THE COAST GUARD CUTTER BOUTWELL — When Capt. Kevin Cavanaugh guided his ship under the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco Bay last week, it ended a voyage that marked two firsts for the veteran officer.
It was the first time he circumnavigated the globe -- a rare achievement for any sailor -- and the first time he tangled with suspected pirates.
But Coast Guard officials say the Boutwell's recent six-month deployment -- in which its crew interrupted an attack on a merchant ship by suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia -- reveals a side of the maritime service that few know exists.
"Most people think of us as like the local fire department," said Rear Admiral Timothy S. Sullivan. "Increasingly, we're more like the cop on the beat."
Sullivan pointed to the Coast Guard's presence in far-flung waters around the globe, including the Bering Strait, the Caribbean and the Persian Gulf. Often working in cooperation with the U.S. and foreign navies, the Coast Guard has taken on law enforcement responsibilities that military services are either forbidden by law from carrying out or are ill-equipped to handle.
The Coast Guard's roughly 43,000 active-duty personnel make it about the same size as the New York City Police Department. It's a branch of the armed forces but operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime. Its mission includes law enforcement, search and rescue operations and environmental protection.
On the Boutwell's trip around the globe, the crew of the 378-foot cutter helped train foreign counterparts in combating drug smuggling, terrorism and piracy, among other things.
Crew members also engaged in humanitarian efforts, including a wetlands rehabilitation project in Malaysia and the refurbishment of a retirement home in India. On the diplomatic front, the cutter was the first American warship to visit a Libyan port in more than 40 years.
The highlight of the crew's 41,000-nautical-mile voyage, however, came on April 28, when crew members monitored a distress call from a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, about 60 miles off the coast of Somalia.
The call came just three weeks after the crew of the Maersk Alabama had been taken hostage by pirates in an incident that made international headlines. That standoff ended when the ship's captain was rescued by Navy SEALs.
