the last time the coast guard was part of the navy was 1967.
the last time the coast guard was part of the navy was 1967.
when was the last time the coast guard was part of the navy?
1967
in times of war, the coast guard or individual components of it can operate as a service of the department of the navy. this arrangement has a broad historical basis, as the coast guard has been involved in wars as diverse as the war of 1812, the mexican–american war, and the american civil war, in which the cutter "harriet lane" fired the first naval shots attempting to relieve besieged fort sumter. the last time the coast guard operated as a whole within the navy was in world war ii, in all some 250,000 served in the coast guard during world war ii.
united states coast guard
after the war concluded the navy found itself losing thousands of experienced officers and men to civilian life and did not have enough officers to fill its authorized billets. the navy proposed to absorb the coast guard and its assets to solve this problem. it was noted by the navy's bureau of operations that there was no source to replace officers except the naval academy and the coast guard. since the officers of the two services had worked well together during the war, the navy saw the opportunity to solve their manpower problems by absorbing the coast guard and its personnel leaving to the treasury department only the vessels necessary for customs duties and enforcement of navigation laws. many coast guard officers supported the navy's move to integrate the two services because they faced demotion from temporary ranks awarded by the navy during the war as the coast guard returned to a normal operating tempo. on 14 december 1918 representative guy e. campbell of pennsylvania introduced a bill to permanently transfer the coast guard from the treasury department to the navy department. during hearings before the interstate and foreign commerce committee in january 1919 two coast guard and two navy officers testified in favor of the bill. other testified about efficiencies gained by the transfer. secretary of the navy josephus daniels was in favor of the transfer because he realized that it was the best opportunity for the navy to absorb the coast guard while it was still operating as a part of the navy and he testified for the passage of the bill. during a second round of hearings before the committee held in february 1919, bertholf finally got a chance to testify. bertholf's testimony before the committee systematically rebutted every argument of those in favor of the bill and helped persuade some members to hold the bill in committee. with the bill stalled in committee, bertholf retired from the coast guard on 30 june 1919. the question of whether the navy would absorb the coast guard was settled when president wilson issued executive order 3160 on 28 august 1919, thereby transferring the coast guard back to the treasury department.
ellsworth p. bertholf