United States Coast Guard Air Stations
A Coast Guard Air Station (abbreviated as CGAS or AirSta) provides aviation support for the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard operates approximately 210 aircraft from 24 Coast Guard Air Stations in the United States. Fixed-wing aircraft, such as the HC-130 Hercules, are built for long range missions and operate from air stations. The MH-65D Dolphin and Sikorsky HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters also operate from Air Stations, Air Facilities and flight deck equipped cutters.
Coast Guard Air Stations | |
---|---|
Active | 1920-Present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Coast Guard |
Type | Air Station |
Role | To provide aviation missions and support |
Unlike Coast Guard Stations, which are subordinate to Sector Commanders, the commanding officer of a Coast Guard Air Station reports to the appropriate District Commander. Air stations are typically commanded by an officer with the rank of captain.
First District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn | Brooklyn, New York | 1936 | 1998 | [1] | |
Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod | Sandwich, Massachusetts | 1970 | Active | Located on the Otis Air National Guard Base. Flies the HH-60J Jayhawk helicopters, and HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and provide coverage from the Canada–US border to Long Island, New York. | [2] |
Coast Guard Air Station Salem | Salem, Massachusetts | 1935 | 1970 | [3] | |
Coast Guard Aviation Station Ten Pound Island | Gloucester, Massachusetts | 1925 | 1935 | First permanent Coast Guard Air Station | [4] [5] |
Fifth District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City | Atlantic City, New Jersey | 1998 | Located at Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and provides aircrews and aircraft to the Washington, D.C. area as part of Operation Noble Eagle, a Department of Defense (NORAD) mission to protect the air space around the nation's capital. | [6] | |
Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City | Elizabeth City, North Carolina | 1940 | Enlisted Coast Guardsmen in aviation ratings receive their initial aviation training at the Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC), which is co-located with the AirSta in Elizabeth City, NC. These two commands (AirSta and ATTC) are separate entities. | [7] | |
Coast Guard Air Facility Norfolk | Norfolk, Virginia | 1987 | 1989 | [8] | |
Coast Guard Air Station Washington | Arlington, Virginia | 1952 | Located at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, staffed by rotating crews from CGAS Atlantic City | [9] | |
Coast Guard Air Station Morehead City | Morehead City, North Carolina | 1920 | 1922 | Established in 1920 with surplus Curtiss HS and Aeromarine 40 flying boats loaned from the U.S. Navy; lost appropriation in 1922. | [10] [11] |
Seventh District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater | Clearwater, Florida | 1934 | Active | Located at the St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport. | [12] |
Coast Guard Air Station Miami | Opa-locka, Florida | 1964 | Active | Located at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, formerly Naval Air Station Miami. | [13] |
Coast Guard Air Station St. Augustine | St. Augustine, Florida | 1989 | 1990 | Located at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport, formerly St. Augustine Airport. | [14] |
Coast Guard Air Station Savannah | Savannah, Georgia | 1963 | Active | Located at Hunter Army Airfield, formerly Hunter Air Force Base. | [15] |
Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen | Aguadilla, Puerto Rico | 1971 | Active | Located at the Rafael Hernandez International Airport, formerly Ramey Air Force Base. | [16] |
Eighth District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Houston | Houston, Texas | 1963 | Active | Located at the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base | [17] |
Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, Texas | 1950 | Active | Located at the Corpus Christi International Airport | [18] |
Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans | Belle Chasse, Louisiana | 1955 | Active | Located at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans | [19] |
Coast Guard Aviation Training Center | Mobile, Alabama | 1966 | Active | Located at the Mobile Regional Airport | [20] |
Coast Guard Air Station Biloxi | Biloxi, Mississippi | 1935 | 1966 | Located at the Biloxi Municipal Airport | [13] [21] |
Air Patrol Detachment El Paso | El Paso, Texas | 1937 | 1939 | Located at Fort Sam Houston | [13] |
Ninth District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Chicago | Glenview, Illinois | 1969 | 1995 | Located on Naval Air Station Glenview (now closed) | |
Coast Guard Air Station Detroit | Mt. Clemens, Michigan | 1966 | Active | Located at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base | [22] |
Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City | Traverse City, Michigan | 1946 | Active | Located at the Cherry Capital Airport | [23] |
Air Facility Muskegon | Muskegon, Michigan | N/A | Active | Detachment of Air Station Detroit | [22] |
Air Facility Waukegan | Waukegan, Illinois | N/A | Active | Detachment of Air Station Traverse City | [23] |
Eleventh District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay | Humboldt Bay, California | 1977 | Located at Arcata-Eureka Airport. | [24] | |
Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento | McClellan, California | 1978 | Located at Sacramento McClellan Airport, formerly McClellan Air Force Base | [25] | |
Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco | San Francisco, California | 1941 | Colocated at San Francisco International Airport | [26] | |
Coast Guard Station Ventura | Point Mugu, CA | 2023 (expected) | Upgrade of Point Mugu from a FOB of CGAS San Francisco into an independent CGAS tenanted at Naval Base Ventura County. USCG operations are scheduled to shift from the FOB to the new facilities of Air Station Ventura upon the facility’s completion. This will be the first new CGAS in more than 2 decades.[27] The air station’s area of responsibility covers 350 nautical miles and stretches from Dana Point to Morro Bay, including the Channel Islands. | ||
Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | 1962 | 2016 | This air station closed in September 2016 when it lost its lease on its facility at the Los Angeles International Airport to an expansion project. Administratively, its component units were relocated to Naval Air Station Point Mugu in Point Mugu, California and merged with/became a FOB of CGAS San Francisco. | [26] [28] [29] |
