A Coast Guardsman dies in Iraq

[Tamaroa]

?Third U.S. death in raid on oil terminals?
?A third U.S. service member died after attacks on Iraqi oil terminals in the gulf off Basra, the Navy said Sunday. The Coast Guardsman died of wounds he received in the Saturday night attack, in which two sailors also were killed.

The U.S. Navy said the service members died when they were dispatched to board a suspicious vessel -- a small boat known as a dhow -- that approached the Khawr Al Amaya oil terminal.

Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Brackenbury, a Navy spokeswoman in Bahrain, said the vessel blew up as the boarding party approached.

The attacks came at the end of a violent day in Iraq that left at least 28 people dead, including 12 Iraqis in a rocket attack on a market in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad.

The latest deaths mean anywhere between 900 and 1,200 Iraqis have been killed in April alone, according to the Associated Press.

Counting the deaths reported Sunday, 716 U.S. troops have died in the Iraq war -- 518 from hostile fire, 198 in nonhostile incidents. Of those, 577 died after President Bush declared an end to major combat May 1 -- 407 in hostile fire, 170 in nonhostile incidents.?
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Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who biddest the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

Eternal Father, Lord of hosts,
Watch over the men who guard our coasts.
Protect them from the raging seas
And give them light and life and peace.
Grant them from Thy great throne above
The shield and shelter of Thy love.
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May he pass safely over the bar.

Semper Paratus

Bill

[Keith_Hixson]

The Coast Guard is a part of our military!

I believe they serve under the Treasury dept. during peace time and under the Navy during war.

In the war on terrorism are they serving under the Treasury or Navy?

Keith

[Tamaroa]

Then we were transferred to the Transportation Department. The President has the authority to make us part of the Navy in time of war. However, that has not happened since ww2. We operate independently unless ordered to do so.

Now we are in the Department of Homeland Security. With the Coast Guard's expertise in small boats combined with the fact that we are not subject to the posse comitatus act of 1878, we conduct many joint operations with the Navy. In many cases you will see Navy destroyers stop civilian ships in our waters. That in and of itself is a violation of the posse comitatus act. However, the destroyer will hoist the Coast Guard ensign and a boarding team consisting 100% of coasties will board the offending vessel making everything sneaky but legal. :-)

Rest in Peace Nathan Bruckenthal DC3, USCG age 24 years.

Bill