The Coast Guard is one of the five U.S. armed services, established on this day in 1790. It had a modest beginning: Originally called the Revenue Marine, it was basically ten boats with crews who were supposed to prevent smuggling and enforce tariffs. For nearly a decade, it was the only afloat defense for the United States; the Navy didn’t come on the scene until 1798.

This outfit grew and evolved, and it got renamed the “Coast Guard” in 1915 when the Revenue side merged with a different life-saving operation. Over time, the Coast Guard was also tasked with overseeing maritime navigation aids, including lighthouses; merchant licensing and safety; and administration of bridges.

The Coast Guard also has a sort of dual federal citizenship: During peacetime, it operates as part of the Department of Homeland Security. But during war or whenever the president says, it folds in with the Navy. But from what I could find, World War II was the last time the entire entity was under the Navy, and of course there was no DHS then—the Coast Guard was part of the Department of Transportation.

“Coast Guard” also seems like a bit of a misnomer: Servicemembers have ventured pretty far from our home coasts and participated in every major U.S. conflict from 1790 through today. This includes landing troops on D-Day, patrols during the Vietnam War, and pitching in on Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The interwebz are inconsistent on this point, but it sounds like joining can be kind of tough. Like any military service, you have to take the ASVAB, and you need to score pretty well to qualify for this service. Unsurprisingly, recruiters are harder to find in land-locked states, so those folks have an extra obstacle to overcome.

You also have to be fit and go through eight weeks of basic training. Before you walk in the door, you need to be able to run a mile and a half in 15 minutes (for women, 12.5 for men); you also have to jump off a 1.5m platform, swim 100 meters and tread water for three minutes. They also require a set number of push-ups in a minute (29 for men, 15 for women) and a set number of sit-ups in the same time (38 for men, 32 for women 32)—although the website says this is switching to doing a forearm plank hold lasting 1:18 for men and 1:09 for women.

I’m too old to join, but I will say I could certainly benefit from working myself to a point where I could qualify physically. Maybe that will be a resolution for 2026. It’s probably less complicated than getting a boat and learning how to use it!