Most Americans know the U.S. Coast Guard exists, but few understand what this unique military branch actually does on a daily basis. While the U.S. Navy protects our interests overseas and the U.S. Army defends our homeland, the Coast Guard operates in a gray area that blends military service with civilian law enforcement, maritime safety, and environmental protection.
The U.S. Coast Guard serves as both a military force and a federal law enforcement agency, making it distinct from other branches of the armed forces. With more than 40,000 active-duty personnel, the Coast Guard carries out 11 statutory missions that range from drug interdiction to ice breaking, search and rescue to port security. Understanding these diverse responsibilities helps explain why the Coast Guard’s motto is Semper Paratus, which is Latin for "Always Ready" — they must be prepared for anything the seas can throw at them.
What does the Coast Guard do? Read on.
Search and Rescue: Saving Lives
When most people think about what the Coast Guard does, search and rescue operations likely come to mind first. This mission represents one of their most visible and dramatic responsibilities.
Coast Guard rescue teams respond to approximately tens of thousands of search and rescue cases each year, saving thousands annually. In fiscal year 2024, they saved the lives of more than 6,000 people in more than 14,000 rescue cases. These operations range from responding to small boat emergencies near shore to coordinating massive search efforts for missing aircraft over the open ocean.
The service maintains rescue stations along the entire U.S. coastline, Great Lakes, and major inland waterways. When distress calls come in, Coast Guard crews deploy using everything from small response boats to helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Their motto for these missions is simple: "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back" — a testament to the courage required for maritime rescue work.
Types of Search and Rescue Operations
Coast Guard rescue teams handle several types of emergencies:
Boat fires and sinking vessels: Mechanical failures and accidents can quickly turn recreational boating into life-threatening situations
Medical evacuations: When someone becomes seriously ill or injured on a vessel far from shore, the Coast Guard provides emergency medical transport
Natural disasters: Hurricanes and floods often require massive Coast Guard rescue efforts to evacuate stranded civilians
Aviation emergencies: Aircraft that experience problems over water rely on Coast Guard coordination for rescue efforts
What does the Coast Guard do in Maritime Law Enforcement?
Beyond rescue operations, the Coast Guard serves as America's primary maritime law enforcement agency. This role gives them authority to stop, board, and inspect vessels in U.S. waters and on the high seas.
Their law enforcement missions include drug interdiction, illegal immigration prevention, and fisheries enforcement. Coast Guard cutters regularly patrol drug trafficking routes, intercepting shipments of cocaine, heroin, and other narcotics before they reach American shores. In 2025, the Coast Guard achieved a historic milestone with the offload of 76,140 pounds of illicit narcotics, valued at $473 million, marking the largest quantity of drugs offloaded in Coast Guard history.
The service also enforces fishing regulations to prevent overfishing and protect marine ecosystems. Coast Guard boarding teams inspect commercial fishing vessels to ensure they comply with catch limits, use proper gear, and follow conservation rules.
Border Security on Water
While Border Patrol agents guard land borders, Coast Guard crews patrol America's maritime boundaries. They intercept vessels carrying undocumented immigrants and investigate suspicious maritime activity that could pose national security threats.
This mission has grown increasingly complex as smuggling organizations develop new tactics. Coast Guard crews must balance law enforcement duties with their humanitarian responsibilities, often rescuing the same people they're arresting when overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels break down at sea.
What does the Coast Guard do to keep us safe? Have you seen the video of the Coast Guardsman banging on the drug smuggling submarine? It’s pretty bad ass. These folks risk their lives daily to keep us safe, but yet they don’t get a lot of attention for their bravery in comparison to other military branches.
Port Security and Waterway Management
The Coast Guard oversees security for America's 361 commercial ports, which handle more than $5.4 trillion in economic activity annually. This responsibility includes inspecting incoming ships, conducting security assessments, and coordinating with other agencies to prevent terrorist attacks.
