US Coast Guard Heavy Weather Boat Training Video Shows What ‘Awesome’ Looks Like In Action

The branch is one of the oldest of its kind in the world, its roots going back to 1790, when Congress created the so-called Revenue-Marine and then a sort of customs enforcement service. In 1894 it became the United States Revenue Cutter Service, but it was not until 1918 that the organization’s merger with the United States Life-Saving Service (responsible for rescuing castaways at sea) created the USCG.

According to official data, the military branch now consists of around 50,000 members, who operate a formidable arsenal of equipment: “259 Cutters, 200 fixed and rotary wing aircraft and more than 1,600 boats”, according to the latest USCG count.

The same data shows that the work for the Coast Guard never stops. Average daily figures (yes, daily) indicate that these forces are responsible for 42 search and rescue operations, 133 maritime patrols, 13 security embarkations and a saving of $ 114,000 in goods and approximately 12 lives.

Such incredible stats wouldn’t be achievable without proper training, and the video below shows how exhausting that can be at times. The clip was posted in mid-July by Military in Action and was shot by Patrick Seebald and Erik Swanson of USCG Bodega Bay station.

The 13-minute video shows what the Coast Guard calls Heavy Weather Boat Training, procedures designed to teach branch members how to conduct operations in rough seas. We are not told what type of ships and how many people participated in the exercise, but we do know that this is how impressive should look like the action.