The Coast Guard is Controlled by Who??

In today's Lunch Tray Trivia I asked the question of "Which Department controls the U.S. Coast Guard?"

The Answer: It's the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Did you know this? I didn't. I thought it was an interesting tidbit of trivia. I assumed it was run by the military as it is often described as being a military service.

However, on this day in 1915 the Coast Guard was created by an act of Congress. It was  formed from the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life-Saving Service, as an organization under the U.S. Department of Treasury.  The Coast Guard has been involved in every war from 1790 up to the Iraq Warand the War in Afghanistan.

In 1790 the organization was known as the "Revenue Marine" and it's job, under U.S. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, was to collect customs duties in the nation's seaports. Later, in the 1860's, the service became known as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service.

Well that clears up why the Coast Guard is controlled by the US Treasury, doesn't it now. :)