As the wholly unnecessary and reckless partial government shutdown rolls on, 41,000 active duty US Coast Guard personnel are still doing their jobs, without getting paid. Roughly 8,500 civilian support staff are furloughed, also without paychecks.
Across the country, concerned citizens are trying to find means to help the Coast Gaurd families with everything from gift cards to food banks. Through it all, Coast Guard officers and enlisted personnel are saving lives, intercepting criminals, and generally defending our coasts. Here is an incomplete list of what the US Coast Guard has been up to while not getting a paycheck, as compiled by Military.com.
- Medevacced ill fisherman – Members of U.S. Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii Pacific rescued a 37-year-old man from a tuna longliner about 80 miles north of Kauai on Jan. 13.
- Rescued Chinese fishing crew – In yet another mission for District 14, Coast Guardsmen assisted in the rescue of 24 mariners Jan. 2 from the Ou Ya Leng No. 6, a 308-foot Chinese-flagged fishing vessel that ran aground on Taka Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
- Interdicted migrants near Puerto Rico – In a period of 72 hours, the Coast Guard interdicted 66 migrants who were attempting to illegally enter the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands this month.
- Seized illegal drugs – Crew members of the Coast Guard Sentinel-class cutter Bernard C. Webber made a drug seizure Jan. 7, interdicting a sport fisher boat carrying a suspected smuggler, a pair of migrants, and 7 kilograms of cocaine east of Dania Beach, Florida.
- Assisted grounded cargo ship – When the cargo ship JSW Salem ran aground east of Virginia Beach on Jan. 10, the Coast Guard was on hand to help.
- Resupply Antarctica – The 150 crewmembers of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived Thursday in Antarctica along with a resupply vessel during Operation Deep Freeze – a joint military service mission to resupply U.S. interests in Antarctica.
In addition to the list compiled by Military.com, here are a few more:
- Rescue of an injured crewman on Great Lakes bulker – Although their next paycheck is in limbo because of the federal government shutdown, employees of the U.S. Coast Guard jumped into action on Tuesday, Jan. 8, when a man aboard a cargo ship in Lake Michigan was injured.
- Assisted, escorted fishing vessels and responded to capsize in Yakima Bay – This month, Yaquina Bay Coast Guard crews stationed in Newport have assisted five disabled boats, escorted in numerous vessels when seas have turned dangerously rough and risked their own lives trying to save the crew of the Mary B II.
- Rescue of three from a capsized vessel in Florida – The United States Coast Guard rescued three people approximately six miles south of Sugarloaf Key after their vessel capsized on Wednesday.
- Apprehend Stowaways on Containership Off Miami – The U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection responded to a report of three stowaways found hiding on an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged containership approximately three miles offshore of Port of Miami on Wednesday.
This is by no means a complete list of the important things being done by the US Coast Gaurd while they do not know when their paycheck will arrive. It is time to end the shutdown over a needless vanity wall and to support the brave men and women of the US Coast Guard.
Thanks to Irwin Bryan for contributing to this post.
This is something that I’ve been thinking about (since I live on an island and we have an active CG station here with two 47′ boats) — for an amazing example of what the Coast Guard does, watch the 11 min plus video of the Search and Rescue helicopter and crew rescuing the crew of the BOUNTY some years ago. Watching the rescue swimmer in the water, listening to the co-pilot giving navigational directions to keep the copter on target, listening to the robotic voice warning as the copter slips in altitude, and as I believe I remember, knowing that the man on the wire had dislocated his shoulder, and in between hoists was trying to get it back in the socket……….well it is an extraordinary display of unimaginable bravery and skill. And the Coast Guard does that day in, day out. And now, without pay because a petty bully has his knickers in a knot. Keep in mind that Colonel Bone Spurs has now managed to turn our great country into an international disgrace, by having the most corrupt and regressive, administration in memory (I am old) if not ever. The Coast Guard’s informal motto is “You have to go out, you don’t have to come back.” The Frumpster is unworthy of even licking their boots. BTW, the BERNARD WEBBER (Sentinel Class Cutter) mentioned above is named after CWO Bernard Webber, the Coxwain of the life Boat 36500 famed for the incredible rescue of crew from the PENDLETON off Chatham, MA back in the 50’s — the rescue that is dubbed The Coast Guard’s FINEST HOUR. Well perhaps now is the Coast Guard’s finest hour as it continues to serve, without pay, in perilous circumstances and perilous times.
