3256-500: 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

3344-782: 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

3432-514: 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

3520-901: 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

3608-555: The Stannard Rock Light the "Loneliest Place in the World" and it has always carried the distinction of being the "loneliest place" in the continental United States. Maritime historian Wes Oleszewski reported that duty at the Stannard Rock Light was so rough that of the keepers and assistant keepers, there were four resignations and three transfers in the first three seasons of the station's operation. The lighthouse keepers were taken off

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3696-507: The Stannard Rock at the close of shipping season in early December. The towers were locked until the keepers returned in March for the start of the shipping season. Landing at the Stannard Rock Light was difficult, but often the more serious problem at the start of the season was the need to take sledgehammers and pickaxes to clear away layers of thick ice (1 to 2 feet (0.30 to 0.61 m) deep) on

3784-624: 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

3872-405: 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,

3960-572: 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

4048-421: 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

4136-522: 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

4224-510: 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

4312-445: 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

4400-470: 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

4488-562: The command of LCDR F. D. Hagaman, USCG. In keeping with the Lighthouse Service practice of naming tenders after foliage, she was named after the Woodrush plant. She was assigned general aids to navigation (ATON) and icebreaking duties with Duluth, Minnesota as her home port. Woodrush performed many duties and missions in the Duluth, Minnesota district until 31 July 1978. She was part of

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4576-699: 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

4664-469: The cruise ship MS Prinsendam that caught fire and sank off Graham Island , British Columbia . The Prinsendam rescue is rated by the U.S. Coast Guard as one of the ten most successful rescues because the nearest airstrip was 130 miles (210 km) from the disaster, operations were coordinated with other vessels in the area and Canadian helicopters, and the crew and 520 passengers were rescued without loss of life or serious injury. In 1993, she went to

4752-410: 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,

4840-544: The early 1960s who were stranded for three days after an explosion at the remote Stannard Rock Light in Lake Superior . As the only available U.S. Coast Guard cutter available to respond to the Fitzgerald sinking on 10 November 1975, Woodrush was ordered from Duluth at "full speed" through a "gale and high seas" and arrived on scene within 24 hours. She combed the area along with the SS William Clay Ford and

4928-406: The entry door, lantern, and foghorns. The Stannard Rock Light keepers operated the lantern and the living quarters with flammable illuminants for 60 years; the lighthouse was not electrified until after World War II. It was just a few years after this that an explosion of gasoline and propane tanks used to fuel the station plant destroyed the buildings on the pier and severely damaged the interior of

5016-477: 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

5104-633: The icebreaking fleet of buoy tenders that kept the shipping lanes open on the Great Lakes a month longer in the winter and months earlier in the spring. This was considered key to the economy of the Great Lakes region. A former commanding officer of Woodrush reported that he deliberately grounded her many times during her buoy tending duties because that was the only way some of the buoys could be set. The Woodrush conducted many rescues during her long U.S. Coast Guard career. She rescued three lightkeepers in

5192-485: The lens was relocated from the tower to the museum in 2000. The lens is now on display at the Marquette Maritime Museum . See , Marquette Harbor Light . The Stannard Rock Light remains the property of the Coast Guard as an active aid to navigation. The lighthouse can only be viewed by airplane or boat and it is closed to the public. After more than a century of warning mariners away from the treacherous reef,

5280-527: The lighthouse was given a new mission in 2008 when scientists placed equipment atop the tower to measure whether increased evaporation was the cause of receding Great Lakes water levels. Boat trips out to the lighthouse are available, although visitors are not allowed to enter it. A team of amateur radio (ham) operators “activated” Stannard Rock Lighthouse as “W8L” during the U.S. National Lighthouse-Lightship Weekend, August 7–8, 2021. United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard ( USCG )

5368-525: The lighthouse's construction. The exposed crib of the Stannard Rock Light is rated by the National Park Service as one of top ten engineering feats in the United States. It is said to be the farthest offshore of any lighthouse in the United States. "This is probably the most exposed of all Great Lakes lighthouses." The light output varied from 156,000 to 248,000 candlepower over many years. In early winter Lake Superior's waves splashing against

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5456-464: The logistics problem of constructing a lighthouse on the remote Stannard Rock by using the same process and all the apparatus and machinery used to build the tower and permanent protective crib of the Spectacle Reef Light on Lake Huron . The machinery included a steam and pulley operated cement mixer and a steam powered planing machine used to shape timbers. The brief season for work on

5544-476: 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

5632-454: 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

5720-543: 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

5808-466: The most distant from shore of any lighthouse in the United States. Stannard Rock Reef provides a year-round structure for a superior lake trout fishery. Michigan's state record for lake trout, a 61-pound-8-ounce (27.9 kg) specimen, was caught on 12-pound (5.4 kg) line at Stannard Rock Reef by 16-year-old Lucas Lanczy on August 17, 1997. Orlando Metcalfe Poe of the Lighthouse Board solved

