Coast Guard History

514 Words2 Pages

The needs of the United States Coast Guard has grown invariably since its establishment in 1790 by Alexander Hamilton. One major which seeks to meet the needs of the Coast Guard is Operations Research and Computer Analysis (ORCA). LT Dougherty, an instructor in the math department of the Coast Guard Academy describes ORCA as a “scientific way of making decisions” to take the best course of action, whether that includes improving efficiency, optimizing resources, or maximizing profit (Dougherty). Classes such as Probability Theory and Optimization teach cadets important theories which they can apply in the operational Coast Guard for it to run efficiently as possible under constraints of resources, such as money, time, or inventory (Dougherty). …show more content…

During the early 1900s, the primary missions of the Coast Guard was the “saving of life and property at sea…protection of the revenues…and military readiness” (Willoughby 21). When the importation and sale of alcohol was banned, the Coast Guard faced the problem of heavily patrolling over 6,000 miles of coastline (Canney 3). In 1923, Commandant William Reynolds called for an enlargement of the service, because the “present force was able to ‘prevent only a small part’ of the illegal traffic” (Canney 6). The addition of 203 cabin cruiser motorboats and 91 small motor boats, as well as 3500 additional personnel resulted in a price tag of $14 million (Canney

Open Document