Mission
Air Station Detroit's primary missions are Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, domestic icebreaking operations, Marine Environmental Protection, Rotary Wing Air Intercept, and mission support for over two hundred local, state, and federal agencies. The air station covers the southern portion of Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. During the summer months we operate an air facility in Muskegon, MI and Waukegan, IL cover the southwest portion of Lake Michigan. The AOR encompasses more than 1,100 miles of shoreline from Saginaw Bay, MI to the St. Lawrence Seaway.
History
Commissioned in June of 1966, air station personnel first occupied an excess Air Force hangar until construction of the current facility could be completed in July of 1967. Two years later, the hangar was dedicated in memory of LT Jack C. Rittichier, the only Coast Guard aviator to be killed in the Vietnam conflict. LT Rittichier, an air station plankowner, was an exchange pilot with the Air Force 37th ARRS when, while attempting to rescue a fellow aviator, he was shot down and killed in action on June 9, 1968.
An integral part of the Coast Guard's National Search and Rescue (SAR) effort, the air station came under the operational control of the Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland, OH. During the 1970s, the air station was manned by 14 officers and 32 enlisted crewmen, who flew three HH-52A turbine powered amphibious helicopters, and maintained a 24 hour SAR alert readiness posture. The unit's primary area of responsibility was the maritime environment of the eastern Great Lakes region. This area has over 1,000 miles of shoreline and encompasses Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Huron south of the 44th parallel.
In addition to SAR operations, Air Station Detroit supported the 32 Coast Guard units and five major vessels in the eastern Great Lakes region. This support consisted of ice reconnaissance flights for the winter navigation season, law enforcement and safety patrols, environmental protection flights, and logistical support for all Coast Guard units in the area. The air station also cooperated closely with the U.S. and Canadian government agencies on the federal, state or provincial, and local levels.
The air station held a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service from July 1, 1977 through March 31, 1978 while engaged in operations involving major search and rescue cases, law enforcement, aids to navigation, assistance to various federal agencies, ice reconnaissance, shipboard deployments, and maritime environmental protection. More recently, however, the air station has distinguished itself through major contributions of aircraft and flight crewmembers in support of Cuban refugee operations and the Haitian interdiction program.
Air Station Detroit is home to more than 100 active duty personnel employing MH-65 Dolphin helicopters to maintain a 24 hour SAR and law enforcement aircraft on alert for an area extending along 1,100 miles of shoreline from Saginaw Bay, MI to the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Air Station Detroit Official Website