Members of the Coast Guard mobile medical unit West participate in a simulated medical evacuation during Cascadia Rising exercise at Naval Weapons Station Indian Island, Washington on June 9, 2016. US Coast Guard Photo
U.S. Coast Guard medical personnel are being sent to the border with Mexico to assess how U.S. Customs and Border Protection treats sick and ailing migrants caught crossing into the U.S. after a second child this month died while in government custody. Read More
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Shannon Eubanks (left) instructs Petty Officer 2nd Class Ed Traver (right) on ice rescue techniques on Oct. 3, 2018, about 715 miles north of Barrow, Alaska, in the Arctic. US Coast Guard Photo
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2018. This story is part of a series; please also see U.S. Marine Corps Operations and U.S. Navy Operations.
For the U.S. Coast Guard, 2018 started and ended with news about the service’s new fleet of polar icebreakers.
USCGC Healy (WAGB-20), a polar-class icebreaker, transits Southeast Alaskan waters on Nov. 24, 2018. US Coast Guard Photo
This post was updated with additional information about the partial federal government shutdown.
A looming partial government shutdown will not directly affect the Department of Defense operations, but several agencies that work with DoD will either have to stop or severely curtail their activities.
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star participate in various activities on the ice about 13 miles from McMurdo Station, Antarctica on Jan. 26, 2018. US Coast Guard Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard’s funding for a polar icebreaker is set to be postponed yet again, after Congress and President Donald Trump again failed to reach an agreement on Fiscal Year 2019 funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the Senate today began work on passing another short-term continuing resolution. Read More
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star participate in various activities on the ice about 13 miles from McMurdo Station, Antarctica on Jan. 26, 2018. US Coast Guard Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz is guardedly optimistic his service will get funding for a new Polar Security Cutter in time to start construction in 2019. Read More
Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN-757) during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2016. US Navy Photo
U.S. submarines are in the Arctic to deny a bastion to Russia to attack the United States, but the probability of adding surface warships to the region in the near future as another maritime deterrent is slim, a Navy policy official said Tuesday. Read More
This year USNI News is asking its readers to weigh in on the most important naval stories in 2018 in following categories: U.S. Navy operations, U.S. Navy acquisition, U.S. Marine Corps operations, U.S. Marine Corps acquisition, U.S. Coast Guard acquisition and operations and international naval news. Read More
The following is the Oct. 26, 2018 Congressional Research Service report, Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
The Florida shipyard building the Coast Guard’s first Offshore Patrol Cutter has gotten back to work as it continues to recover from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Michael last month. Read More
The following is the Oct. 25, 2018 Congressional Research Service report, Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
