deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcementservice branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the country’s eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the United States military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its duties. It is the largest coast guard in the world.

The Revenue Cutter Service was created by Congress as the Revenue-Marine on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton, and is therefore the oldest continuously operating naval service of the United States. As secretary of the treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue-Marine, whose original purpose was collecting customs duties at U.S. seaports. By the 1860s, the service was known as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue-Marine gradually fell into disuse.

Early revenue cutters could be difficult to distinguish from merchant ships, naval vessels or privately owned boats.

That created a practical problem. When a cutter ordered another vessel to stop for inspection, its crew needed to know the command came from an authorized representative of the United States government.

In 1799, Congress authorized a special ensign and pennant to make federal law-enforcement vessels immediately recognizable at sea.

The original design featured 16 alternating red-and-white vertical stripes, representing the 16 states then in the Union. A white field in the upper corner displayed the arms of the United States in dark blue.

Although the nation added more states, the ensign retained its 16 stripes.

The Coast Guard ensign should not be confused with the white Coast Guard flag commonly displayed at ceremonies, military events and private homes.

The two flags serve different purposes.

The Coast Guard ensign has vertical red-and-white stripes and represents federal maritime law-enforcement authority. Its use is restricted to official purposes.

The Coast Guard service flag has a predominantly white field with Coast Guard imagery. It is used for ceremonies, parades and public recognition of the service.

The Coast Guard flags displayed by veterans, families and supporters are therefore not the same as the law-enforcement ensign carried by official vessels.

Veterans stick together and we all appreciate what our service to our country has meant to our democracy and how much it ‘cost’ each one of us. I have always admired the ‘Coasties’ I have met and gotten to know. They did a heck of a job either on the open water or in the skies. The ‘Coastie’ helicopter pilots were amazingly talented. The ‘Coasties’ on ships had unbelievable stories of heroism. ‘Coasties’, good on ya.

https://youtu.be/HHcLhUfVbPc?is=1GWREfaXRXdFwXDV