More of this Feature • Part 1: Keeping Up Our Guard, On Shelves • Part 2: Manatee Life Guard, and more
Related Resources • News/FYI Index

Keeping Up Our Guard
Days before his State of the Union address in January, President Bush visited a Coast Guard unit in Maine and praised the agency for its unprecedented diligence in protecting the nation from both external and internal dangers since the September 11 terrorist attacks. "I saw how the Coast Guard responded after 9/11," Bush says, "and I know how important the Coast Guard is for the safety and security and the well-being of our American citizens."

The agency presented the Commander in Chief with a list of record-breaking statistics that reflect the intense operations Coast Guard divisions have launched since September, including the largest port-security operation since Wold War II.

In many cases, higher security checks for terrorist activity led to other forms of crime-fighting, such as increased narcotics and illegal-immigration busts. Here’s a chronicle of some of those stats that prompted the President’s highest esteem.

Between September 11 and January 25, the Coast Guard:
• conducted 30,000 port-security patrols and 3,000 air patrols
• boarded and inspected more than 10,000 vessels, more than 1,000 of which were in New York Harbor alone
• escorted 5,112 vessels in and out of port
• maintained heightened states of alert at 361 major ports, including the new higher-security ports in New York, Boston, Seattle, and Los Angeles
• seized 33,560 pounds of cocaine and 13,618 pounds of marijuana
• interdicted 587 illegal immigrants
• posted armed guards in the bridges and engine rooms of cruise ships
• provided air marshals on commercial flights in support of the FAA and Department of Transportation
• maintained high-security posts at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during the detainment of Taliban prisoners
• recalled 2,900 reservists to active duty and contributed more than 110,000 volunteer hours to support Coast Guard missions.

ON SHELVES: Know Your Boat
Whether you’re new to boating or new to taking care of your boat, David Kroenke’s latest book will boost your courage in tackling maintenance chores from the bilge to the helm station.

Know Your Boat is a humorous how-to that will give even boaters lacking basic boating knowledge enough information to grab a wrench, dive into the engine room, and go to work. Kroenke assumes you know nothing and in 176 pages takes you through an easy-to-follow crash course on topics including engines, electricity, electronics, plumbing, and pumps, to name a few. If you’re already conversant with the ins and out of boats, Know Your Boat is a perfect gift for that friend you just convinced to buy one of his or her own.
$18.95, paperback; McGraw-Hill

MAY
3-7. The Tacoma Dome Boat Show in Tacoma, Washington. (253) 756-2121.
5-7. The Pensacola Boat Show in Pensacola, Florida. (334) 478-7469.
18-21. The Orange County Boat Show in Anaheim, California. (714) 633-7581.
25-28. The Bay Bridge Boat Show in Annapolis, Maryland. (410) 268-8828.
25-28. The Pacific Powerboat Expo in Oakland, California. (510) 834-1000.

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