Currently the United States Coast Guard operates in the Puget Sound area of the United State of America. And though the Coast Guard is a uniformed service most do not know that the Coast Guard is only a "military" service during wartime. During peacetime the Coast Guard is a regulatory and maritime law enforcement agency. Which, if you ask me, means that the UCAS Coast Guard (provided the UCAS retained the service branch and didn't relegate it's assets to another agency/force) are the most likely UCAS military force to encounter and confront smugglers and shadowrunners (at sea).

Being lazy in nature, I always like to see if someone else has done the work before I pick up a shovel, so I have a couple questions for you:

1. Have you seen any reference to the Coast Guard in any Shadowrun source?
2. If you've used the Coast Guard in your game, what stats did you use for CG cutters?

As usual, thanx for any help!

1. I don't think so. My runners had a run in with KE coastguard in HK though.

2. I used Ares LC-100 (Clebrain Strikers from Arsenal Re-skinned) With Firelances.

There is a *very* brief reference in Runner Havens (shadowtalk on page 105) about runners using the ferry system to sneak past Coast Guard and "Metroplex Shore Patrol".

So far I don't see anything in the Seattle Sourcebook or New Seattle, but I'm just skimming...

{edit}: There are number of references to Coast Guard (UCAS and CAS) in Cyberpirates. They talk about mages on CG cutters trained to perform astral patrols, and the CG having networks integrated with local police/Lone Star/local military. They also talk about Naval Patrols with special forces trained to engage smugglers and pirates.

Yeah, and the SR4 makes a vague reference to "Coast Guard" as a military force as an example in the skills section (I think) but neither one actually pins them down on whether that Coast Guard is a UCAS force or a SS Council force operating in the same general area. I've always assumed that there was still a Coast Guard in the past, I just wondering if there was a canon reference to it (maybe in one of the novels I haven't read) that I was unaware of.

Oh and thanks for the heads up on the Clebrain Striker. Believe it or not I actually did consult the Arsenal before posting but in my sleep deprived state I failed to keep reading after 'watercraft' to see the military section. Duh!

Nitpick: Legally, the U.S. Coast Guard is always a military service, regardless of its attachment to the Navy, or regular operations under DHS.

I stand corrected.

Semper Paratus.

We did used to have a couple of posters who were Coasties but I haven't seen them make any posts in quite a while. Try doing a search for Coast Guard and you should turn up a few threads with them posting about the service from a while back. For 2070s capabilities I'd take a look at the current Integrated Deepwater System Program modernisation program to give you a rough idea of what they might have plus throw in some aerial surveillance and underwater drone networks.

There are enough references in older SR books like the Seattle Sourcebook and the news handouts from SR1 adventures that it's safe to say the USCG operates in the Sound. Actually there are two coast guards operating in Puget Sound--The UCAS and SSC. Also, like most major port cities there will be a local shore patrol of Lone Star personnel (there's a subchapter on maritime patrol in the old LS sourcebook).

That said, anymore the UCAS and many other national and corporate navies exist primarily for anti-piracy in SR, at least since Cyberpirates! was released.

Runner Havens has the Metroplex Shore Patrol guarding the waters between Outremer and Seattle proper. They're a division on the Metroplex Guard, IIRC, and not Lone Star.

In RL the Coast Guard is part of the Department Of Transportation (yep the good ole DOT)

What you slotting, chummer?

No. It's a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. It was formed under the Department of the Treasury in 1790 and was transferred to the Department of Transportation in 1967. It moved to the DHS in 2002. It can be transferred to the Department of the Navy (DoD) in times of war. Wikipedia is your friend. Even in the Shadowrun quasi-alternate time line there's a DHS so it's safe to assume the UCAS Coast Guard operates under its auspices.

The UCAS Coast Guard was briefly mentioned in Bug City. It and the UCAS Navy patrolled the Great Lakes to prevent refugees from escaping Chicago and smugglers and other unauthorized air and sea traffic from entering.

So, lets see. Although I misspoke on the issue of it now being in the Dept of Homeland security, it was part of the DOT. Hmmmm did it merit the condescending tone? I think not. And since we're splitting hairs it was moved to DHS in Feb. of 2003, not 2002, and it still does not draw its funding from the Dept of defense.

Metroplex Shore Patrol? Christ, throw in the Everett Naval Shipyards with a supercarrier based there and accompanying fleet and support vessels, Lone Star's Department of Shore/Water Patrol and the Coast Guard and you must have a freaking jurisdictional nightmare. Which might actually be fairly useful for some.

And the Salish. Don't forget them.