Coast Guard U S

Four miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, 6-foot waves are hammering the pilot boat, slathering its windshield in foam and rocking it like a roller coaster car. Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeremy Zimmer of the U.S. Coast Guard is about to go to work, stepping into the unknown with only a pistol to protect himself. The launch draws alongside Stena Clipper, a freighter arriving from the Dominican Republic. A rope ladder dangles down 25 feet to the sea from an open hatch in the rusting hull.

The only U.S. Coast Guardsman who was declared missing in the Vietnam War was remembered Monday as a hero, about 35 years after he and three others were killed while trying to rescue another serviceman. That was the last of many rescue attempts made by Lt. Jack C. Rittichier of Barberton, Ohio, who was known to his friends and family as a man who could do everything. "I know just what he would have said if he were here today: 'I'm no hero.

The number of engine malfunctions on the Coast Guard's workhorse helicopter has increased dramatically as efforts to install safer motors have fallen behind schedule, according to a report by the Homeland Security Department's inspector general, Clark Kent Ervin. The Dolphin helicopters, or HH-65s, are used for search and rescue, port security, enforcement of treaties, drug interdiction and marine safety.

Two Cuban brothers were sentenced in Key West to six years in prison for assaulting a U.S. Coast Guard crew that tried to prevent them from illegally reaching the Florida Keys by boat. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore sentenced Jorge Cartaya-Acosta, 35, and Jose Cartaya-Acosta, 39, at a hearing in which their lawyers argued they were mentally impaired. Under U.S. policy, Cuban migrants who reach land are usually allowed to stay and those intercepted at sea are repatriated to Cuba.

Amid increasing complaints from recreational boaters and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Coast Guard is thinking about restoring free service for non-emergency search and rescue operations. This has private assistance companies in an uproar.

Former tanker skipper Joseph Hazelwood, accused of being drunk, reckless and most responsible for the nation's worst oil spill, was acquitted of all but a minor pollution charge by an Alaskan jury Thursday. In a crowded courtroom that included his wife and father, Hazelwood, 43, was found not guilty of felony mischief, operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol and reckless endangerment.

The Cuban government has acknowledged the apparent deaths of a group of Cubans whose vessel capsized in rough seas off the coast of Florida. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for the 30 Cubans even as relatives hoped desperately for encouraging news. Authorities said they found a capsized 30-foot twin-engine craft that may have been carrying the Cubans, including 12 or more children, on a clandestine trip to the United States.

The Bush Administration this week will seek authority to force planes suspected of carrying narcotics to land for inspection, The Times learned Monday. The proposal, under which pilots who refuse to land would face a felony charge and up to five years in prison, stops short of allowing such planes to be shot down--as some have urged. But it is still likely to produce substantial controversy.

Silver-haired Walter Fanning clambered carefully down the steep metal staircase into the engine room of the old lightship. By the dim beam of a flashlight, he prowled around the room, flicking switches and pressing buttons. In a moment, the roar of a diesel engine filled the cramped space, and the room's lights flickered on, illuminating the grin on Fanning's face.

The Coast Guard is removing Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. from their management role over a troubled $24-billion modernization program and may seek new bids for contracts for any incomplete projects. The deal has been criticized in recent investigations and on Capitol Hill for spiraling costs, design flaws and lax oversight.