Port security became a major focus after September 11, 2001, when officials realized how vulnerable maritime infrastructure could be to terrorist attacks. Coast Guard teams now board and inspect thousands of vessels each year before they enter U.S. ports, looking for everything from weapons to dangerous cargo.
The service also manages vessel traffic in busy waterways, similar to how air traffic controllers manage airports. Coast Guard vessel traffic services coordinate ship movements in major ports like New York Harbor, San Francisco Bay, and the Houston Ship Channel to prevent collisions and maintain efficient commerce.
Environmental Protection
What does the Coast Guard do for environmental protection? The short answer is, a lot. Environmental protection represents another crucial Coast Guard mission that often goes unnoticed by the public. The service responds to oil spills, enforces pollution laws, and protects marine sanctuaries.
When oil tankers run aground or offshore drilling platforms leak, Coast Guard crews coordinate cleanup efforts and investigate the causes. They maintain pre-positioned response equipment along the coastline and train regularly for major spill scenarios.
The Coast Guard also enforces international treaties that prevent ships from dumping waste into the ocean. Boarding teams inspect vessels for proper waste handling procedures and investigate reports of illegal discharge.
What does the Coast Guard do for Marine Environmental Response?
Coast Guard environmental protection efforts include:
Spill response: Coordinating cleanup efforts for oil and chemical spills
Pollution investigations: Determining the source and cause of marine contamination
Living marine resources protection: Enforcing laws that protect endangered species and critical habitats
Ballast water management: Preventing invasive species introduction through ship ballast water
Ice Operations and Maritime Commerce
During winter months, Coast Guard icebreakers keep critical shipping lanes open on the Great Lakes and in Arctic waters. These specialized vessels break through ice formations that would otherwise prevent commercial shipping, ensuring that vital cargo can reach its destination year-round.
The service operates both heavy and medium icebreakers, with some capable of breaking through ice several feet thick. This mission has gained strategic importance as Arctic shipping routes become more accessible due to climate change, creating new opportunities and challenges for American maritime interests.
What does the Coast Guard do for international maritime commerce? They keep it moving and keep it legal.
Military Readiness and National Defense
Although the Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, it can transfer to the Navy during wartime. This dual nature means Coast Guard personnel must maintain military readiness while performing their civilian law enforcement duties.
Coast Guard cutters have deployed to combat zones providing port security and coastal patrol capabilities. The service also maintains specialized units trained for maritime security operations and port vulnerability assessments.
For example, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Coasties were mobilized and given various missions overseas including the protection of oil platforms in the Persian Gulf that belonged to Iraq. Some Coast Guardsmen were wounded during enemy action on these missions and they earned combat awards and Purple Hearts.
What does the Coast Guard do in time of war? Sometimes they get mobilized and serve overseas. They have pretty much been involved in every major American conflict in history including World War II where Coast Guardsman Douglas Albert Munro earned the Medal of Honor.
Why the Coast Guard Matters
The Coast Guard is small in comparison to its brother and sister services like the Army and Navy. The Coast Guard has approximately 55,500 personnel in it, which includes about 41,400 active-duty members, 7,000 Coast Guard Reserve members, and 7,100 civilian employees. There are also roughly 26,000 volunteers in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, which is a civilian volunteer organization that helps with maritime safety inspections and other safety-related missions.Â
The Coast Guard's diverse mission set makes it essential to American security and prosperity. Their work protects lives, secures borders, enables commerce, and preserves the marine environment. Without Coast Guard operations, America's maritime domain would be vulnerable to criminal activity, environmental disasters, and security threats.
Understanding what the Coast Guard does helps explain why this relatively small service punches above its weight in terms of national impact. From rescuing fishermen in distress to intercepting drug shipments, from breaking ice to protecting ports, the Coast Guard truly lives up to its motto of being "Always Ready" to serve America's maritime interests.
Next time you see a Coast Guard vessel or aircraft, remember that they might be heading to any number of critical missions that keep America's waters safe, secure, and open for business. And after reading this post you now know the answer to the question, what does the Coast Guard do?