Celebrate the U.S. Coast Guard
Each August 4, the U.S. Coast Guard celebrates its birthday.
The Coast Guard is one of America's six armed forces and traces its founding to Aug. 4, 1790. That's when the first Congress authorized construction of 10 vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of federal revenue. Responsibilities added over the years include humanitarian duties such as aiding mariners in distress.
The service received its current name in 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service to form a single maritime service dedicated to the safety of life at sea and enforcing the nation's maritime laws.
The Coast Guard is a multimission maritime military service. Its mission is to protect the public, the environment and U.S. economic interests in the nation's waterways, along the coast, on international waters or in any maritime region as required to support national security.
![Melissa Hancock appeared in Lifetime's "Little Women: Atlanta." (Virginia State Police)](http://images03.military.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_large/public/2017-11/melissa-hancock-900.jpg?itok=8dXSmGX9 "Melissa Hancock appeared in Lifetime's "Little Women: Atlanta." (Virginia State Police)")