N.C. Coast Guard to be featured in 2008 compilation video

Our local Coast Guard has received a big honor just in time for the Christmas holiday season.

Some of you may be familiar with the Coast Guard videos Nine on Your Side: Online, has been posting on the weekends.  These raw videos would show our N.C. Coast Guard in action, and now they’ve been recognized in the Coast Guard’s compilation of the top 10 operational videos of 2008.

The compilation covers operations from all the U.S. Coast Guard stations including one from North Carolina, and another from our neighboring Virginia.

The Air Station Elizabeth City and The Coast Guard Cutter Forward of Portsmouth, Virginia, were featured in the compilation.  This 2008 year has been one marked by record cocaine seizures and heroic search and rescue cases by the U.S. Coast Guard.

“This has truly been a historic year for the Coast Guard and its Guardians,“ said Adm. Thad W. Allen, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.  “Through their relentless vigilance they have kept our nation safe and secured our national, economic and environmental interests—both at home and abroad—just as their predecessors have done for the last 218 years.  These videos are just a few of the shining examples that showcase our shipmates standing the watch.  It is this selfless dedication and devotion to duty that motivates me to ensure our men and women have the best resources and support available to meet the complex and dynamic hazards and threats of the 21st century.“

Click “play” to see the 2008 Coast Guard compilations video!

The compilation includes clips detailing:
• An aircrew from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., rescuing four people from a sailing vessel 172 miles east of Wilmington, N.C.
• The crew of the Forward offloading 1,600 pounds of seized cocaine.
• The seizure of a self-propelled, semi-submersible vessel and its cargo of about 15,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $196 million by boarding teams from the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett.
• The rescue of an injured logger near Quillayute River, Wash., by an aircrew from Air Station Port Angeles, Wash.
• The rescue of a mariner from Prince William Sound, Alaska, by an aircrew from Air Station Kodiak, Alaska.
• The tow of a disabled vessel caught in heavy weather near Sausalito, Calif., by boat crews from Station Golden Gate, Sausalito.
• The rescue of four survivors of the sinking of the fishing vessel Katmai 100 miles west of Adak, Alaska, by an aircrew from Air Station Kodiak, Alaska.
• The pursuit of a vessel suspected of illegally fishing in U.S. waters one mile from the U.S. - Mexico border by a boatcrew from Station South Padre Island, Texas.
• The rescue of a pilot and her dog from a crashed plane by an aircrew from Air Station Savannah, Ga.
• The interdiction and rescue of 104 Haitian migrants from an overloaded sail-freighter and from the water 20 miles south of Great Inagua, Bahamas, by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless.

Other 2008 Facts:

Operational highlights for the Coast Guard in 2008 include:
• A record 367,926.1 pounds of cocaine seized during fiscal year 2008.
• Seizure of 22,173.8 pounds of marijuana during fiscal year 2008.
• Saving more than 4,670 lives (does not include figures for December).
• Restoration of critical ports and waterways in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.  More than 1,200 aids to navigation discrepancies were caused by the hurricanes.
• More than 1,815 America’s Waterways Watch calls to the National Response Center reporting suspicious activity or security breaches.
• Great Lakes icebreaking operations that included 680 ice transits that enabled the transport of more than $2 billion of U.S. cargo.
• Maintenance of 50,374 federal aids to navigation through 39,000 service visits that enhanced waterway safety by providing mariners visual aids required for safe navigation.
• Support to national science and research objectives by the Coast Guard Cuter Healy through mapping of the extended outer-continental shelf along the Arctic Ocean floor.
• Modernized and standardized mariner licensing and documentation program processes yielded an increase of 135 percent in the number of credentials issued by the National Maritime Center, while simultaneously decreasing the average inventory age of credential applications by 55.6 percent.
• Interdiction of more than 4,800 migrants attempting to illegally enter the United States from the sea during fiscal year 2008.
• Delivery of 76,000 pounds of humanitarian relief supplies to the Republic of Georgia during Operation Assured Delivery.