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NEW LONDON, Conn. - The U.S. Coast Guard Academy says Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will give the keynote speech at the Connecticut school's 128th commencement next month. The graduation ceremony is set for May 20 at the New London campus. --snip-- Napolitano was on CNN's "State of the Union" show Sunday defending an intelligence report by her agency that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could be susceptible to recruitment by right-wing extremists.

With "JAG," "Navy CIS," "MASH," and other military television shows being quite popular, one might consider with how military service has enhanced the fame of veteran actors in Hollywood or vice versa. During our distinguished history, some Hollywood actors have taken a break from their careers while they defended our country oftentimes to battle in war. These hereos include Charles Bronson, Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Clarke Gable, Lee Marvin, Elvis Presley, and Jimmy Stewart. More recent editions of entertainment veterans include "Limp Bizkit" lead singer Fred Durst who did service with the United States Navy. Up until...

Two days before NFL player Marquis Cooper took a doomed fishing trip with three friends in Florida Gulf Coast waters, a friend urged him to buy a life-saving device used to locate boats in distress. Cooper hadn't heard of the gadget, an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB). And he didn't purchase one before his excursion on Saturday, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

The Coast Guard called off its search for three missing football players at sunset Tuesday. The news came after crews combed choppy waters off the Florida Gulf Coast for a third full day since NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith and a third friend William Bleakley disappeared. Their fishing boat capsized in stormy seas Saturday evening. One of the four on the excursion, Nick Schuyler, survived.

PHILADELPHIA- On Jan. 17, 2009, the Coast Guard will establish five temporary security zones for a scheduled railway transit by high-ranking government officials. The security zones will be in effect 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2009, and include the following areas: * Delaware River, shoreline to shoreline beginning at the Walt Whitman Bridge south to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. * Schuylkill River, shoreline to shoreline beginning at the mouth and ending at the Fairmont Park Dam in Philadelphia. * Christina River, shoreline to shoreline beginning at the mouth and ending at the public dock at Ship Yard...

<p>President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to close it. The international community has condemned it.</p> <p>On Christmas Eve, however, when it came time for him to wish some American service members a Merry Christmas for his last time in office, President George W. Bush rang up a North Carolina man who's assigned to the military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.</p>

A Britten-Norman Trislander, the kind of small aircraft that disappeared off the Dominican Republic Monday with 12 on board. A small Caribbean airplane that vanished into thin air Monday was allegedly stolen by a fired Dominican Navy cadet who may have been trying to carry illegal immigrants to America, the plane’s owner told FOXNews.com. Luis Perez, the Puerto Rico-based owner of the aircraft charter company, said his twin-engine plane was stolen by an unlicensed pilot named Adrian Jimenez. Authorities told him Jimenez was a student of the Dominican Republic Armed Forces and a former Navy cadet. “They took his pilot’s...

Members of a high-level meeting on Thursday, which was taken by Chief Minister Narendra Modi at his residence on the terror attack in Mumbai, decided to act fast on plugging existing gaps in security along the 1,600-km-long (approx. 1,000-mile) state coastline. In the meeting, it was decided to act swiftly to implement a three-layer ring to make the coast secure. Of this, if Indian naval forces operating in the international sea off 12 nautical miles from the coast were to guard the outer ring, the coastal guards and the state coastal police could take care of two other rings to...

WHEREAS, on November 11 Alaskans join in honoring and remembering those who have served in the armed forces of the United States and Canada for their unselfish contributions toward making our world a better place to live. WHEREAS, America was founded on the principles of liberty, opportunity, and justice for all, and on Veterans Day we recognize our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who have valiantly defended these values throughout our country’s history. These remarkable individuals have helped to make us secure and have inspired our nation with their courage, compassion, and dedication. WHEREAS, on Veterans and Remembrance...

UK. Brixham Coastguard rescues intoxicated teenagers by helicopter Thursday, 07 August 2008   At quarter to one this morning Brixham Coastguard received several 999 calls from an 18 year old teenager reporting that he was in some form of distress on a cliff. The boy told the Coastguard in the operations room that he was epileptic and had suffered a fit. He and a friend that was with him could not tell the Coastguard where they were and communications with the two boys was difficult as it became apparent that they were under the influence of alcohol. Teignmouth and...

