Coast Guard Station Jones Beach is located in Jones Beach State Park in the southern region of Long Island, approximately 30 miles east of New York City. The primary mission of the station is search and rescue, but all personnel are also actively engaged in law enforcement and environmental protection. The station is responsible for the coastline that extends from East Rockaway Inlet to Gilgo Beach, including Jones Inlet and the associated back-bay waters of southern Nassau County. Station Jones Beach is one of the busiest units nationally, conducting approximately 500 Search & Rescue cases annually.

Established in 1851 as Station Short Beach, the station took its original name from a small spit of land just east of Jones Inlet. After construction of a new main station building and boathouse, the station was dedicated Station Jones Beach on the 15th of June 1990. Facilities include crew berthing, administrative offices and a modern communications center. A boathouse provides equipment storage and maintenance shops together with a boat haul-out facility.

The station derived its name from Major Thomas Jones who came to Long Island in 1692 and built the first brick house on the Island. He eventually acquired 6,000 acres of property, a portion of which make up the grounds of the current park. The 2,400-acre Jones Beach State Park features 6.5 miles of oceanfront beach, and a half-mile bay-water beach for still-water bathing. The west end of the park is home to surf fishing, a boat basin and undeveloped areas where nature enthusiasts can enjoy a variety of migratory birds and native plants.

Located off the south shore of Long Island on a barrier beach is Coast Guard Station Fire Island. Originally part of the U.S. Life Saving Service, the station was once part of a series of lifeboat stations aiding stranded and shipwrecked mariners and passengers. Today, the 54 member crew, including active duty and reserve personnel continue the tradition.

The Fire Island crew protects 25 nautical miles of the Great South Bay, from the Amityville Cut to the Smith Point bridge and offshore into the Atlantic Ocean. Station Fire Island is equipped with a 47-foot Motor Life Boat, a 41-foot Utility Boat, and two 25-foot Response Boats. They conduct law enforcement patrols, search and rescue operations, and provides security on area ferries. Station personnel also work closely with the Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau, Babylon, Islip and Brookhaven Town Bay Constables and Harbor Masters.

All personnel have the opportunity to cross-train in a variety of positions. Boarding Officers, Coxswain, Engineer and Crew member qualifications are actively pursued while members are on duty. Boating Officer Qualification Support Program (BOQSP) training is essential to both active duty members and reservists.

Aids to Navigation Team Long Island Sound is responsible for maintaining 1551 navigational aids located throughout Long Island Sound and its tributaries. The entire area of responsibility covers more than 240 miles of coastline including Connecticut and New York.

The 1551 navigational aids assigned to the Aids to Navigation Team include 564 primary aids, 513 buoys, 20 lighthouses, 31 light structures, 290 secondary aids, and 697 federally permitted private aids.

Many of the lighthouses are historic and were built in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Although unmanned, the lighthouses use automated lights to warn mariners of navigational hazards.

To get the job done the Aids to Navigation Team Long Island Sound uses three different boats including the 49-foot Buoy Utility Stern Loading Boat; the 23-foot trailer able Aids to Navigation Boat; and the 21-foot trailer able Aids to Navigation Boat.

A typical job can include going out to an aid to change a light bulb, battery or make a minor repair. The 49-foot Buoy Utility Stern Loading Boat is used to haul out large buoys to make repairs or put in a replacement.

Located next to historic Fort Trumbull at the mouth of the New London Harbor Coast Guard Station New London is one of the busiest stations within the First Coast Guard District.

On any given day members of the 45-person crew might respond to a search and rescue case on Long Island Sound or conduct one of the hundreds of law enforcement boardings performed every year.

Port security is a particularly important mission for Station New London. Just up few miles up the Thames river is the Naval Submarine Base at Groton. Coast Guard boat crews from the station are often tasked with providing a security escort for submarines transiting to and from the base, and enforcing security zones around military and civilian facilities such as General Dynamics.

To perform its different missions the station has two 41-foot utility boats and three 25-foot response boat.

During the summer a small Search and Rescue detachment is established on Fire Island with each boat taking turns to rotate through the duty.

Rounding out the station is a dedicated group of about 240 Coast Guard auxiliaries who assist with may of the stations boating safety missions.

The USCG Chinook, a 110-patrol boat is also homeport at the station.

Besides port security missions, members of Station New London work closely with local and state agencies to provide maritime safety and security during the many maritime festivals, regattas and fire works displays held along the waterfront in New London.

