Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Aug. 2, 2006
Contact:  Public Affairs Officer
(985) 380-5340

COAST GUARD MARINE SAFETY UNIT OBSERVES SERVICES' 216TH BIRTHDAY 

August 4th is celebrated as Coast Guard Day to honor the establishment on that day in 1790 of the Revenue Cutter Service, forebear of today's Coast Guard, by the Treasury Department. On that date, Congress, guided by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, authorized the building of a fleet of ten cutters, whose responsibility would be the enforcement of the first tariff laws enacted by Congress under the Constitution.

The Coast Guard has been continuously at sea since its inception, although the name Coast Guard did not come about until 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the Lifesaving Service. The Lighthouse Service joined the Coast Guard in 1939, followed in 1946 by the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection. In 1967, after 177 years in the Treasury Department, the Coast Guard was transferred to the Department of Transportation. In 2003, the Coast Guard merged with 21 other federal agencies into the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.

As one of the oldest organizations of the federal government and, until the Navy Department was established in 1798, the Coast Guard served as the nation's only armed force afloat. The Coast Guard has continued to protect the nation throughout its long history and has served proudly in every one of the nation's conflicts. The Coast Guard provides unique benefits to the nation because of its distinctive blend of military, humanitarian, and civilian law-enforcement capabilities.

Although "Coast Guard Day" is primarily an internal activity for active duty Coast Guard personnel, civilian members, reservists, retirees, auxiliarists, and dependents, it does have a significant share of interest outside the Service.

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