News

08.17.2026

CGMA Launches 2026 Annual Campaign

Coast Guard Mutual Assistance’s 2026 Annual Fundraising Campaign is now underway through Sept. 30, inviting all to help CGMA support the Coast Guard community in times of financial hardship.   As the official relief society of the U.S. Coast Guard, CGMA provides grants and interest-free loans to help members of the Coast Guard workforce navigate unexpected financial challenges. In recent years, those challenges have ranged from government shutdowns to natural disasters to out-of-pocket PCS costs and debt management.  In 2025, CGMA provided $12.1 […]

08.16.2026

Helping Our Own: Why Allotment Donations Matter 

Every day, Coast Guard members and families face unexpected challenges. A sudden emergency, an unplanned move, a natural disaster, or a missed paycheck can quickly disrupt a family’s financial stability. When that happens, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance is ready to respond with practical support, compassion, and the reassurance that no one in our community has to face a financial […]

08.11.2026

The Countdown Is Complete: View the 2026 Coast Guard Video of the Year

Great Lakes Icebreaking Operations has been named the 2026 Coast Guard Video of the Year. After 10 unforgettable videos spanning frozen oceans, breaking surf, daring rescues, high-speed interdictions and months-long patrols, viewers chose the moment that rose above them all: Great Lakes Icebreaking Operations is the 2026 Coast Guard Video of the Year. The winning […]

08.06.2026

Your will. Your legacy. Made easy with this free tool from CGMA.

By Alena Howard, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance August is National Make-A-Will Month, and if creating a will has been on your to-do list, now is the perfect time to take that important step. Why Creating a Will Matters for You and Your Loved Ones A will is one of the most meaningful ways to protect […]

07.31.2026

The CGMA Open: A First-Class Experience at an Exceptional Value

By Jenna Nichols, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance ALCOAST 235/26, which officially announced the 2026 CGMA Open, is out, but there is much more to this year’s tournament than could fit in one Coast Guard message. The CGMA Open will be held November 10–12 at Reunion Resort & Golf Club in Kissimmee, Florida. Over three days, […]

07.28.2026

#1 — History Made: How USCGC MUNRO Completed a Historic 119-Day Patrol

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance For 119 days, the crew of USCGC Munro operated far from home. They crossed more than 26,000 miles and two oceans. They trained for national defense, pursued drug smugglers in the Eastern Pacific and tracked a sanctioned tanker across the North Atlantic. By the time Munro returned to […]

07.28.2026

#2 — Chasing the Shadow Fleet: Operation Southern Spear

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance It begins with a helicopter. Not a warning shot. Not a radio call. A helicopter. As its rotors churn the air above a moving tanker, a team descends onto the deck below. Within moments, the bridge is secured, the crew is under control and another vessel operating outside […]

07.27.2026

#3 — Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City: A Rescue to Remember

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance Some Coast Guard search and rescue cases are remembered for the weather. Others for the distance offshore. This one is remembered for a frantic dog and an exceptionally calm cat. On Dec. 30, 2025, two mariners found themselves aboard a disabled 40-foot sailing catamaran approximately 65 miles southeast […]

07.27.2026

#4 — Operation River Wall: Coast Guard Boat Forces on the Rio Grande

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance The Rio Grande presents a different kind of maritime challenge. Unlike the open ocean, crews navigate narrow channels, shallow water, shifting currents and constantly changing river conditions where boat handling and local knowledge are just as important as speed. When the Coast Guard launched Operation River Wall in […]

07.24.2026

#5 — Breaking Through: How USCGC Polar Star Keeps Antarctica Within Reach

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance At the bottom of the world, there are no alternate routes. Each austral summer, as Antarctica emerges from months of darkness, the United States depends on one ship to do what no other American vessel can: cut a path through some of the thickest sea ice on Earth. […]

07.22.2026

#6 – You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide: Inside USCGC Stone’s Historic Counter-Drug Patrol

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance The eastern Pacific Ocean is one of the world’s busiest maritime drug trafficking corridors. It’s also one of the largest operating areas the U.S. Coast Guard patrols. “The eastern Pacific is just a massive area that only a limited amount of assets can target,” said Lt. Cmdr. Naylor. […]

07.22.2026

#7 – Where Surfmen Are Made: Inside the Coast Guard’s National Motor Lifeboat School

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance Where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, powerful river currents collide with incoming swells to create one of the most dangerous stretches of navigable water in North America. Mariners know it as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” Since 1792, nearly 2,000 vessels have been lost in these […]