Located on the South Shore of eastern Long Island, Coast Guard Station Shinnecock has a long history of aiding mariners in distress. Originally part of the U.S. Life Saving Service, the station was once part of a series of lifeboat stations aiding stranded and shipwrecked mariners and passengers. Rebuilt after the Hurricane of 1938, the station is adjacent to the site of the former Shinnecock Lighthouse.

The station is staffed with 45 members who operate three rescue boats and answer more than 200 call a year. While their primary mission is search and rescue, Station Shinnecock Coast Guardsmen regularly provide security on the Orient Point ferry, run law enforcement missions jointly with local law enforcement agencies, and annually conduct hundred's of safety boardings on commercial and recreational vessels within their area of responsibility (AOR), which includes more than 300 square miles, including bays, inlets, creeks, the Atlantic Ocean and a functioning canal with operating locks.

The crew stays ready to respond by participating in training exercises with local agencies. Area fire departments have joined Station Shinnecock personnel in cooperative training sessions involving water rescues. They also assist local universities and high schools in collecting water and bottom samples taken from Shinnecock Bay. This enables these groups to compare the current conditions of the bay with data collected on previous sampling missions.

At first glance Coast Guard Station New Haven may appear to be just another unit located at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. But with an area of responsibility covering almost two thirds of Long Island Sound the men and women assigned to the station have an important mission protecting commercial and recreational mariners on one of the busiest waterways in the northeast.

The spring, summer and fall are the busiest times for the crew. At any given moment one of the station's 25-foot response boats or 41-foot utility boats is out on the sound responding to a search and rescue call or conducting a law enforcement boarding.

On average the station responds to 150 to 200 search and rescue cases, and performs between 200 to 300 law enforcement boardings annually. Members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary assist the station with boating safety initiatives and search and rescue.

Besides the open waters of the Sound, the Port of New Haven is within the Station's area of responsibility. The Port of New Haven is Connecticut's largest deepwater port and receives more than half of the waterborne commerce coming into the state, including petroleum and cargo shipments.

The increasing port security mission of the station reflects the growing importance of New Haven as a center of maritime commerce and the Coast Guard crews work closely with other sate and federal agencies such as Immigration and Custom Enforcement; and the Connecticut Department of environmental protection.

Sector Long Island Sound (LIS) located in New Haven, Conn., was first stood up in June 2006. The creation of this sector involved the merging of both former Group Moriches in Long Island, N.Y., and Group/MSO New Haven.

The former Group Moriches handled both search and rescue (SAR) and law enforcement (LE) cases in addition to logistical support for the units on Long Island. After the merger with Group/MSO New Haven, Group Moriches became Sector Field Office (SFO) Moriches. Now SFO Moriches falls under Sector LIS as a logistical detachment, no longer handling SAR/LE cases and no longer a separate command.

The SFO supervisor works directly for the Sector LIS logistics department head. The supervisor is responsible for the activities of the 35 active duty personnel attached to the SFO in a variety of ratings, EM/DC/MK/HS/SK/YN. This staff includes three officers and five chief petty officers.

Co-located on the SFO Moriches grounds is the Sector Ready for Operations (RFO) Team, Station East Moriches, a detachment of nearby Station Shinnecock, and Electronics Support Detachment Moriches.

SFO Moriches offers engineering, medical, storekeeper and administrative support to all units and personnel on Long Island. All of the members of SFO Moriches conduct regular visits to outlying units as part of their daily routine to help tackle complex issues that arise. They also assist in preparing units for inspections. Corpsman review medical records, administer vaccinations, resolve insurance issues and offer first aid training. Storekeepers assist in reconciling unit budgets and assisting them with purchases. A few of the items addressed by the yeoman staff include handling pay and personnel issues; including travel orders, advancements and retirements. The engineers support both naval and civil engineering issues, including the maintenance of all vessels on Long Island and the 89 government owned homes there also.

There are 12 reservists who serve at the SFO. These reservists serve alongside their active duty counterparts performing the same critical jobs.

Draw a line from the easternmost areas of Long Island and travel westward, you'll pass through bodies of water such as Gardners Bay, Peconic Bay, Shelter Island Sound, Great South Bay, Hempstead Bay, etc.

These locations and numerous others are familiar to the members of the Aids to Navigation Team Moriches (ANT Moriches). Within their AOR, ANT Moriches personnel are responsible for 386 aids to navigation.

