This book highlights a wide range of careers in the US Coast Guard, from pilots to pharmacists to rescue swimmers. The title discusses the required training and duties of each career, along with the branch's history and overall mission. Features include a glossary, websites, source notes, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

The history of the U.S. Coast Guard and its predecessor agencies dates from 1790, with missions in both domestic and international waters. The service has provided aids to navigation, enforcement of maritime laws, environmental protection, search and rescue, immigration and narcotics interdiction, maritime safety assistance, port security, natural disaster response and national defense missions, including overseas with other U.S. armed forces and federal and state public safety agencies. The Service has operated under the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Transportation and, since 2003, the Department of Homeland Security. Its maritime mission regions have included Arctic and Antarctic waters, inland and coastal U.S. waterways and the seas and oceans of the world. This history describes how the Coast Guard has manifested its legacy and motto, Semper Paratus (Always Ready), in changing conditions under each of its leaders.

The Coast Guard was effectively positioned to accomplish its missions and functions before the September 2001 terrorist attacks. The terrorist attacks reshaped the United States national security strategy, and this caused the Coast Guard to reprioritize its mission requirements elevating Homeland Security to be on par with the Coast Guard's number one priority, search and rescue operations. To effectively carry out the Homeland Security mission, the Coast Guard must leverage existing and developing technologies. These technologies will improve efficiency across the full spectrum of Coast Guard missions. While these technologies are not cheap; costs for research, development, and application can be greatly reduced by partnering with other agencies. To leverage these technologies to improve Homeland Security effectiveness, a process for evaluating and infusing emerging technology within the Coast Guard must be developed. This process must then be institutionalized within the Coast Guard's corporate structure.

This book is for the teenager or young adult who is interested in enlisting in the United States Coast Guard. It will walk him or her through the enlistment and recruit training process: making the decision to join, talking to recruiters, getting qualified, preparing for basic training, and learning what to expect at basic recruit training. The goal is to help young people who might be curious about serving in the Coast Guard decide if it is right for them, if they are qualified for and prepared for it and if the Navy, Army or Marine Corps would be a better fit.

Includes list of aviator numbers (names of all those who earned pilots wings, 1916-1996.