The Coast Guard just rolled out the most sophisticated ship it’s ever commissioned, packed with new technology to help in the hunt for drug smugglers and terrorists.The cutter Bertholf — 418 feet from stem to stern — is set to patrol the Pacific from California to Ecuador — a patch of ocean as large as the United States.“The bubble that’s around this ship that we can see and hear and respond to is much larger than any cutter we've ever built,” said Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard, referring to the range of the guns, fast boats,...

For your lunchtime reading and viewing: Popular Mechanics editor-in-chief James Meigs was kind enough to send an advance copy of the magazine’s July 2008 issue. I can’t put it down. The cover story is about an amazing Coast Guard rescue effort in March, when the Alaska Ranger ship sank.Read all about it and watch video here.As an aside, the Coast Guard cutter Munro is named after Coast Guard signalman and Medal of Honor recipient Douglas Munro, whose bravery I wrote about while working at the Seattle Times and recounted here. Amazing stories of heroism, then and now.Go Coast Guard!

Satellite-based navigation has become a ubiquitous tool for business, military and personal use. The downside is that any disruption in the Global Positioning System could wreak havoc down on Earth. This year, the Department of Homeland Security decided that a 30-year-old navigation system used by mariners will be upgraded to back up GPS. The decision preserves the Long-Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN) network, which has been teetering on the verge of forced retirement since the 1980s, according to the Coast Guard’s Navigation Center. The backbone of LORAN is a network of transmission stations, many located in remote regions, staffed with...

A family owned commercial fishing business in Virginia and two of its owners paid $6.8 million in fines and forfeitures after pleading guilty to hiring 126 illegal aliens to work on their boats. The charge is a misdemeanor and federal prosecutors had recommended home confinement in addition to the monetary penalties, but U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson sentenced Yvonne Michelle Peabody, the company’s vice president, to three months in prison. At the sentencing hearing last month, the judge said he was making an example out of Peabody, who had served on the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Council’s law enforcement subcommittee at...

Our president was busy today with public events. President Bush signed H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, President Bush Signs H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 President Bush marked this the Day of Solidarity with the Cuban people. President Bush Discusses Cuba, Marks Day of Solidarity He met with the Maronite Patriarch of Lebanon Nasrallah Sfeir in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, President Bush met with Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander George Lisicki in the Oval Office. Vice President Dick Cheney delivered the main address during U.S. Coast...

After Action Report Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally, May 21, 2008 Hi folks, it was good to be back in the saddle again. Today, the following Eagles took part in what is most likely our annual Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally: Jim Bancroft Larry Baily Carolyn VanZorge Fernando Martinez Bill Wilkins Eva Bauman Kathy Upton Pamela Hall Dave Russo Dan Maloney "NEW" Eagle Ted Bakacs Paul Leblanc The New York/New Jersey Eagles showed up earlier than most due to dedication on their part and computer failure on my part which would have had me only 10 minutes late...

The Gathering of Eagles, a patriotic organization dedicated to honoring our men and women in uniform and those who are honorable veterans, announces our latest event in honoring the graduates of the Coast Guard Academy by welcoming their families and supporters to their graduation ceremony on May 21, 2008. We will be in front of the entrance on Mohegan Ave, at the intersection of Williams and Mohegan from 7 AM to 1 PM that day, waving flags, carrying patriotic signs and singing patriotic songs in an effort to welcome the families to what is a most honored event; the graduation...

Eight ships that were supposed to be the government's latest, best weapon for stopping terrorists, illegal immigrants and smugglers now float unused in a U.S. Coast Guard shipyard in Baltimore, the symbol of a nearly $100 million taxpayer debacle. Instead of patrolling, the ships were deemed unfit for the high seas after just a couple of months of use and eventually will be dismantled without ever fulfilling their promise. The Coast Guard hopes to finally put the problems with its much maligned "Deepwater" program behind it, taking ownership this month of a brand new 418-foot national security cutter that was...

Folks, I want to invite all Freepers and Lurkers in good standing to attend the rally to welcome the families of the graduating cadets of the Coast Guard Academy on May 21, 2008. Vice President Dick Cheney will be the honored speaker.

WASHINGTON - The House has overwhelmingly passed an $8.4 billion Coast Guard bill despite a threatened veto from President Bush. The bill would make the Coast Guard enforce security zones around eight liquefied natural gas terminals. The White House objects to the bill saying Coast Guard assets would be diverted from other high-priority missions. The measure was approved Thursday 395-7, a veto-proof margin. The bill also sets stricter crime reporting requirements for cruise ships and mandates double hulls on large cargo ships to prevent oil spills. It also requires oceangoing ships to install ballast water treatment equipment to protect the...