The United States Coast Guard is the coastal defense, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces and is one of the country's eight uniformed services. It carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are:
The eleven statutory missions as defined by law are divided into homeland security missions and non-homeland security missions.[1] Non-homeland security missions include: Marine safety, search and rescue, aids to navigation, living marine resources (fisheries law enforcement), marine environmental protection, and ice operations Homeland security missions include: Ports, waterways, and coastal security (PWCS); drug interdiction; migrant interdiction; defense readiness; and other law enforcement.
A given unit within the Coast Guard may be carrying out several missions at once. For example, a 25-foot (7.6 m) RHIB assigned to maritime security may also watch for out-of-place or missing aids to navigation, pollution, and unsafe boating practices.