The US Coast Guard Auxiliary is the all-volunteer component of the

United States Coast Guard within the Department of Homeland Security.

The Auxiliary was created by an Act of Congress in 1939 and has grown to over 32,000 members who daily support the Coast Guard in all its non-military, and non-law-enforcement missions. Auxiliary members conduct safety patrols on local waterways, assist in Search and Rescue, teach boating safety classes, conduct free vessel safety checks for the public, provide boating safety literature to dealers, as well as many other activities related to recreational boating safety.
The Coast Guard considers the Auxiliary its primary resource for recreational boating safety outreach and prevention. Collectively, Auxiliarists volunteer over 4.5 million hours per year and complete nearly 500,000 missions – a true force multiplier for the Coast Guard! Last year Auxiliarists volunteer missions spent over 11,000 hours in the air and 170,000 hours on surface patrols which enabled Auxiliarists to save 332 lives and assist 9,548 others. We conducted 102,620 vessel safety checks and over 58,000 hours in the classroom conducting public education.

 But the Auxiliary is more than recreational boating safety; we regularly serve alongside our active-duty shipmates serving as communications watch standers, vessel inspectors, training resources for air and sea operations, numerous duties related to environmental protection and homeland security, and even as chefs! In fact, there are nearly two dozen "qualifications" open to Auxiliarists willing to put in the time and training. 

 Membership in the Auxiliary is open to persons 17 years of age and older. You do not need to have a military background to join us. The USCG Auxiliary is organized into 16 districts nationwide, comprised of 171 divisions with approximately 980 flotillas.