Mobile, Ala. - The Coast Guard will celebrate its 217th birthday, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007.  In addition to celebrating the service's long history as one of the five armed services, the Coast Guard is highlighting their impact as citizens of Mobile and the surrounding communities.

Mobile area Coast Guard units have nearly 1,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian employees assigned. Area units include the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center, the USCG Sector Mobile headquarters, the USCG Gulf Strike Team, Station Dauphin Island, and several smaller cutters to include the Cypress, Cobia, Stingray, Saginaw, and Barbara Mabrity.

The Coast Guard's collective annual economic footprint on the Mobile area is over $65 million.  Notable statistics include:

• The annual payroll for Mobile area Coast Guard personnel is over $47 million.
• All Mobile area USCG personnel live out on the local economy (no military base housing). This amounts to over $10 million annually into the local housing market through rental or mortgage expenditures
• Annually, Mobile area Coast Guard units spend over $6 million in small purchases and small construction.
• Annually, over 300 USCG personnel transfer to/from the Mobile area resulting in over $1 million in moving revenues to Mobile area businesses.
• Annually over 150 USCG personnel purchase real estate in the Mobile metro area.

• Last year, the Aviation Training Center alone completed over $30 million in new construction and building renovation projects, many involving local contractors, to include a $23 million consolidated hangar to house new HC-144A EADS/CASA aircraft and new MH-60T helicopters.
• Mobile area USCG members annually donate over 5,000 hours in volunteer services to local churches, service organizations, youth sports programs, and charity organizations.
• Over the past year, USCG personnel donated nearly 3 percent of the total Red Cross blood donations for the Mobile area. This is considerable, as CG members make up less than one-half of one percent of the total Mobile metro population.
• The Coast Guard's national aviation training center is located right here in Mobile. This 230 acre military installation is Mobile's largest military unit, operating 4 different types of CG aircraft, and housing state of the art flight simulators and aviation training facilities. All 700 USCG aviators receive their aircraft transition training and return to Mobile once a year for proficiency training at this base. The unit also handles all USCG aviation capabilities development, and is heavily involved in developing and implementing new USCG aviation special mission capabilities such as airborne use of force and rotary wing air intercept.

Many Coast Guard personnel will be attending a Coast Guard Day celebration at the Mobile Bay Bears game at Hank Aaron stadium Friday, August 3, 2007. 

The senior active-duty CG member in the Mobile area, Capt. Dave Callahan, will be happy to provide and coordinate interviews at the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center on Monday, July 30 and Tuesday, July 31, 2007, to discuss Coast Guard community impacts. 

Any media interested in scheduling an interview should contact Lt. Aaron Ortenzio at (251) 441-6472 or Lt.j.g. Tavis McElheny at (251) 441-6927.

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