5896-850: 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

5984-646: 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

6072-500: 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

6160-533: The remote reef in Lake Superior lasted from May to October with many days lost to inclement weather. All of the machinery used to construct the Spectacle Reef Light was moved to the depot at Huron Bay on Lake Superior for construction of the crib for the Stannard Rock Light, which began in July 1877. Blocks of stone were cut at Marblehead, Ohio and shipped to the site for construction of the tower. The crib

6248-794: 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,

6336-530: 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

6424-440: 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

6512-572: 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

6600-781: 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

6688-519: The specific program and the background of the individual, the course is three, four or five weeks long. The first week of the five-week course is an indoctrination week. The DCO program is designed to commission officers with highly specialized professional training or certain kinds of previous military experience. USCGC Woodrush (WLB-407) USCGC Woodrush (WLB-407) was a buoy tender that performed general aids-to-navigation (ATON), search and rescue (SAR), and icebreaking duties for

6776-400: The stone tower of the Stannard Rock Light built a layer of ice that forced maintenance crews to hack away the ice around the door to reach the men. If an illness, accident, or fire occurred at the Stannard Rock Light it could be days or even weeks before the keepers got assistance. As one of the rock lighthouses, it was designated as a "stag station" where only men could serve. The keepers called

6864-457: The surface of the water. By mid-1880 the structure was 14 feet (4.3 m) above the water. The tower was completed and the first light was exhibited on July 4, 1882. Work on the tower continued until 1883. It took five years to complete the construction of the Stannard Rock Light at the cost of $ 305,000, (just $ 5,000 more than the original estimate) 126 tons of iron, 76 tons of brick, 1,270 tons of tower stone, and 7,276 tons of concrete were used in

6952-435: The tower. The explosion killed one keeper and left three others stranded on the concrete pier at the base of the tower for three days before a passing ship discovered them and notified the Coast Guard. The men were rescued by the tender Woodrush . After the accident, the Coast Guard repaired the fire damage, decided that the place was too remote and dangerous, and automated the station in 1962. The 1,400,000 candlepower light

7040-418: The vessel John Jacob Astor first discovered this underwater mountain that extends for 0.25 miles (0.40 km) with depths as shallow as 4 feet (1.2 m) and averaging 16 feet (4.9 m). This reef was the most serious danger to navigation on Lake Superior and it was first marked by a day beacon in 1868, at which time tests were undertaken to determine if a light could survive in this harsh location, "atop

7128-431: The vessel to serve as a search and rescue (SAR) or naval platform. Twin diesel generators powered an electric motor that turned a single propeller. As a C-Class tender, Woodrush carried more fuel than the "A" and "B" Class tenders. She was "fitted with power vangs that attached to the bridge wings and manipulated the cargo boom" that were used on "B" and "C" tenders. Woodrush was commissioned on 22 September 1944 under

7216-421: 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

7304-441: Was floated by the ice until it managed to get free, passing right over the Fitzgerald wreck site. From 31 July 1978 to 31 March 1980, Woodrush underwent a major renovation at U.S. Coast Guard Yard Curtis Bay, Maryland . She received new diesel engines, a thorough overhaul of her main electrical motor and its control systems, installation of new electrical wiring and switchboards, new water piping and sewage handling systems, and

7392-509: 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

7480-406: 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

7568-617: Was one of the first vessels to respond to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. She was decommissioned on 2 March 2001 and sold to the Republic of Ghana to serve in the Ghana Navy . Woodrush was built by the Zenith Dredge Company in Duluth, Minnesota as a 180 feet (55 m), Iris or C-Class tender. Her keel was laid on 4 February 1944, and she was launched on 28 April 1944. Like

7656-570: Was replaced with a 3,000 candlepower light. The Coast Guard carefully disassembled the 2nd order, 12 bulls-eyed Fresnel lens , hauled it down 141 tower stairs, packed it in six wooden crates, and then lowered the crates by block and tackle 80 feet (24 m) down to the crib for shipment. After a protracted search, the Fresnel lens was found 37 years later at the Coast Guard Academy's storage warehouse in New London, Connecticut . The base unit for

7744-452: Was taken out to Stannard Rock in August 1877, and soundings were made for fitting the crib to the reef. The crib was then returned to Huron Bay and built up to 14 courses; it was returned to Stannard Rock in August 1878 and placed in position on the reef. By October 1878 the crib was filled with concrete and stone from a quarry opened on Huron Island. By June 1879 an iron pier had been built up to

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