Welcome to the International Affairs Web Site

The Auxiliary’s International Outreach (IO) program has three primary roles. The first is to build relationships and improve information sharing amongst volunteer civilian Search and Rescue (SAR) organizations around the world. The second is to help build the maritime safety and security capacity of partner nations by assisting them in forming volunteer SAR and auxiliary coast guard organizations on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard.

In addition, International Outreach personnel assist existing volunteer SAR and maritime auxiliary organizations in developing other programs such as Vessel Safety, Recreational Boating and Environmental Education, Search and Rescue and Maritime Domain Awareness.

International Strategic Plan - 2014

The IO program's third role is to coordinate and provide Auxiliary support to U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Defense (DoD) Geographic Combatant Commands’ international engagement and theater security cooperation and assistance activities and exercises. This may include provision of planning, administrative, logistical, and instructor support to major exercises, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, and attendance at international conferences. In this role, IO is able to draw upon the Auxiliary’s diverse membership and supply the Coast Guard and Combatant Commanders with personnel possessing traditional Auxiliary and Coast Guard qualifications as well as unique skills in short supply or not resident within the regular forces.

Currently, International Outreach is working with 24 countries around the world. One of the most active areas is in the Caribbean Area where 20 countries have volunteer SAR groups and a number of others are forming. For more information on this group, please visit www.carsar.cgaux.org. You can also see a listing of Life Saving Organizations around the world.

Countries that have decided they want to establish a civilian volunteer SAR group and would like more information on how to start such an organization can make a request for a SMEE (Subject Matter Expert Exchange) through their local U.S. Embassy’s Office of Security Cooperation or Military Group.

For organizations which the Auxiliary has formal relationships or agreements with, training and program materials can be accessed or requested via the Resources button.
Coast Guard, DoD Commands or other members of the interagency community interested in Auxiliary IO support should contact the Deputy Director of International Affairs (International Outreach) at uscgaux.iadepdir@gmail.com

Auxiliarists interested in International Outreach Opportunities should see our Jobs site where updates will be posted.

The Interpreter Corps’ major missions are:

1. To provide to the USCG, the Department of Defense and to the Auxiliary capable, qualified and competent language interpretation services for their international mission requirements. At present, the Interpreter Corps has 440 interpreters qualified in 48 different languages. We arrange for the selection and deployment, within the US or abroad, of teams or individual interpreters, under orders, who are capable of interpreting for such events as the TRADEWINDS exercise in the Caribbean and the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum (in 4 Asian languages). Too, we provide interpreters for visits of foreign dignitaries who are visiting places as different as USCG HQ in Washington, DC, or the Food Services School in California or for a Russian tall ship visiting California ports. Members of the Interpreter Corps are present and serving at all such events.
2. To provide to the USCG, the Department of Defense and to the Auxiliary the same high level of document and program translation capability. This enables the agencies to develop training materials or translate Public Affairs notices and documents in those same 48 languages. An example would be the management of the PA efforts surrounding Operation Deep Horizon, in which we provided interpreters located all over the USA to translate a steady stream of PA notices for the USCG in some 11 languages – from the comfort of their own homes.

For further information on the International Affairs team or the Interpreter Corps, you are invited to visit their web pages, shown in the menu bar at the left side of this page.