Coastie (Coast Guard member nickname)
The United States Coast Guard is part of the United States Armed Forces and was created by Congress in 1790 as the “Revenue Marine.” Members of the Coast Guard have been called “Coasties” since at least 1942. The nickname is usually not considered derogatory; however, “‘the Coasties,’ in derisive Navy slang” was cited in print in 1971.
A member of the United States Coast Guard is also sometimes nicknamed a “puddle pirate.”
Wikipedia: United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country’s seven uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the U.S. military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters) and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the President at any time, or by Congress during time of war.
Created by Congress on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton as the “Revenue Marine”, it is the United States’ oldest continuous seagoing service (although the United States Navy lists its founding as being in 1775, with the formation of the Continental Navy, the modern US Navy has been in service since 1794). As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue Marine, whose original purpose was that of a collector of customs duties in the nation’s seaports. By the 1860s the service was known as the United States Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue Marine gradually fell into disuse. The Coast Guard was formed from the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915. As one of the nation’s five armed services, the Coast Guard was involved in every war from 1790 to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Google Books
14 December 1942, Life magazine, “U. S. Coast Guard,” pg. 51, col. 3:
From Algiers and Casablanca to Guadalcanal, the “Coasties” have been among the first of the U. S. armed services to face the Axis guns.
31 October 1945, Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, “‘Right Now, It’s Joe,’ Says Jack Dempsey On Conn-Louis Go” by Morris Siegel, pg. 16, col. 1:
His 45-month duty in the Coasties has been spent all over the world.
(Jack Dempsey in the Coast Guard—ed.)
Google Books
The Saturday Evening Post
Volume 227
1955
Pg. 129:
Her name is Jo Milton, and she goes to Connecticut College, in New London, which happens to be right across the street from the United States Coast Guard Academy. “Coasties,” the girls call the cadets.
Google Books
The Arnheiter Affair
By Neil Sheehan
New York, NY: Random House
1971
Pg. 46:
She sailed under Coast Guard officers and men — “the Coasties,” in derisive Navy slang.
20 July 1983, Miami (FL) Herald, “Anti-terrorist maneuvers set by Coast Guard,” pg. 2B:
“There will be a heightened Coast Guard presence. That doesn’t mean you’ll see ‘coasties’ running down the streets of Miami.
3 November 1985, Miami (FL) Herald, “Coast Guard Blues: Cuts in budget mean clear sailing for smugglers,” pg. 13C:
But while the Coasties no longer were seen on the bays and waterways often during the day, they continued to spend many hours offshore after dark,
OCLC WorldCat record
Coastie : the Coast Guard safety dog coloring book.
Author: United States. Coast Guard.
Publisher: [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Coast Guard, [2000?]
Edition/Format: eBook : Document : National government publication : English
Urban Dictionary
Coastie
1. n. A US Coast Guard member. not derogatory.
You can always tell a Coastie by the smell of alcohol on his breath.
by theunknowngl Oct 16, 2004
OCLC WorldCat record
Coasties culinary creations : a collection of recipes
Author: Coast Guard Spouses’ Association (North Bend, Or.); Morris Press Cookbooks.
Publisher: Kearney, NE. : Morris Press Cookbooks, 2006.
Edition/Format: Book : English
OCLC WorldCat record
The Coast Guard Exchange System changes to better serve “coasties.”
Edition/Format: Article : English
Publication: RETAIL MERCHANDISER, 47, no. 1, (2007): 16-17
Database: British Library Serials
Twitter
Hampton MAC
@HmptnMilAffairs
Thank you, Coasties, for your service! “@NatlParkService: Happy 223rd Birthday to the United States Coast Guard. http://www.uscg.mil/ ”
2:17 PM - 4 Aug 13