February 14, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 29 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E182-E183]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD IN KODIAK, ALASKA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 14, 2019

  Mr. YOUNG. Madam Speaker, I am honored to express my deepest 
gratitude to all of the Coast Guard members stationed in Kodiak that do 
so much for Alaska and this country.
  Our Coast Guard base in Kodiak is the largest in the nation and truly 
vital to protecting our shores and coastal waters. Home to Air Station 
Kodiak, the Kodiak Naval Operating Base, and three cutters, Kodiak is a 
lynchpin of coastal security in the North Pacific.
  I am sure I do not need to teach anyone about the vital role the 
Coast Guard serves in Alaska. The area of responsibility assigned to 
Coast Guard units within Alaskan waters is the largest in the nation, 
spanning a massive 3,853,500 square miles and more than 33,000 miles of 
coastline. This enormous geographic responsibility includes the patrol 
of the North Pacific Ocean to protect those traversing the often-rough 
waters and to stop large-scale high seas drift netting as well as other 
illegal fishing practices that rob Alaskans of our livelihood and one 
of our most valuable natural resources.

[[Page E183]]

  From a national perspective, the Coast Guard is responsible for 
protecting our coastal borders and keeping those in our waterways safe 
through port, waterway and coastal security, drug and migrant 
interdiction, maintaining maritime aids to navigation, search and 
rescue missions, living marine resources and marine safety, ensuring 
defense readiness, marine environmental protection, ice operations, and 
other law enforcement operations. Through these important missions, the 
Service saves thousands of American lives every year.
  I was glad to speak with Coast Guard leadership recently about the 
great work performed already this year, even during the political 
divide in Washington, D.C. Every man and woman in the service is a 
testament to the spirit and drive that makes America so great and I 
want to assure all of our Coast Guard men and women that I am working 
to support and represent their interests in Congress just as I have 
done my whole career. I would like to thank everyone in the Coast Guard 
for the outstanding work they do, day in and day out to protect Alaska 
and our country. America is truly better off thanks to the Coast Guard.

                          ____________________