The shutdown has closed all Regional Exam Centers. All scheduled test dates have been cancelled, all processing of credentials has ceased. They have extended credential expiration out a few months to March.
The renewal of my Master Oceans 1600 Ton credential is sitting in the Boston REC (Regional Exam Center). I completed and met all requirements for renewal, it just needs to be sent to West Virginia for issuance.
So I currently have an expired credential awaiting renewal.
I think it is going to be a quite a while before the shutdown is lifted or some other solution is implemented so that the USCG administrative employees can return to their duties. The backlog of renewal, testing and issuance paper work must be enormous by this time, I just wonder how many months it is going to take to process all this paperwork. I am not expecting issuance of my credential for many months.
This situation if not resolved in short order is going to create an enormous problem for USCG credentialed Master,mates, pilots, AB’s etc.
Keeping my fingers crossed for a timely solution to this problem for myself and all the other seamen effected by the shutdown.
working seamen
As a foreign national, I and many more cannot understand why any government employee is not paid. Surely, they will be paid regardless of the rest of the budget as and when it is approved? So why not pay them now?
As a foreign national I want to know how this ridiculous situation where the military get paid and the coastguard don’t came about in the first place?
Also a vote of thanks to the lifeboat men and women in the UK (the ones who do the dangerous stuff) who are mostly unpaid volunteers unlike their shore based administrators. http://www.indeed.co.uk/cmp/Rnli/salaries
The Coast Guard doesn’t deserve this, our country doesn’t deserve this. Open the government back up and then talk!
The USCG is now under Homeland Security, not the military and no longer under the Treasury Dept.
Article here from NewsNet5 in Cleveland, people are helping them out:
How local businesses, organizations are helping government workers during the shutdown
Posted: 1:40 PM, Jan 10, 2019 Updated: 2:58 PM, Jan 16, 2019
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/how-cleveland-businesses-are-helping-government-workers-during-the-shutdown
Poor third world country having to receive food donations from Canadian air traffic controllers 🙂
Yes, the USCG is part of the Homeland Security (an oxymoronic term) rather than the Department of Defense, or even the Treasury Department where it used to be. When i was writing yesterday I was thinking of the RNLI, which is an organization that I think the world of, and send a contribution every year (despite being American and no longer sailing) — when I sailed all around Ireland and up into the Hebrides and the western UK, I saw many of the RNLI vessels — all so sensibly designed and outfitted — and I’ve watched more than a few videos of them at work. Their crews are superb, and yes, mostly volunteers. As such, however, they have other sources of income and do not perform the very diverse range of activities that our USCG does such as drug and smuggling interdictment, vessel safety, mariner credentials, dealing with refugees, and on and on it goes.
We know that the Coast Guard crews will get paid eventually but why shouldn’t the get paid on time and in full (and the rest of the government employees as well) as they should be.
Now Bonehead has suggested a swap (which has to be approved by Congress and isn’t in “the gift” of the Frumpster) — he will allow for the DACA folks to stay if Congress approves the $5 Bn plus for his ridiculous wall. What happens when the wall costs billions more (as is estimated) than the master of bricks, mortar Chinese steel and bankruptcy says? A much more equitable and sensible proposal was made some time ago (and rejected by Mitch McConnell and the Frumpster) which was to open government back up and debate just the wall part of the budget.
We are already the laughing stock of the world and this just heaps more shame onto an already disgraceful situation.
Perhaps if all members of our government lived up to the creed of the Coast Guard, we would have a more succinct functioning government.
Coast Guard Creed of The United States Coast Guardsman.
I am proud to be a United States Coast Guardsman.
I revere that long line of expert seamen who by their devotion to duty and sacrifice of self have made it possible for me to be a member of a service honored and respected, in peace and in war, throughout the world.
I never, by word or deed, will bring reproach upon the fair name of my service, nor permit others to do so unchallenged.
I will cheerfully and willingly obey all lawful orders.
I will always be on time to relieve, and shall endeavor to do more, rather than less, than my share.
I will always be at my station, alert and attending to my duties.
I shall, so far as I am able, bring to my seniors solutions, not problems.
I shall live joyously, but always with due regard for the rights and privileges of others.
I shall endeavor to be a model citizen in the community in which I live.
I shall sell life dearly to an enemy of my country, but give it freely to rescue those in peril.
With God’s help, I shall endeavor to be one of His noblest
Semper Paratus
USCG, BMCS Retired