Search and Rescue « Coast Guard Great Lakes

Hypothermia kills: These tips can save your life

Seasonal Safety Risks The Great Lakes environment shifts drastically with the seasons. The frozen wintry expanse thaws to a lush boater’s paradise in the summer. The region is currently in what is called the “shoulder season,” when any day can [...]

An ice rescue crewmember from Coast Guard Station Marblehead, Ohio, rescues a victim actor from the ice of Lake Erie during Icy Resolve 2013, an ice rescue training exercise held at the station, Feb. 9, 2013.

Cool customers

This is a first-hand account of Icy Resolve 2013 from the eyes of Cmdr. Lisa Ragone, an incident commander at the full-scale exercise. I served as the secondary incident commander from Coast Guard Sector Detroit for an ice rescue exercise [...]

120902-G-ZZ999-002 Summerstock Reserve member at Station St. Cla

Summerstock: A plan of action to patrol the Great Lakes

On Aug. 18, 2012 a rescue boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Sackets Harbor, N.Y., rescued two men from a boat that was taking on water in Lake Ontario. All across the nation, Coast Guard rescue crews engage in similar responses [...]

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Five facts about ice

The 9th Coast Guard District reminds Great Lakes citizens and visitors to use extra precautions when planning recreational activities on frozen ponds, streams, rivers and lakes. Ice can be unpredictable and dangerous. Ice is an ever-changing surface, and the fluctuating weather conditions affect [...]

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Great Lakes Coast Guard ice rescue assets

Ninth Coast Guard District units conduct hundreds of ice rescues and training events each winter. This work is done in the most arduous of environments and it’s dangerous. The 9th District has 39 stations, 2 sir stations, and 8 [...]

There’s an old English proverb that says, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” That proverb would be best served carved onto every boat that enters the water. Things can change in a moment’s notice, and boaters have to be prepared. And, it’s because they were prepared that Ryan Miller and his son Cody Mack, Brian Nelson, and Jack Fischer Jr., all from Michigan, are still alive to tell their harrowing story of spending 14 hours in the waters of Lake Huron after their boat capsized July 9.

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Click here to read a July 13 blog post, in which this crew of boaters was named the Coast Guard’s “Shipmate of the Week” Written by Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Huth, 9th Coast Guard District public affairs. There’s an [...]

120211-G-JL323-045 Silver Lifesaving Medal

Above and Beyond: College student receives Silver Lifesaving Medal

Each year it seems that the Red River, which flows north along the North Dakota/Minnesota border, rises and creates hazardous flooding conditions for the people who live near its banks. In the fall of 2009, Coast Guardsmen from the 8th [...]

SOUTH LUXEMBURG, Wis. - Petty Officer 3rd Class Shane Wagner and Seaman Grant Jansen, both crewmembers at Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and members of Brown County Sheriff's Department simulate rescuing victims at Red River County Park during a mass rescue operations preparedness exercise, Jan. 18, 2012. The exercise provided the participating agencies the opportunity to evaluate their response plans, capabilities and coordination in a simulated emergency situation. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Crystalynn A. Kneen.

Coast Guard, dozens of local, state, federal response agencies hold mass rescue exercise

Guest post by PA2 Crystalynn Kneen, supervisor, Public Affairs Detachment Atlantic City, N.J. Click HERE to see more photos. For emergency management teams all over the country, preparing for search and rescue missions is critical to mission success. [...]

Sector Detroit command center accepts cutting-edge technology

The Coast Guard in Detroit came one step closer Friday to eliminating the often time-consuming and frustrating search aspect of search and rescue when leaders there unveiled new cutting-edge technology now available to search and rescue controllers in Sector Detroit’s command center.