The Coast Guard.—The Coast Guard was established by act of Congress in January, 1915, which provided that the then existing Revenue-Cutter Service and Life-Saving Service should be combined into one service to be known as the Coast Guard, which shall constitute a part of the military forces of the United States and which shall operate under the Treasury Department in time of peace and operate as a part of the Navy, subject to the orders of the Navy Department, in time of war, or at other times when the President shall so direct.
In time of peace the Coast Guard is charged with the enforcement of the revenue laws as applying to sea-borne commerce, with giving aid to vessels in distress at sea, with the protection of the seal fisheries, and with maintaining and operating the life-saving stations along the coasts of the United States and its insular possessions. In time of war or when so directed by the President it acts as a part of the Navy, and the ships and personnel of the service become to all intents and purposes a portion of the regular navy.
The Lighthouse Service.—This service is charged with the duties of establishing and maintaining the lighthouses and other aids to navigation, such as buoys and beacons and range marks on shore, that are required for the safe navigation of the waters adjacent to our coasts, the harbors and the channels leading to them, and the inland waterways.
In normal times the Lighthouse Service is operated under the Department of Commerce, but by act of Congress of August, 1916, the President is authorized to transfer the stations, vessels, equipment and personnel of the service, as may be required, to the jurisdiction of the Navy Department or to that of the War Department.
When so transferred to the Navy Department or to the War Department, the Lighthouse Service becomes for the time being a portion of the Navy or of the Army, as the case may be, and its officers and men are subject to the laws and regulations of the service to which it is so transferred.
The Coast and Geodetic Survey.—This branch of the government service is charged with surveying the harbors and waters contiguous to the coasts of the United States and the insular possessions thereof and the lakes and inland waterways contained therein, and with making charts from such surveys for use in navigation.
The service is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, but in time of war its vessels may be transferred to the Navy Department and their crews taken into the naval service, in which case they become subject to the laws and regulations of the Navy.
Rank, Title and Precedence
Rank in its military sense is the character or quality bestowed upon the men of the military and naval services which carries with it the eligibility to exercise command or authority over other members of the services within the limits prescribed by law and regulation. Rank is divided into many different grades to mark the relative positions of the persons upon whom it is conferred and to limit the extent of the authority carried with it.
In all of the services of the United States, “Commissioned Officers” are those who have received a commission from the President “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States”; and “Appointed Officers” are those who are appointed by the President or by his order but who are not “commissioned” and confirmed by the Senate.