Coast Guard Air Station San Diego | San Diego, California | 1937 | Located adjacent to San Diego International Airport / Lindbergh Field, this air station previously operated both rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft, with access for the latter to the airport's 9,400 foot runway. Although fixed-wing aircraft are no longer based at this air station, access to the runway remains. | [30][31] |
Thirteenth District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Astoria | Warrenton, Oregon | 1964 | Active | Established at Tongue Point in 1964 and moved to current location in 1966. | [32] |
Coast Guard Air Station North Bend | North Bend, Oregon | 1974 | Active | [33] | |
Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles | Port Angeles, Washington | 1935 | Active | Supports three MH-65D Dolphin helicopters, which have been operating at the station since 1984. |
Fourteenth District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point | Kapolei, Hawaii | 1949 | Active | Operations transferred from Kaneohe in 1949. Located at Kalaeloa Airport, formerly Naval Air Station Barbers Point. | [34] [35] |
Sangley Point | Cavite City, Cavite | 1946 | 1971 | Colocated with Naval Station Sangley Point. Provided aerial support for LORAN stations in the Philippine islands. | [36] |
SAR Wake | |||||
SAR Midway | |||||
Air Detachment Kaneohe | Hawaii | 1945 | 1949 | [34] [35] | |
Air Detachment Guam | Agana, Guam | 1947 | 1972 | Established at Naval Air Station Agana to provide LORAN support for western Pacific stations. | [36] |
Seventeenth District
Station | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak | Kodiak, Alaska | 1947 | Active | Located at the Kodiak Airport, formerly Naval Air Station Kodiak. | [37] |
Coast Guard Air Station Sitka | Sitka, Alaska | 1977 | Active | Area encompasses Southeast Alaska to Alaskan-Canadian border and the central Gulf of Alaska | [38] |
Air Support Facility Cordova | Cordova, Alaska | 1980[39] | Active | [40] |
Others
- Air Detachment Naples (Naples, Campania, Italy) (disestablished 1972)
- Air Detachment Argentia (Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada) (disestablished 1966)
References
- "Air Station Brooklyn, New York". United States Coast Guard. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- "Air Station Cape Cod". United States Coast Guard. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- "Air Station Salem, Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- "Air Station Ten Pound Island, Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- "1926: The First Permanent Coast Guard Air Stations Established". Coast Guard Aviation History. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "Air Station Atlantic City, New Jersey". United States Coast Guard. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- "Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina". United States Coast Guard. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- "Air Station St. Augustine, Florida". United States Coast Guard. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- "Air Station Washington". United States Coast Guard. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- "Air Station Morehead City". United States Coast Guard. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- "1920: The First Coast Guard Air Station, Morehead City, NC". Coast Guard Aviation History. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "USCG Air Station Clearwater, Florida". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "Historic Coast Guard Air Stations". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "Significant Dates in Coast Guard Aviation" (PDF). media.defense.gov. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- "USCG Air Station Savannah, GA". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "USCG Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "USCG Air Station Houston, Texas". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "USCG: Sector Corpus Christi". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "USCG Air Station New Orleans, LA". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "USCG Aviation Training Center, Mobile Alabama". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- Morris, Ted Allan. "A Short History of Operations at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station, Biloxi, Mississippi". Ted A. Morris. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "USCG Air Station Detroit, Michigan". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "USCG Air Station Traverse City, MI". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "Sector / Air Station Humboldt Bay". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "Air Station Sacramento". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "Air Station San Francisco: History and Mission". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- https://www.kclu.org/people/lance-orozco (28 July 2021). "Coast Guard's First New Air Station In Two Decades Being Built On South Coast". KCLU. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
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- Green, Nick (23 January 2015). "Local Coast Guard station to shrink after Air Station Los Angeles at LAX shuts in 2016". Daily Breeze.
- Orozco, Lance (9 September 2016). "Coast Guard Permanently Moving Air Station From Los Angeles To Ventura County". KCLU.
- "Coast Guard Air Station San Diego". Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "Air Station San Diego 50th Anniversary".
- "Group / Air Station Astoria" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "Group / Air Station North Bend" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "Air Station Barbers Point History". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "1949: Coast Guard Air Detachment Barbers Point Established". Coast Guard Aviation History. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "1946: Pacific LORAN and Post War Aviation Support; CG Air Detachments Sangley Point and Guam Established". Coast Guard Aviation History. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "Air Station Kodiak". U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, Seventeenth District. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- "Air Station Sitka". U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, Seventeenth District. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- "US Coast Guard names two new Coast Guard Cities in Alaska, Washington [press release]". U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- "USCG: District 17 Units". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
42. https://cgaviationhistory.org/1969-coast-guard-air-station-chicago-established/
External links
- Coast Guard Historian's Office: Air Stations
- "Coast Guard Grows Wings to Save Lives" Popular Mechanics, April 1936 list of USCG air stations in 1936