for: The Coast Guard (film)

A coast guard (or coastguard) is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries.

Role

Among the responsibilities that may be entrusted to a coast guard service are:

• search and rescue,
• enforcement of maritime law,
• safety of vessels,
• maintenance of seamarks and
• border control.

During wartime, some coast guard organisations might have responsibilities in harbour defence, port security, naval counter- intelligence and coastal patrols.

The coast guard may, varying by jurisdiction, be part of the country's military, a law enforcement agency, or a search and rescue body. For example, the U.S. Coast Guard is a military branch with a law enforcement capacity, whereas the United Kingdom's Her Majesty's Coastguard is a civilian organisation whose only role is search and rescue.

In some countries, the coast guard is part of the military (such as the US), in others it is a civilian, law enforcement, or even private sector organisation. Most coast guards operate ships and aircraft including helicopters and seaplanes that are either owned or leased by the agency in order to fulfil their respective roles.

Some coastguards, such as the Irish Coast Guard have only a very limited law enforcement role, usually in enforcing maritime safety law, such as by inspecting ships docked in their jurisdiction. In cases where the coast guard is primarily concerned with coordinating rather than executing rescue operations, lifeboats are often provided by civilian voluntary organisations, such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in the United Kingdom, whilst aircraft may be provided by the countries' armed forces, such as Sea Kings operated by the RAF and Royal Navy in addition to any of the coast guard's own assets.

Racing Stripe

The Racing Stripe was designed in 1964 by the industrial design office of Raymond Loewy Associates to give the United States Coast Guard (USCG) a distinctive, modern image.

Usage

The Racing Stripe symbol has been adopted by many coast guards, such as the Canadian Coast Guard, the Italian Guardia Costiera, the French Maritime Gendarmerie, the Indian Coast Guard, the German Federal Coast Guard, and the Australian Customs Service, either in its original colors or as modified by each individual coast guard. Auxiliary vessels maintained by the USCG also carry the Racing Stripe in inverted colors.