News

07.21.2026

#8 – Inside the Coast Guard’s Advanced Helicopter Rescue School

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance Every Coast Guard rescue is different. The crew rarely knows exactly what they will find. A distressed mariner in breaking surf. A stranded climber on a cliff face. Families trapped by floodwaters. A lost hiker beneath a dense forest canopy. Whatever waits at the other end of the […]

07.21.2026

#9 – Force From Above: How HITRON Changed Maritime Drug Interdiction

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance Somewhere over the Eastern Pacific, a Coast Guard helicopter crew waits for authorization to engage a fleeing go-fast vessel. Their rifles are not aimed at the people aboard. They are trained on two outboard engines bouncing across open water. Moments later, the engines are disabled, the vessel slows, […]

07.20.2026

#10 – When the Great Lakes Freeze, the Coast Guard Gets to Work

By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance Before you ever see a Coast Guard cutter, you hear it. Ice on the Great Lakes doesn’t simply crack. It groans under pressure, giving way with a deep report as thousands of tons of steel climb onto its surface before crushing through. Behind the cutter, a channel begins […]

07.19.2026

U.S. COAST GUARD TOP 10 VIDEOS OF THE YEAR RETURN AFTER NEARLY A DECADE

Two-week countdown will showcase Coast Guard missions around the world and give the public a chance to watch, vote, share, and support the people behind the mission ARLINGTON, Va. – Coast Guard Mutual Assistance is bringing back a Coast Guard tradition as part of the service’s 236th birthday celebration. After nearly a decade, the U.S. […]

07.18.2026

The Top 10 Is Back: CGMA Revives Coast Guard Video Tradition for Service’s 236th Birthday

By Donnie Brzuska, CGMA At the bottom of the world, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star cut a seven-mile path through Antarctic ice so fuel and cargo could reach McMurdo Station. On the Rio Grande, Coast Guard crews pushed shallow-water boats through shifting currents and tight turns. In the Eastern Pacific, Coast Guard […]

07.07.2026

More Than Golf: Why Coasties Keep Coming Back to the CGMA Open 

Learn how the CGMA Open golf tournament brings Coasties, veterans, families, and supporters together to help Coast Guard families in need.

06.11.2026

Retired Coast Guard Vice Admiral Completes 2,170-Mile Ride Supporting Coast Guard Families

One Man. One Mission. Helping Our Own. BAR HARBOR, Maine — Retired Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown completed a 2,170-mile solo and unsupported bicycle journey Thursday from Key West, Florida, to Bar Harbor, Maine, raising more than $25,700 for Coast Guard families through Coast Guard Mutual Assistance. Vice Adm. Manson Brown, 69, completed the ride […]

05.28.2026

CGMA Updates Supplemental Education Grant (SEG) to Better Support Coast Guard Families

By CGMA Staff Coast Guard Mutual Assistance has updated the Supplemental Education Grant (SEG) for the 2026 cycle, making the program clearer, more consistent, and more responsive to feedback from the Coast Guard community. The Supplemental Education Grant helps eligible Coast Guard members, spouses, and dependent children cover education-related expenses such as fees, books, study […]

05.18.2026

Layette Packing Party with USCG Station Washington

Service members and families at USCG Station Washington recently came together for a lunch and a layette packing party in support of new and expecting military families. Volunteer military spouses, alongside members of the Station Washington, packed essential baby items including blankets, diapers, clothing, and care supplies to help ease the transition into parenthood for […]

04.30.2026

$12.1M Delivered: See CGMA’s 2025 Impact

CGMA Delivers When It Matters Most: Inside a Year of Momentum In 2025, as financial pressure mounted across the Coast Guard community, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance (CGMA) quietly did what it has always done: show up. The organization delivered more than $12.1 million in financial assistance to over 4,000 Coast Guard members and families, meeting […]