NAV EX 3rd QTR Spec. Ed. 2018 NavEx 3rd Qtr - Spec Ed 2018 - FINAL | Page 19

Brown Water
AUXILIARY
Story by H William Smith
USCG Aux Photo by H William Smith
“U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary? I thought the Coast Guard is only on the coast.” Ask
any U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarist in District Eight - Western Rivers, Eighth - Eastern
Region, or any other Auxiliary district where a majority of their area of response is in
the interior of the country and they will say they have heard that more times than they
can count.
During the Civil War the U.S. Navy was in effect two navies. There was the blue water
navy and the brown water navy. Both were necessary and had their own missions,
equipment and methods. Both were critical to the preservation of the union.
The U.S. Coast Guard is much the same more than 150 years later. There is the blue
water Coast Guard which is tasked with protecting the nation’s coasts. There is also
what is affectionately known by some as the brown water Coast Guard which protects
the nation’s maritime commerce and recreational boaters on its rivers and lakes. Both
elements of the service take pride in their work and unique challenges. Auxiliarists,
depending on their flotilla’s location, do the same.
OR express
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