The Modern Era

1994 – Alien Interdiction – The Flow Becomes a Flood In 1994 the Coast Guard was involved in its largest operation since the war in Vietnam. Responding to two mass migrations at the same time – first from Haiti and then from Cuba. Over 63,000 migrants were rescued and prevented from illegally entering the United … Read more

1994 – Coast Guard Acquires Executive Transport: C-20B The C-20B is a military modification of the commercial Gulfstream III aircraft, manufactured by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation.  The C-20B was used to support long range-low passenger missions offering worldwide access and included a communications suite which provided worldwide secure voice and data communications. The Air Force chose … Read more

1991 – Desert Storm – Coast Guard Aviation Participation Iraq intentionally released some 11 million barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf contaminating more than 800 miles of Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian coastline. The amount of oil released was 20 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska and twice as large as the … Read more

1990 – CDR Bruce Melnick – First Coast Guard Astronaut Selected by NASA in June 1987, Commander Melnick became an astronaut in August 1988 and qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle flight crews. Melnick flew on STS-41 in 1990, and STS-49 in 1992. He logged over 300 hours of space flight. … Read more

1990 – CASA 212-300 Light Transport Aircraft Obtained The Coast Guard leased a CASA 212-300 as a utility aircraft to provide lower cost logistic support for the drug and alien interdiction programs that were conducted in the Caribbean area. The primary mission of the 212 was to transport personnel and equipment to remote locations without … Read more

1990 – HH-60J Jayhawk Helicopter Enters Service The HH-60J Jayhawk is a medium-range recovery helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. It is used to perform search and rescue, law enforcement, military readiness, and marine environmental protection missions. Implementation of the HH-60J began in March of 1990 with the delivery of the first airframe to NAS … Read more

1986 – RG-8A Condor Covert Surveillance Aircraft Enter Coast Guard Service The RG-8A was developed by the U.S. Air Force under a “black” procurement program in 1986. It was a derivative of the Schweitzer motor-glider and was engineered and used to perform covert surveillance missions. Mission versatility was designed into the aircraft. The Coast Guard … Read more

1987 – Coast Guard Aviation Established an Air Interdiction Role in the Drug War The Bahama Islands became a primary trans-shipment point for both marijuana and cocaine. It was here that Carlos Lehder in conjunction with the Medellin Cartel revolutionized the cocaine trade In the early years of the 1980s cocaine had not been on … Read more

985 – HH-65A Dolphins Enter Coast Guard Service The United States Coast Guard added 96 Short Range Recovery (SRR) HH-65A helicopters to its fleet to replace the HH-52A Sikorsky Sea Guard. The twin-engine Dolphins operate up to 150 miles offshore and will fly comfortably at 120 knots for three hours. Though normally stationed ashore, the … Read more

1984 – Operation Hat Trick –The Coast Guard Takes the Offensive in the Drug War Operation HAT TRICK was a series of offensive operations. The first offensive strike was a DEA special operation which located the cocaine-processing facilities in Colombia. Mexico had gotten back in marijuana production and Mexican Federal Police and DEA agents destroyed … Read more