A detached unit under the direction of COTP Long Island Sound, it traces its origin back to February 1988. Formed by the combining of the AtoN's located at Station Shinnecock and Station Fire Island, ANT Moriches is commanded by a BMC (Chief Boswains Mate).

The chief and the 12 other members of the team, BM's, MK's, EM, and non-rates work fulltime to keep the 386 aids, which includes lighthouses, day beacons, lights and buoys, operating. Their motto" Where prudent mariners fear to go", has been loosely translated by the team to mean "We run aground so you don't have to."

Maintaining ATON's requires changing buoys as the inlet channel shifts. Of particular importance is the East Rockaway Inlet. Here vessels carrying fuel oil rely upon the proper positioning of Buoys as they transit the area.

ANT Moriches works closely with the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps does the surveys to help realign inlets. Corps budget restraints prevent some dredging of the inlets which in turn requires more buoy movements. As a consequence, the team constantly must reposition the buoys of Shinnecock, Fire Island, Jones, and East Rockaway inlets. (Moriches Inlet is considered a hazardous navigation area; as such it does not have buoys. Lights on the outer jetties frame the opening of the inlet.)

In order to maintain the 386 aids, the team has at its disposal three boats.

The 49' BUSL, Buoy Utility Stern Loading, sets and removes many of the larger buoys.

The 45" BUSL, CG 45306, a bow loading buoy boat, was built in 1956 making it the oldest operational boat in the Coast Guard. Together with the 49' BUSL, they are used to accomplish the ‘lions share' of the ANT work.

The newest addition, a 26' TANB, Trailerable Aids to Navigation Boat, built in 2006, gives the team the flexibility it needs to respond quickly to isolated incidents as they occur. Response time for repairs has considerably been reduced due to the mobility of this boat.

Also included in their response ‘tool bag' are GV's. Some aids, such as lighthouses and jetty lights are serviceable from shore. Servicing these aids is mainly the responsibility of the units lone EM. Many of these lights are relatively simple to service as they have been upgraded from lense/lamp combinations to LED's and similar systems.

When not involved with the numerous aids, the team is involved with the local community. Marching in parades, and assisting schools and service organizations has also become an integral part of the team's support in local, non-Coast Guard activities.

Station New York is located in the City of New York in the Rosebank section of Staten Island, just north of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. Its operating area includes the waters of New York Harbor, the waterways around Staten Island, the Port of Newark, the East River, the lower Hudson River, Jamaica Bay and a portion of the lower New York Harbor below the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Station New York is recognized as the busiest Coast Guard station in the nation. During a single month, the crew of the station may complete over 150 search and rescue cases, several hundred vessel boardings, as well as security boardings of large merchant vessels entering the Port of New York and New Jersey. The crews regularly conduct security visits to the many sensitive maritime locations in the New York area. It is not unusual for crews to log over 2,000 boat-hours per month.

Station New York often works joint operations with the New York Police Department and the New York Fire Department marine assets. This strong partnership allows Station New York to concentrate even harder on the Waterways of New York and New Jersey, which are responsible for bringing in 30% of the nations goods.

Station Kings Point is located just 18 miles east of New York City in the village of Kings Point, New York. Station Kings Point shares the campus and facilities of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, a federally funded global maritime and transportation school since its relocation from Ft. Totten, Queens in May of 2002. The Station is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant Commander Gilbert F. Granados, USCGR, who lost his life on September 11, 2001 in the World Trade Center terrorist attack.

Originally commissioned as a small boat station under the command of Coast Guard Station New York, Station Kings Point has grown significantly over the past couple of years. It was commissioned as a Full Independent Station crewed with a Chief Boatswain's Mate, as Officer in Charge and 24 active duty and 19 reserve personnel October 1, 2004. The station has a small boat fleet consisting of three 25' Defender Class response boats.

Within the past year, Station Kings Point members conducted hundreds of Port Waterway, Coastal Security (PWCS) patrols, performed 150 search and rescue missions, and conducted over 300 Maritime Law Enforcement boarding's.

The station's area of responsibility encompasses the waters of the East River off Midtown Manhattan east to the New York/Connecticut border in the west part of the Long Island Sound. The unit also provides security for UN General Assembly Meetings, Annual NYC Fleet Week and the Macy's fourth of July celebration, in addition to performing 24/7 area patrols.