Arcacian Coast Guard

The Arcacian Coast Guard is Arcacia's border protection agency and it's only armed force (other than the Arcacia Police) though it is not considered a military unit. It's main role is border protection, search and rescue and maritime law enforcement. It is considered a law enforcement agency and has the power to board vessels and apprehend suspects. The Coast Guard does not conduct criminal investigations, instead referring to the Arcacia Police where an investigation is warranted.

Function
Far from acting as a military outfit, the Coast Guard has three main functions as part of its mission statement and operates more or less as a law enforcement agency. The types of laws it is charged with enforcing, however, require it to be well equipped to handle a wide range of situations.

Border Protection
The Coast Guard's main mission is to protect the borders of Arcacia and, since the signing of the protectorate agreement, Lycanthia. Aside from running regular sea and air patrols, Coast Guardsmen also patrol the borders with Australia and are responsible for passport and immigration control at Arcacian and Lycanth airports.

Search and Rescue
The Coast Guard is Arcacia's primary search and rescue organisation, able to search a wide area of ocean in relatively short time and conduct rescues. Using rescue helicopters, the Coast Guard is able to transport rescued persons directly to hospital.

Maritime Law Enforcement
In its role as a law enforcement body, the Coast Guard is charged with intercepting vessels that are suspected of acting outside the law. This may include smuggling, illegal fishing, whaling or transport of fugitives. They are also responsible for ensuring that private vessels are operated within the law and are not being operated under the influence or outside their design specifications.

Protection and Transport of VIPs
The Coast Guard is responsible for the protection of the President and other members of the Executive, as well as visiting heads of State or heads of Government. They are also charged with providing transport and armed escorts for those entrusted to their care.

Education
Part of the Coast Guard's mission statement involves the education of the general public on safe operation of watercraft, how to avoid unsafe situations in the water. It does this both through its Cadet programme and by touring schools, community groups and even workplaces to give presentations.

Personnel
The formal name for a uniformed member of the Coast Guard is "Coast Guardsman", irrespective of gender. "Coastie" is an informal term commonly used to refer to current or former Coast Guard personnel.

Commissioned Officers
Commissioned officers in the Coast Guard have pay grades ranging from 5 to 12, with 12 being the highest. Officers holding the rank of Ensign (5) through Lieutenant Commander (7) are considered junior officers, Commanders (8) and Captains (9) are considered senior officers, and Rear Admirals (10) through Admiral (12) are considered flag officers. The Commandant is the only member of the Coast Guard to hold the rank of Admiral.

Enlisted Personnel
Enlisted members of the Coast Guard have pay grades from 0 to 4, with 4 being the highest. Cadets (0) are unpaid volunteers under the age of 18. Seaman First Class (4) is the highest enlisted rank and a Guardsman of this rank is eligible to enter officer training to advance to the rank of Ensign.

Cadetships
The Arcacian Coast Guard offers Cadetships to all boys and girls aged 14 to 18. The younger cadets meet once a week with their troop for activities similar to that of a Scouting or other similar organisation. At the age of 16, Cadets can attend a 1 year part time course (6 hours per week) in addition to their troop meetings. Upon completion of the course, they receive an accreditation and are eligible for recruitment as an enlisted Coast Guardsmen at the rank of Seaman Recruit, provided they have reached 18 years of age and have completed their Academic Diploma.

Stations
The Coast Guard operates out of 6 stations. There are 4 located in Metropolitan Arcacia, one in Saint Vincent and one in Lycanthia. Each station has its own name with the prefix "ACGS" which stands for "Arcacian Coast Guard Station. Each station is led by a Rear Admiral of the Coast Guard.

ACGS Wolf is the only station that is not staffed exclusively by Arcacian citizens. It is mainly staffed by Lycanth personnel and the commanding officer is also Lycanth.

Aircraft
The Coast Guard keeps a small fleet of fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Each aircraft has a specialised role and requires a unique certification. Most aircraft have their own dedicated crew.

Fixed Wing Aircraft
Boeing 737-400 Clipper The Coast Guard maintains a single Boeing 737-400 (VX-CGA) which is used exclusively for VIP transport and is the aircraft most often associated with the "Coast Guard One" call sign (see below).

Dassault HU-25 Guardian The second VIP transport (VX-CGB), the military version of the Dassault Falcon 20 business jet is used to transport VIPs shorter distances. It is also used to train Coast Guardsman to fly jet aircraft.

EADS CASA HC-144 Ocean Sentry The workhorse of the Coast Guard's fixed wing fleet, this medium range twin engine plane is used for search and rescue over wide areas. The Coast Guard maintains 4 of these aircraft (VX-CGC, -CGD, -CGE) as part of its mainstay patrol fleet.

Lockheed HC-130 Hercules A single Hercules (VX-CGH) is used mainly as personnel transport as well as patrol and search and rescue in deep ocean.

Cessna 172SP Skyhawk Three single engine 4-seater light aircraft are used to train new pilots. They are also sometime used for patrol and search and rescue in the waters of Metropolitan Arcacia as well as transport for high ranking personnel.

Coast Guard One
Coast Guard One is the call sign given to any Coast Guard vessel carrying the President of Arcacia. Colloquially, it most often refers to the Boeing 737 VX-CGA, though it can be applied to any aircraft or even watercraft of the Coast Guard. It is not a flight number, but a priority number.