May 30, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Seaman First Class Fletch Burton—he went in harm’s way so others might live free

Memorial Day we remember those who gave all.

May 27, 2022

The Long Blue Line: World War II Chief Commissaryman Robert Manges—100-years strong!

Celebrating a 100-year-old Coast Guard veteran

May 20, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Four Minutes after Midnight—Bligh Reef, Murphy Prefers Midnight!

Exxon Valdez tragedy...32 years later

April 22, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Buddy Ebsen—Hollywood actor and World War II patrol frigate officer

Hollywood actor, Coast Guard WWII hero

March 14, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Brazos Station’s Hispanic Lifesavers and the Florida Keys Hurricane

Hispanic American personnel have served in search and rescue operations since the nineteenth century. For example, in 1899, James Lopez of the Provincetown (Massachusetts) Life-Saving Station became the first Hispanic American service member to receive the Silver Lifesaving Medal. But the greatest number of Hispanic American personnel served not in

March 14, 2022

War of 1812: Cutters thwart privateering

Two hundred years ago, the United States, independent for less than 30 years, went to war with Great Britain to preserve its economy, its way of life and its independence. Beginning in 2012 and continuing through 2015, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard will commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and historic moments that occurred throughout the war, including the birth of The Star Spangled Banner. As part of the commemoration, Compass would like to share with you the historic ships, patriots and moments that laid the foundation for our great nation. Check with us throughout the year as we join in celebrating the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

March 11, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Coast Guard women in aviation—blazing a trail for 80 years!

Celebrating Women's History Month: Women in Coast Guard aviation

March 7, 2022

Coast Guard History – LT Robert Prause & CGC ESCANABA’s Rescue Swimmer System

Although most people associate Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers with daring helicopter rescue cases, there are also Cutter Surface Swimmers and divers trained to deploy off cutters. Training people to enter the water is necessary in many of our missions from saving lives to maintaining navigational aids to ensuring maritime security. This historical account below discusses one of the first Coast Guard rescue swimmers and offers insight into the beginning of the swimmer program. Enjoy!

March 7, 2022

History – LTJG Joe Tezanos

In the spring of 1942, 22-year-old Joseph Tezanos, a factory worker and Spanish immigrant, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. His life would change forever. By the end of the decade, Tezanos would be a highly decorated war hero, a survivor of one of World War II’s worst accidental disasters, and one of the first Hispanic American officers in the

March 7, 2022

History – LT Thomas James Eugene Crotty: A Coast Guard Leader, Hero and Prisoner of War

Near the end of Lieutenant “Jimmy” Crotty’s life, he would call on his innate leadership skills time and again in a desperate struggle against impossible odds. After graduating the Coast Guard Academy in 1934, Crotty had a short but promising Coast Guard career, which hardened him into a mature leader. For six years, he served on board cutters